GameStop x PSA

[Y2Hood]

I understand the apprehension being alleviated by having someone else do it angle. I hear so many versions of "I want to try grading but..." from strangers, acquaintances, and even friends. I tell them about the different Facebook submission groups and some get on board with that idea. I was so proud of my one nervous friend who did his own SGC sub and had no problems once it was done.

Gamestop being a known quantity is reassuring. The staff reliability in and of itself is going to be hit or miss contingent on location. I'm not necessarily going to use them, but I'm happy for the opportunity and peace of mind it may provide for others that have been on the fence.

Especially the kids. I get more questions from parents of collectors than adult collectors. "Junior wants to get stuff graded." My nephew got a Gem Mint 10 on the first sub he did with me and his card room is basically carpet and wall paper of unprotected trading cards of all genres. And his first card is a 10. He was euphoric with a glee I wish I could still experience.

There are a million other kids that might have that chance with the Gamestop gimmick. The ones that don't have an uncle collector.

[halldogg]

After speaking with a knowledgeable manager of my local location, I feel safe sending cards through them and am trying my first one. As a gamestop pro member it just makes sense. I send Sports cards, not TCG as I only collect sports. So i took a big leap of faith this weekend and sent a 1989 Score Barry RC. I should have started with a smaller card, but decided differently the day of. We will see how this goes.

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by halldogg

After speaking with a knowledgeable manager of my local location, I feel safe sending cards through them and am trying my first one. As a gamestop pro member it just makes sense. I send Sports cards, not TCG as I only collect sports. So i took a big leap of faith this weekend and sent a 1989 Score Barry RC. I should have started with a smaller card, but decided differently the day of. We will see how this goes.

This is not a big leap, it will be fine. If there are any kids that work in the store shipping the cards off, chances are they don't even know who Barry Sanders is.

I don't see any issues with a $50 to $75 raw card. The issue is if people start trusting them with a $1000 plus card. The temptation for a minimum wage employee to snag a few cards exponentially increases as value goes up. Someone drops off a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan and it is replaced by a fake. With GameStop getting into cards, there might be scammers with card experience starting to work there to pull off some shenanigans.

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

This is not a big leap, it will be fine. If there are any kids that work in the store shipping the cards off, chances are they don't even know who Barry Sanders is.

I don't see any issues with a $50 to $75 raw card. The issue is if people start trusting them with a $1000 plus card. The temptation for a minimum wage employee to snag a few cards exponentially increases as value goes up. Someone drops off a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan and it is replaced by a fake. With GameStop getting into cards, there might be scammers with card experience starting to work there to pull off some shenanigans.

True, definitely a valid point! I figure, I am going to have to wait that long for the card to grade anyway and didn't want to go SGC for that particular one. I have a couple of more that I need to send to PSA, so as soon as I see in my acct that PSA has the Barry, I will go submit the others. And you are correct, they know more Pokemon than anything working in Gamestop. The guy at the counter and the manager both deal with TCG in their personal lives, not sports cards.

[Tallguy1991]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Correct. A lot of people have fears about sending valuables through the mail. This eliminates that. Every move these TPGs make are with the intent of removing barriers.

Very well said. Making their services more accessible to the people from the “engaged in the hobby, but not so engaged that you’d find them perusing card specific forum sites” crowd has inevitably been a major item on PSA’s to-do list, and this is a slam dunk in that respect. For GameStop, who already was selling a LOT of Pokemon and other TCGs, this will only increase that particular business for them and will draw additional foot traffic that some percentage of will walk out having impulse bought any number of other items sold in the stores. This is one of those arrangements that was a no brainer for both sides and benefits all involved, including the customer base of both businesses.

As for the concerns people have expressed about stolen cards….I’m fairly confident that given the relatively high average price of the items they sell as well as the youthfulness of many patrons, GameStop stores have many security cameras that are easily visible both on the retail sales floor and in the employee only areas as a defense/deterrent against would-be thieves. I had a friend in high school (15 years ago) that worked at a GameStop in MA and even back then he used to talk about how intense the anti-theft measures were. I can’t see employee card theft being a significant problem with this partnership.


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[glassofwater]

I was thinking about trying this can you use points to pay for it? And get points for submitting?

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by glassofwater

I was thinking about trying this can you use points to pay for it? And get points for submitting?

