Am I missing something (PSA in-person submission)?

Maverik · 01-27-2025, 05:03 PM

So, I did my first PSA submission in a long time, and living in Dallas now, I saw there was an in-person submission coming up. After the way it went, I figured I MUST be missing something.

1.) I followed all instructions to have it boxed up. I literally had to unpack it and they basically ran the submission through like I was doing it for the first time. So, the instructions on the site were incorrect. To be fair, very few people were prepared with their packages. Many of which that just walked up with raw cards.

2.) I waited in line an hour an 45 minutes. Slowest moving line known to man. Had brought my teenager along for a quick drop off and checking out a new card store. Turned out to be miserable.

3.) Despite dropping off in-person, the cards aren't actually processed. It's still another month before the process starts. To be expected if mailing in, but something I though could improve with in-person. This was incorrect.

4.) And this is something I expected but still annoying - you pay for the 45 day service, but they tell you it's actually 60. It's intentional deceit at this point.

So, since I had it packaged. It would have cost me a $15 label and maybe an extra $20 for insurance. That would have been far more desirable from the convenience of my own home.

Again, am I missing something as to why they even do this and what advantages there are to this? It appears to be a waste of time and money. Just ship them in and you'll get them when you get them.

BigMac · 01-27-2025, 05:18 PM

only benefit to in person drop off is not having to ship to them (for higher $ items less risk to be lost in the mail) rather than cost saving or expediting.. found it better to go thru a group submission or better would be to find someone local who does group subs

iluvfish2 · 01-27-2025, 05:25 PM

I agree - typically its preferred for higher end items - things you really dont want to risk being mailed. Others will pay more for the walk up service. Sometimes there's show specials that guys will take advantage of.

But really depends on the show and/or timing. Even at the National you can get walk up service, but its rare. But later in the afternoons or the week you can see much easier drop off times. But at that point the pickups get bad.

The time/wait is what it is, but they staff can be really helpful especially if you dont know exactly what you are doing. But in their defense - as you've seen so many things to make sure are right. They dont want to be held accountable for accepting the wrong cataloged items. They've got to ship things back and log them in. Pretty logistically heavy procedure. I did think at one point they'd update the dates/times when dropped off in person.

I know for me I use it, but its a cost saving feature. If it costs me 25 to get into a larger show, and I have a sub I'm doing anyways, then I see that as a way to offset those costs.

mc1 · 01-27-2025, 05:27 PM

They advertise 45 business days. That is of course closer to 60 calendar days. I did not see or find any suggestions for boxing collectibles that are going to be dropped-off. Maybe you read a section for mailing in submissions? I’m sure they at least recommend placing cards in CardSavers and printing the submission forms.

All submissions, whether mailed in or in-person have to go through the same process. I would not assume that they would fast track orders just because they picked them up in person.

Also, shipping and mailing items to PSA, or to anybody, comes with some risks. I have had a few packages get returned to me or lost/damaged in the past year. Do not EVER assume anything you ship will get there safely.

RufussCkingston · 01-28-2025, 12:25 AM

Unfortunately, there is no description of what actually happens when you "drop off" when the grading is NOT on site.

First off, the way to look at it is that when you do an in-person drop-off the representative is basically doing what someone at the PSA warehouse does when they first open a package. They look at the printed form(s), and then they count out all the cards to make sure they match in number what is on the form(s). This is why if you take them to an in person drop off in a box, or even just rubber banded, the PSA rep will need to open and un-band them to do the same count I just described so you don't claim they lost cards...

With regard to the 45 days being 60, this is proper as it is 45 business days, which comes out to about 60 calendar days.

I would disagree with the statement that if you drop-off that they sit for 30 days before being processed. It really is only till they get back to PSA, then they might sit for a few days, where the order will finally be scanned and your account will reflect that they were actually received (maybe at bigger drop-offs they will mark the order as received, as the small one I went to the reps did not have computers), which then moves the order to the Research & ID stage.

As others have mentioned, drop-off is for people who want their hand held by a PSA rep, don't want to risk shipping cards or paying high shipping fees/insurance issues to send them. But if you don't fall into this category, you are only asking for pain and suffering unless the drop-off is not highly attended. It's a time sucker!

Empty77 · 01-28-2025, 09:57 PM

This thread is very timely for me as I plan to attend a drop-off soon, having just recently discovered it was a thing.

For me it's because of many of the reasons mentioned to do with: infrequency (collect, don't deal), loss of submitting familiarity since the website changes, and it being less onerous and more efficient for me to drive there and wait in line, than to figure out how to box and label things properly for shipping myself. Then I'll drive away knowing that my part in the task is completed, without having to agonize over the mail and the other issues I've read about since I last submitted with refused packages, delayed check-ins, etc.

RufussCkingston · 01-29-2025, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Empty77

This thread is very timely for me as I plan to attend a drop-off soon, having just recently discovered it was a thing.

For me it's because of many of the reasons mentioned to do with: infrequency (collect, don't deal), loss of submitting familiarity since the website changes, and it being less onerous and more efficient for me to drive there and wait in line, than to figure out how to box and label things properly for shipping myself. Then I'll drive away knowing that my part in the task is completed, without having to agonize over the mail and the other issues I've read about since I last submitted with refused packages, delayed check-ins, etc.

Well you still have to deal with the website changes as you need to show up with the form printed out, or they will send you to a computer/laptop to do it. I guess they may have someone to assist you.

