So I have noticed that some sellers mask the PSA Certificate Number, either with tape or a black marker on the outer plastic sleeve. Is this considered standard practice to prevent fraudulent use of images, or should the buyer be careful when purchasing such items? I always thought that it is more transparent to show the PSA Certificate Number so the buyer can verify the card, prior price realized, etc.
Thanks in advance!
No reason to block out the cert number/barcode when selling.
Exactly what @ccrntrade said. Zero legitimate reason to mask the cert number or the barcode. Ironically people will often mask out the cert number and leave the easily readable barcode uncovered.
It’s become some kind of a mythic thing, makes people think they have something worth faking or stealing. Many people who do it don’t have any bad intentions, they just think it’s what the “cool kids” do.
The real way to protect your items identity is to black out the barcode but leave the cert uncovered
Blocking anything on the label is suspect because the seller is hiding something and that’s a concern. 100% pass.
Great, thanks for all the feedback. I’m in Taiwan where it seems the norm is to block the label for local sellers. Very odd.
@mthursty, just curious what other information does the bardcode show that the cert number doesn’t?
Instead of blocking out the Cert Number, if one is not as established as a reputable/trusted seller, simply adding a time stamp &/OR your seller name included in the photo along with the PSA Card goes a long way.
Of course, if they do block it. Asking for more pictures WITH the cert number is an easier option. But if they don’t offer more pictures… 
run
Oh, no reason to do so. I was just being sarcastic lol. I believe the only info in the barcode is the cert number.
I’ve only done it for a low-value card I have multiple of in PSA 10. Honestly that’s just laziness on my part.
The “I don’t want my images stolen” argument is nonsense since there is nothing stopping me from stealing and using your covered image so… ??
The only legitimate reason I can imagine is if a seller has multiples of the same card and wants to have a generic picture in the listing .
I never covered mine, and had some buyers ask why the card I sent them had a different cert number to the one on the photo. This happened just a handfull of times and customers where happy when I pointed out the reason.
If it were to become an hassle I would consider covering it just to make the picture generic, but only when listing multiple copies of the same card in one listing.