I don't know if you get any for submitting if using points for the submission, but you can use points to submit. You can use points, trade-ins, credit and the $5 per month you get with Pro membership and also get free shipping if you are pro member. So sports cards for a pro member end up being $14.99 with free shipping for one card. So if you do 1 per month, that's not a bad deal. I will be doing 2-3 cards per month probably, because I stick to my little budget.

A win in my book!

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by Tallguy1991

Very well said. Making their services more accessible to the people from the “engaged in the hobby, but not so engaged that you’d find them perusing card specific forum sites” crowd has inevitably been a major item on PSA’s to-do list, and this is a slam dunk in that respect. For GameStop, who already was selling a LOT of Pokemon and other TCGs, this will only increase that particular business for them and will draw additional foot traffic that some percentage of will walk out having impulse bought any number of other items sold in the stores. This is one of those arrangements that was a no brainer for both sides and benefits all involved, including the customer base of both businesses.

As for the concerns people have expressed about stolen cards….I’m fairly confident that given the relatively high average price of the items they sell as well as the youthfulness of many patrons, GameStop stores have many security cameras that are easily visible both on the retail sales floor and in the employee only areas as a defense/deterrent against would-be thieves. I had a friend in high school (15 years ago) that worked at a GameStop in MA and even back then he used to talk about how intense the anti-theft measures were. I can’t see employee card theft being a significant problem with this partnership.


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Very good points. I agree. I think they should have enough cameras around to be able to take care of things properly. I am watching to see if they ship out within 10 days like they say. 10 cards ship immediately, less than 10 cards ship after it has been in store for 10 days. That is according to my local manager.

[halldogg]

Order: 1010500
Created: 26 Oct 2024
Shipped: 4 Nov 2024

We will see how long this takes now to arrive at PSA and get in the system.

[aggie4ever]

I saw a thread on twitter where a guy goes over his experience with this:
https://x.com/WoeIsElijah/status/1856801816798732701

He goes over all of the steps he went through. He dropped his cards off at GameStop on 10/19, and picked them back up today, 11/13. $15.99/card for TCG Bulk. He submitted 20 cards so it would be shipped immediately to PSA, if you submit less than 20 cards, then they wait for more orders, although I think he said it wouldn't be held for more than a week before being sent in. Shipping is only $4 (and free if you are a pro member).

Just posting this in case anyone is interested in learning more about it.

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by aggie4ever

I saw a thread on twitter where a guy goes over his experience with this:
https://x.com/WoeIsElijah/status/1856801816798732701

He goes over all of the steps he went through. He dropped his cards off at GameStop on 10/19, and picked them back up today, 11/13. $15.99/card for TCG Bulk. He submitted 20 cards so it would be shipped immediately to PSA, if you submit less than 20 cards, then they wait for more orders, although I think he said it wouldn't be held for more than a week before being sent in. Shipping is only $4 (and free if you are a pro member).

Just posting this in case anyone is interested in learning more about it.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out.

[Ataraxia]

Originally Posted by gododgersfan

Discussed this with my son last night and he collects Pokemon cards, including graded. This is set-up for novice collectors who just want to submit a few cards without any hassles, such as no submission form and no card limit. I have no idea how much business this will generate, but easy access to grading is a win for PSA.

Bingo.

At the end of the day, this partnership is probably not going to win over a significant amount of collectors who submit their own cards to graders. But for those who feel that grading has a set of rules that feel complicated, this is an accessible means for them to get their cards to PSA.

I agree: I have no clue how well this is going to go for GameStop or PSA. It's been reported that GameStop selling PSA has been a fairly lucrative venture for them, but this whole thing feels very "your mileage may vary." It's obviously safer to throw cards at GameStop in that Sub-$500 value range than it is to start trying to get those higher valued cards in there - GS simply does not pay their employees a healthy amount, which leads to some sketchiness at times.

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by Ataraxia

Bingo.

At the end of the day, this partnership is probably not going to win over a significant amount of collectors who submit their own cards to graders. But for those who feel that grading has a set of rules that feel complicated, this is an accessible means for them to get their cards to PSA.

I agree: I have no clue how well this is going to go for GameStop or PSA. It's been reported that GameStop selling PSA has been a fairly lucrative venture for them, but this whole thing feels very "your mileage may vary." It's obviously safer to throw cards at GameStop in that Sub-$500 value range than it is to start trying to get those higher valued cards in there - GS simply does not pay their employees a healthy amount, which leads to some sketchiness at times.

