GameStop x PSA

[Jamesebee]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/games...130000264.html

Interesting!

"As part of this collaboration, GameStop will become an authorized PSA dealer, and PSA will provide authentication and grading services for trading cards through select GameStop stores across the United States."

Gotta believe sports cards/Fanatics can't be far behind? Is it Lids-level brilliance?

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by Jamesebee

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/games...130000264.html

Interesting!

"As part of this collaboration, GameStop will become an authorized PSA dealer, and PSA will provide authentication and grading services for trading cards through select GameStop stores across the United States."

Gotta believe sports cards/Fanatics can't be far behind? Is it Lids-level brilliance?

Great, can't wait for low paid employees either swiping or replacing cards in these PSA orders collected at GameStop. This is a stupid decision by PSA.

[Mavs1306]

Why would I use them vs. send my own fedex? What is the carrot here?

[MJGOAT23]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

Great, can't wait for low paid employees either swiping or replacing cards in these PSA orders collected at GameStop. This is a stupid decision by PSA.

This was unfortunately my 1st thought too

[bub838]

Originally Posted by Mavs1306

Why would I use them vs. send my own fedex? What is the carrot here?

You wouldn't if you send your own. There's a lot of people that use Group Submissions, though. That's what this sounds like.

[thenightman]

Group subs from a company who sells video games that's barely hanging on. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.

[imbluestreak23]

Originally Posted by thenightman

Group subs from a company who sells video games that's barely hanging on. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.

First impressions, this is a good attempt to find a reputable aggregator that is omnipresent, and...also happens to sell quite a few trading cards especially TPG, at least they did a decade ago, which is the last time I walked into a gamestop.

I see nothing wrong with it, great way to drum up business and make it easier to submit to a more trustworthy entity than the thieves who are taking your money and piling it into crypto

[inaka]

In my opinion, this just feels like it diminishes the PSA brand to partner with GameStop.

It's one step up from dropping off your cards at your nearest Subway, and getting a free 6" sub with any 10 card submission. Heck, that might be a better option.

[thenightman]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

First impressions, this is a good attempt to find a reputable aggregator that is omnipresent, and...also happens to sell quite a few trading cards especially TPG, at least they did a decade ago, which is the last time I walked into a gamestop.

I see nothing wrong with it, great way to drum up business and make it easier to submit to a more trustworthy entity than the thieves who are taking your money and piling it into crypto

I would venture to guess that it all depends on how they roll it out. Like you, I don't see anything wrong with it, I just don't foresee it being a long term solution.

Gamestop is barely hanging on. If they're around in 5 years, with the way they're headed, they're gonna be a glorified hobby shop.

[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.

[KhalDrogo]

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.

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.

[StrongandFree86]

Originally Posted by thenightman

I would venture to guess that it all depends on how they roll it out. Like you, I don't see anything wrong with it, I just don't foresee it being a long term solution.

Gamestop is barely hanging on. If they're around in 5 years, with the way they're headed, they're gonna be a glorified hobby shop.

I think this is a good move for GameStop. They are also drastically increasing their stock of sealed product and also buying and selling PSA graded cards for cash or store credit. Their new rewards program is great too.

Hanging on by a thread was back in 2019. Check their balance sheet and earnings they are definitely well positioned and will be around long term and are making moves to grow. I would 100% trust them over some random on an internet forum doing group submissions.

[varjakpaul]

Bold move - the fye-ification of GameStop continues, but given their national footprint and number of stores, it feels good for the future of the hobby to see trading cards prioritized in hundreds of retail locations.

[GuacamoleCards]

If this is the first step in GameStop essentially adding a Hobby Shop element to their stores, I think it’s a solid move and one that Fanatics and Panini might actually get behind due to distribution and pricing elements that GameStop can offer.

Right now, the Hobby Shop landscape is littered with uneven distribution and wholesalers who are rent seeking/building their own margins. If Fanatics and Panini can strike distribution deals with GameStop on a corporate level, if can cut out the wholesalers altogether and enforce desired pricing levels. You don’t see GameStops charging 2x MSRP for PlayStations and nonsense like that, but you do see disjointed pricing at Hobby Shops for the latest releases where shops are basically dynamically pricing sealed wax to line up with secondary market resale, which is a major frustration for collectors and no doubt shows up on the manufacturer’s industry surveys.

Definitely 100% don’t trust GameStop employees with group subs, or even with not searching their inventory of sealed wax if it comes to that though. I picture some 18 year old kid in the back with a scale, plucking every box that weighs 0.1 ounces more than the rest.

