I bought a PSA slabbed Pokemon card on eBay. The seller disclosed a yellow/orange discolouration on the slab edges, which from the photos looked like dried cola/coffee residue.
The card went through eBay Authenticity Guarantee and arrived with the eBay sleeve and authenticity seal .
Now that I have it in hand, it almost looks like the plastic itself might be etched along the slab edge where the orange/brown discoloration is visible. The issue appears to be confined to the edges of the slab, with most edges showing some degree of discolouration.
Questions:
What do you think could cause this kind of discolouration on PSA slabs?
Does it indicate any tampering? Or do you think its a dried spill of a drink?
Would you keep the eBay Auth seal on, or remove it and attempt any cleaning?
I have never seen this discoloration before. I agree that it looks like residue, something that formed after the encapsulation process by user error (improper storage). A reholder request would fix it, but you will be out some amount of money.
Thanks everyone for the input. I removed the eBay Authenticity seal and inspected the slab more closely. The discolouration does not appear to be on the surface, but rather inside the slab, along the seam between the front and back shell.
It doesn’t look like tobacco or THC residue, as it’s not uniform or smooth, it’s very localized with sharp boundaries. My best guess is that there was a spill of something like cola or coffee, which over time migrated into the narrow gap between the two slab halves (likely via capillary action). The sonic weld seems to sit slightly further in, and whatever this is did (hopefully) not pass that seam.
A return isn’t really an option since the card was purchased from the US via a middleman, so returning it would be a major headache.
From what I can see, the card itself is unaffected. Given that, I’ll likely just send it to PSA for a reholder at some point.
Shipping to PSA from outside the US is currently a bit of a headache due to tariffs, so I’m debating whether to go via my US middleman again or wait until PSA opens their German office in September and send it from within the EU.
Overall, the card looks very clean from the front and back, and given the value (~300–350 USD), I don’t think tampering is likely or would have made sense from a value perspective?!?
Thanks a lot, that’s really helpful to hear and gives me some peace of mind.
Did you end up leaving the slabs as-is, or did you reholder/re-slab them eventually?
Also: in your experience, does the sonic weld/seal reliably prevent any moisture/residue from reaching the inner well/card, even if something has wicked into the seam area?
I was able to get pretty much all of it out in the moment but it did look like yours. Once it’s dry I have no idea what the best way is. Maybe add water to try and pull it out (but that risks damage) or just reslab it.
“Now I say, Frank - I do say, nuthin’ beats a good ol’ cup o’ joe first thin’ in the mornin’. This here card sip, she’s a real beaut’ - swirl and all slurp. Back is as clean as the bottom o’ my mug. I’ll give er’ a nice 8.5 grade.”
I bought a card a few years ago with the exact same thing. I was able to get a lot of it out. Try this - get some very thin paper (yellow legal pad paper works well) and slide the corners of the paper into the gap in the case. Be gentle with it so it doesn’t tear off and get stuck in there. But for me it was enough to get in there and scrape it out. Worth a shot.
