I was planning on sending 157 cards to PSA and now the risk of losing my cards.
Approximate value is $20,000 USDs. I asked for insurance it was an absurd amount (UPS) approximately $3 per $100 declared value. I mean it is going to cost a few thousands just to get these cards graded. I am also sending from Canada.
I didn’t send as they need to confirm. They are not sure the maximum for collectible trading cards.
On the other side I asked if something were to go wrong what burden of proof would I need to provide? I bought the cards 20 years ago, I have no receipts and it is a collectible item. There is no proof of ownership or value.
Jumping in here as id like to see the discussion.
It’s something I have concerns about also. In terms of burden of proof it’s an interesting point. You’re not telling your home insurance company you had all this stuff and they insured the risk of you having someone break in and steal it yourself.
In this instance the entire responsibility is on the carrier in my opinion. You purchase the insurance up to the value you want, it is then up to them to ensure it gets delivered to where you send it to. In my opinion you should be able to send mundane items and get the payout you paid insurance for. I know a lot of people will disagree with me though.
That is a pretty high rate for insurance… you’d think it would be more like 1 dollar for 100 dollars or so. Are there any 3rd party options potentially for insurance?
Interesting, also curious about international. Isn’t it about 40% tax value you have to pay to the custums. If psa valued $10,000 at those graded cards, and pay extra costs to psa too if a card is more valueble + the grading proces + shipping + shipping back. It’s pricey haha
I just shipped 50 WoTC cards to PSA and they were stolen via UPS. crazy story but they were actually stolen twice lol. PSA sent me a picture of my box with a gaping hole in it. they said they refused delivery so it was on its way back to me. on its way back, the package got lost.
I wish I did USPS not UPS… I under insured as I as I was only worried about the way back for some reason.
I won the insurance case because the package is literally missing, but now they need proof of value.
I have just submitted proof of value to them. I sent 50 recently completed ebay search results. one PDF for every card 50 PDFs. I had no other ideas. it easily eclipsed the insured amount especially since prices went up a little.
I will post when I hear back what happens next. I hope I get the insurance money. it still doesn’t replace me sending 50 cards from my childhood.
I highly suggest u fly to California and hand deliver your cards.
I will never do it any other way ever again. flights to cali are pennies right now. it will be cheaper than shipping
Fuck that.
Where abouts do you live? What sort of cost would a return flight be for you? Would you be equally as concerned by the return shipping?
Also how do they do their insurance? Is there an indication on the package itself that it has been insured for a particular value?
NYC to LAX is like $200 round trip these days. I am flying next time I guess…
the insurance was $3 per $100 …
it looked like a normal UPS label but I’m sure the ppl scanning it can tell, and the fact it’s addressed to freaking " PSA " don’t help
it’s ashame because they made me write VALUE on the outside of the box… so an experienced “package guy” can tell that 50 cards are going to PSA… I definitely feel my box was targeted in part for those reasons.
a week after this happened and week after I begged them to change their receiving name, PSA changed to rules so you don’t have to write VALUE on the box and tell the world there’s 50 cards going to PSA anymore.
That sucks to hear mate. Definitely dodgy by the sound of things. As international i’d just about kill to have a $200 drop off myself option lol, definitely worth it for high value or sentimental cards.
As a fellow Canadian, I ship all my bulk orders to PSA using Canada Post tracked service. No insurance. I don’t want my package to stand out as valuable if it has the insurance tag on it.
Also when I fill out the PSA forms I declare all my 20 year old 1st ed cards between $5-25. I’m not the expert, PSA is, so if I missed an error on the card and declared it as $99, I’m paying more up front costs for the PSA insurance. Once the cards are graded, PSA sends the cards back to me by FedEx tracked shipping. FedEx will let me know when to expect the package and how much the duty is. Usually duty is about $1.25 per card.
The cost per card for a Canadian is about $16 each when you factor in all the costs. So your order will be about $2500. You could theoretical fly the cards to PSA yourself, but you run the risk of someone at the airport stealing the package from your luggage. I’m not sure how the security check would go with you trying to bring that in your carry-on luggage. They might think you’re going to sell the cards in the States and not allow you to bring it on board. You also have the flight and accommodation costs. At some point you have to put a little faith in the system and trust it will go alright.
Out of curiosity. Why would they care if someone is taking ungraded pokemon cards in their carry on? Why would it matter if they were going to sell them to someone in the states?
Interesting to think they would actually deny you access to the plane on speculation that you might sell your carry on luggage. I havn’t traveled overseas in a while however, I may not be up to date with the latest customs issues.
This 100% should be the case. It’s a huge scam that it isn’t because they know the risk of package loss and they charge you appropriately for it. E.g. if you send 1,000 empty boxes insured for $1k each they know that on average (making a number up here) 2 will get lost so they will charge you >$2 insurance per package so the $2,000 loss is more than offset. The charge would likely be at least $5 in this instance.
It’s not like its something you can gain like other insurances just running your car into a tree or burning down your house as the package isn’t in your possession. I guess now that I say that, the one argument against it and way it could be exploited would be to have an inside man make your package disappear but you could do that now and lie about what was inside anyways.
I have read all the replies. Some very insightful information.
I am sorry that you lost your PSA cards, as we know the value isn’t just the in the cards. They aren’t replaceable. Personally, if something were to go wrong, I would be done with collecting. I still have lots of other cards to send in, but majority of the better cards were sent.
I did go through the hassle of “grading” and putting a price on my cards. So 101 bulk at $9 a piece. 2 at over $1,500 @$75 each, 2 at over $1,000 @ $50 each, 43 at $500 @ $20 each.
I decided to go with USPS (insurance is only covering $1000 max). I am keeping my fingers crossed but there has to be a better way send cards. My first assumption was that I thought UPS and Fedex would be safer, maybe not.
For the person that was asking whether or not PSA covers the insurance. I am paying an insurance premium on my fees, but I’m assuming that is for the return shipment.
Lets see what happens now. I just waiting for the cards to say delivered.
I know someone that does PSA grading in Canada at around $17-18 CAD a card. They drive the package to the states then send it to PSA insured for $50K. The cards get back through a middleman I believe.
I was going to use Ludkins, but for me the biggest hassle is packages getting lost/stolen at customs or tracking stops updating when it crosses the border, etc…
These 3rd party PSA services still require you to mail the cards to USA. Maybe its safer?
Ludkins makes you ship to the USA or somewhere else? Originally I was going to send to a 3rd party but the problem was 1) I was sending to the USA anyways. 2) They handle the cards to fill out the forms (I didn’t want unnecessary additional handling).
If you know someone I might be interested but again it all comes down to trust factors or some company operating out of Canada itself.
Did you get cards stolen or have some bad experience?