Empty77 · 01-30-2025, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RufussCkingston

Well you still have to deal with the website changes as you need to show up with the form printed out, or they will send you to a computer/laptop to do it. I guess they may have someone to assist you.

yes, working on that this week. 5 different things, happen to be 5 different service levels, so 5 different forms. That took me quite a while of re-doing the same thing over and over to figure out why I couldn't just add new items to my same 'cart'...

01-27-2025, 05:03 PM	#1
Maverik Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: KC Posts: 365	Am I missing something (PSA in-person submission)? So, I did my first PSA submission in a long time, and living in Dallas now, I saw there was an in-person submission coming up. After the way it went, I figured I MUST be missing something. 1.) I followed all instructions to have it boxed up. I literally had to unpack it and they basically ran the submission through like I was doing it for the first time. So, the instructions on the site were incorrect. To be fair, very few people were prepared with their packages. Many of which that just walked up with raw cards. 2.) I waited in line an hour an 45 minutes. Slowest moving line known to man. Had brought my teenager along for a quick drop off and checking out a new card store. Turned out to be miserable. 3.) Despite dropping off in-person, the cards aren't actually processed. It's still another month before the process starts. To be expected if mailing in, but something I though could improve with in-person. This was incorrect. 4.) And this is something I expected but still annoying - you pay for the 45 day service, but they tell you it's actually 60. It's intentional deceit at this point. So, since I had it packaged. It would have cost me a $15 label and maybe an extra $20 for insurance. That would have been far more desirable from the convenience of my own home. Again, am I missing something as to why they even do this and what advantages there are to this? It appears to be a waste of time and money. Just ship them in and you'll get them when you get them. __________________ B/S/T w/ US residents only

01-27-2025, 05:18 PM	#2
BigMac Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 231 jkgraphs	only benefit to in person drop off is not having to ship to them (for higher $ items less risk to be lost in the mail) rather than cost saving or expediting.. found it better to go thru a group submission or better would be to find someone local who does group subs __________________ https://goo.gl/photos/V7ceW9mt8iUAvzHf9 my small chrome collection

01-27-2025, 05:25 PM	#3
iluvfish2 Moderator Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lansing, Michigan Posts: 26,684 iluvfish2 iluvfish2	I agree - typically its preferred for higher end items - things you really dont want to risk being mailed. Others will pay more for the walk up service. Sometimes there's show specials that guys will take advantage of. But really depends on the show and/or timing. Even at the National you can get walk up service, but its rare. But later in the afternoons or the week you can see much easier drop off times. But at that point the pickups get bad. The time/wait is what it is, but they staff can be really helpful especially if you dont know exactly what you are doing. But in their defense - as you've seen so many things to make sure are right. They dont want to be held accountable for accepting the wrong cataloged items. They've got to ship things back and log them in. Pretty logistically heavy procedure. I did think at one point they'd update the dates/times when dropped off in person. I know for me I use it, but its a cost saving feature. If it costs me 25 to get into a larger show, and I have a sub I'm doing anyways, then I see that as a way to offset those costs. __________________ Blowouts Resident Wade Boggs Super Collector

01-27-2025, 05:27 PM	#4
mc1 Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 11,186	They advertise 45 business days. That is of course closer to 60 calendar days. I did not see or find any suggestions for boxing collectibles that are going to be dropped-off. Maybe you read a section for mailing in submissions? I’m sure they at least recommend placing cards in CardSavers and printing the submission forms. All submissions, whether mailed in or in-person have to go through the same process. I would not assume that they would fast track orders just because they picked them up in person. Also, shipping and mailing items to PSA, or to anybody, comes with some risks. I have had a few packages get returned to me or lost/damaged in the past year. Do not EVER assume anything you ship will get there safely. __________________ B.I.D.

01-28-2025, 12:25 AM	#5
RufussCkingston Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Uranus Posts: 1,268	Unfortunately, there is no description of what actually happens when you "drop off" when the grading is NOT on site. First off, the way to look at it is that when you do an in-person drop-off the representative is basically doing what someone at the PSA warehouse does when they first open a package. They look at the printed form(s), and then they count out all the cards to make sure they match in number what is on the form(s). This is why if you take them to an in person drop off in a box, or even just rubber banded, the PSA rep will need to open and un-band them to do the same count I just described so you don't claim they lost cards... With regard to the 45 days being 60, this is proper as it is 45 business days, which comes out to about 60 calendar days. I would disagree with the statement that if you drop-off that they sit for 30 days before being processed. It really is only till they get back to PSA, then they might sit for a few days, where the order will finally be scanned and your account will reflect that they were actually received (maybe at bigger drop-offs they will mark the order as received, as the small one I went to the reps did not have computers), which then moves the order to the Research & ID stage. As others have mentioned, drop-off is for people who want their hand held by a PSA rep, don't want to risk shipping cards or paying high shipping fees/insurance issues to send them. But if you don't fall into this category, you are only asking for pain and suffering unless the drop-off is not highly attended. It's a time sucker!

01-28-2025, 09:57 PM	#6
Empty77 Member Join Date: Sep 2019 Posts: 84	This thread is very timely for me as I plan to attend a drop-off soon, having just recently discovered it was a thing. For me it's because of many of the reasons mentioned to do with: infrequency (collect, don't deal), loss of submitting familiarity since the website changes, and it being less onerous and more efficient for me to drive there and wait in line, than to figure out how to box and label things properly for shipping myself. Then I'll drive away knowing that my part in the task is completed, without having to agonize over the mail and the other issues I've read about since I last submitted with refused packages, delayed check-ins, etc.