[fabiani12333]

Is GameStop still a video game retailer? I'm so confused...

[fabiani12333]

GameStop has a nice grift going -- pretending to be a retail business while benefitting from the pumping and dumping of its stock:

GameStop has raised a lot of cash recently, and the struggling video game seller could make more money than its core retail business has in recent quarters by simply collecting interest on its $4 billion cash pile.

GameStop sold about 45 million shares in mid-May at around $21 each to raise $933 million. The company then sold 75 million shares at a price of about $28.50, according to analyst estimates. The stock was trading at about $30 a share on Wednesday afternoon.

The potential $200 million in interest earned on its $4 billion cash pile would eclipse GameStop's operating income from its core retail business, which hasn't generated profits on an annual basis since its fiscal year 2019.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...tty-gme-2024-6

[Jamesebee]

Originally Posted by GuacamoleCards

If this is the first step in GameStop essentially adding a Hobby Shop element to their stores, I think it’s a solid move and one that Fanatics and Panini might actually get behind due to distribution and pricing elements that GameStop can offer.

This was my angle. Lids was somewhat piloting retail expansion, but in a niche area for sports fans. But would blasters actually sell? Their Panini sticker collection booklets are currently taking up space in my local clearance section...

[varjakpaul]

Have Panini stickers ever really taken off in the US, though?

[GuacamoleCards]

Originally Posted by Jamesebee

This was my angle. Lids was somewhat piloting retail expansion, but in a niche area for sports fans. But would blasters actually sell? Their Panini sticker collection booklets are currently taking up space in my local clearance section...

If I were GameStop, I wouldn't be looking to just supplant Walmart and Target as a place for blasters (though I'd also offer those), but I'd also try to work a deal with Panini and Topps to sell hobby. Hobby shops will hate it, and distributors will hate it... but honestly (and I might get roasted for this), but F them both.

[hammerva]

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.

Well unless there is going to be someone that literally hands off the cards to PSA, the mailing part isn't going to change. I mean I guess you can assume that Gamestop will handle mail better than us.

As far as the level of comfort of giving your cards to some guy at Gamestop who is making $15 an hour over a group submitter who has done it thousands of times already, it isn't like there are group submitters who wouldn't do the same thing. Just doing it on a bigger scale and without the worry about getting fired.

I do agree with people like NEO who is saying that this is basically the "My first grading" set. No serious collectors are going to use Gamestop for their grading unless the prices drop or it rises everywhere else. Plus if you are extremely worried about grading of a card, you aren't getting the cheapest version possible.

[RealDocStrange]

Walked by a GameStop today - no mention of this submission to PSA as discussed in this thread.

But…. Huge posters outside advertising “buying your graded PSA slabs” with mostly baseball and basketball on poster (so not just TPG). Mentions a 15 percent higher sell price for club members. Imagine they pay very low relative to comps but seems an interesting model if they have a standardized national price database they came up with.

Did not read the fine print ….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by hammerva

Well unless there is going to be someone that literally hands off the cards to PSA, the mailing part isn't going to change. I mean I guess you can assume that Gamestop will handle mail better than us.

As far as the level of comfort of giving your cards to some guy at Gamestop who is making $15 an hour over a group submitter who has done it thousands of times already, it isn't like there are group submitters who wouldn't do the same thing. Just doing it on a bigger scale and without the worry about getting fired.

I do agree with people like NEO who is saying that this is basically the "My first grading" set. No serious collectors are going to use Gamestop for their grading unless the prices drop or it rises everywhere else. Plus if you are extremely worried about grading of a card, you aren't getting the cheapest version possible.

It’s a matter of comfort and liability.

If I ship my own cards, I am liable for that shipment. If all I have to do is drive 5 minutes to GameStop to remove that liability, that’s a low barrier to overcome. Shipping cards isn’t scary to you and me, but that’s not who this partnership is aimed at. Group subs became popular for precisely the same reason.

I’m not to worried about GameStop employees stealing cards. I don’t think anyone using this program is going to be bringing in much worth stealing.

[PooleParty]

people way too comfortable leaving their cards with high school kids earning near minimum wage if they use this service

[elektrokuter]

already seeing posts where someone compliments GS on the ease not knowing their sub is gonna get rejected bc this GS worker doesnt know the rules..

[towerymt]

Rejected for toploaders? I would doubt it.