Its actually cheaper as well than sending on your own when you add in shipping and price of grading if you arent submitting 20+ cards at once.

[elektrokuter]

Looking around Gamestop reddit and such it seems that PSA is returning cards faster than anticipated and they havent actually finished their backend system for completed subs lol.

They cant process upcharges yet so they are just going by without them, even when its flagged.

[Ataraxia]

Originally Posted by halldogg

Its actually cheaper as well than sending on your own when you add in shipping and price of grading if you arent submitting 20+ cards at once.

Oh, definitely. It's definitely a more accessible route than sending cards in yourself.

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by elektrokuter

Looking around Gamestop reddit and such it seems that PSA is returning cards faster than anticipated and they havent actually finished their backend system for completed subs lol.

They cant process upcharges yet so they are just going by without them, even when its flagged.

My first submission finally hit PSA's hands on Friday or Saturday. We will see how long this takes.

[Aribasebal]

Originally Posted by halldogg

My first submission finally hit PSA's hands on Friday or Saturday. We will see how long this takes.

How long did it take from the time that handed it off to GameStop? I sent my cards to Gamestop 2 weeks ago and still haven't even gotten an email confirmation

[anusinha]

I dropped off 31 cards at gamestop yesterday and got the email confirmation later that day.

[halldogg]

Originally Posted by Aribasebal

How long did it take from the time that handed it off to GameStop? I sent my cards to Gamestop 2 weeks ago and still haven't even gotten an email confirmation

You should be able to see it in your Gamestop acct under orders. Then later in the day you would get an email confirmation that they have created an order.

As far as it getting to PSA's hands, I seen it was sent in my orders area, but took approx 1.5 weeks to finally show that PSA got it, that is when I got an email saying they are in possession of my card.

[anusinha]

Im hearing a lot of good things so far, the process isnt fully fleshed out yet but the turnaround has been 4 weeks or less so far. The prices that gamespot pays for a lot of the more liquid common psa 10s is pretty strong as well.

[waytoomanycards]

Originally Posted by anusinha

Im hearing a lot of good things so far, the process isnt fully fleshed out yet but the turnaround has been 4 weeks or less so far. The prices that gamespot pays for a lot of the more liquid common psa 10s is pretty strong as well.

Meh, it still seems like a worse deal than a normal group submitter if you have to pay the grading fees up front. Their grading fees are also a dollar higher than PCSports, which offsets what you save in shipping. With their recent changes to "insurance," I do think PSA is trying to push people into one of two camps, though: submitting direct and consigning with PSA or through a group submitter. My last 5 direct subs have been slower than my last 6 group submitter subs (same time area), even with the extra step. Grades were also worse.

[Aribasebal]

Went into my local GameStop and they already said that they are suspending submissions temporarily due to backlog. Has anyone else experienced this?

[anusinha]

Originally Posted by waytoomanycards

Meh, it still seems like a worse deal than a normal group submitter if you have to pay the grading fees up front. Their grading fees are also a dollar higher than PCSports, which offsets what you save in shipping. With their recent changes to "insurance," I do think PSA is trying to push people into one of two camps, though: submitting direct and consigning with PSA or through a group submitter. My last 5 direct subs have been slower than my last 6 group submitter subs (same time area), even with the extra step. Grades were also worse.

GS is cheaper than PCS with TCG, and saving on shipping costs and time on shipping both ways helps a lot with the new releases.

[elektrokuter]

Originally Posted by Aribasebal

Went into my local GameStop and they already said that they are suspending submissions temporarily due to backlog. Has anyone else experienced this?

Yes a lot of places are doing this. It is less of a backlog from a "too many submissions" aspect but more from a PSA is returning faster than we thought and we havent actually finished the backend systems because we thought we had an extra month issue.

For example previously upcharges were not being applied at all-
They "fixed" it but its still not applying upcharges to some people or asking the wrong submission to pay them, or paying them doesnt work.

On a side note I dont know if it's just me- there seem to be an inordinate amount of 10s from GS submissions. Esp modern pokemon and its bad QC

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by elektrokuter

On a side note I dont know if it's just me- there seem to be an inordinate amount of 10s from GS submissions. Esp modern pokemon and its bad QC

What better way to start with a lot of new submitters getting PSA 10's and selling them to GS for a profit. Get these kids hooked with a profit the first few times and you now have a gambler hooked on your service.