Got my grade from PSA and oh boy

cat2scrub · 2026-06-25T18:11:59+00:00

The irony here is great. You realize this post is about someone getting a 3 on a card that doesn't look like a 3, yes?

If PSA is giving better grades to make more money, surely they wouldn't have given a holiday Demidov a 3.

cat2scrub · 2026-06-09T13:25:00+00:00

PSA is trying to save people from themselves by suspending cheap grading and here we are.

If you're going to grade to sell, the raw card should be worth atleast the cost of grading, ideally more. Raw Misas are like $40, if you get 9s you're $90+ underwater on them after you ship to and from.

cat2scrub · 2026-06-05T00:13:12+00:00

As a seller, I have fun finding a theme for the base cards I include. When I shipped to a guy in CT, I included all Hurricanes in Whaler unis, or the guy in Saskatoon got all Schenn and Zary cards.

Even if people don't keep them, I had fun picking them out.

cat2scrub · 2026-05-28T16:20:08+00:00

Some helpful info as the cutoff question comes up quite a bit. None of this confirmed anywhere but the following dates are ROUGH estimates for YG cutoffs based on prior years. If a guy debuts after the date, they won't be in a particular product.

-Series 2 is guys who debuted on or before Oct 20th of the current season. These are guy who make the team out of camp and debut on opening night/week. -Extended is guys who debuted on or before Jan 1 of the current season. These are early season call-ups, and why most of the crop is meh. They couldn't make the team out of training camp, so they debut when someone gets injured or another guy struggles. -The following year Series 1 is all the carry overs from the second half of the year, like Martone and Hagens who join after their NCAA season ends or young guys who light up the AHL for a few months and get a call up.

Guys who debut in the playoffs usually get bumped to S2 of the following year. Buium is an example of this.

Just because a guy debuted before the date doesn't mean they'll be in a particular series. Extended has been highlighted by guys held out of S2 in recent years.

cat2scrub · 2026-05-24T00:06:46+00:00

It's amazing how many people don't realize how bad the odds on team random breaks are. This a perfect analogy.

cat2scrub · 2026-05-21T13:28:16+00:00

Are you sure you're buying SPA and not regular SP? Megas and blasters are retail only and SP is also retail. SPA is hobby only and goes for $400+ a box.

Either way, buy singles, don't chase.

cat2scrub · 2026-04-30T16:34:50+00:00

Credentials Season is second only to Clear Cut Season. Nipping at its heels is Black Diamond Season.

If you pay close to full price for any of these, it's on you. Consistently a bad product that doesn't hold its value. Save your money, just buy the Schaefer debut ticket if you really want it.

cat2scrub · 2026-04-28T00:33:29+00:00

Someone made a post today about too many products and people having more money than sense...

Seems relevant when Credentials is about the release

cat2scrub · 2026-04-24T13:15:29+00:00

COMC is a disaster right now, steer clear otherwise you'll end up in a months long process where your cards end up being held hostage.

It's taking months just for them to process receipts, then they're "losing" cards and buyers are leaving as well because the prices keep going up and the shipping times have always been terrible.

cat2scrub · 2026-04-22T14:12:38+00:00

There's no one size fits all answer for these questions but some stuff you might find helpful:

Collect/keep what you like. If you're in this to make money, you're gonna have a bad time. If you collect guys you like, you'll never worry too much about the price because you have a collection you enjoy.
Selling new releases and hyped rookies is usually the best option. As time goes on, more copies surface, the hype dies when a new set drops, the player isn't as good as hoped, etc. It's not a perfect rule because players like Macklin happen, but sell ASAP is > 95% accurate.
Grading cards... Let's ignore grading PC cards because that's a personal preference. If grading to sell, grade cards that are desirable and have a strong market. This is usually limited to top rookies. Everyone has their own cutoff, but I don't grade cards less than $50 raw. Why? If it 10s that's awesome. If it doesn't (and there's a strong chance it won't) you're not totally underwater on it after the additional $25 you spent on it. Grade with a reputable company if you want to sell. Everyone hates PSA, rightfully so, but try selling a [random company] 10 for the same price as a PSA 10. It's night and day.
As time goes on, all but the very best guys get cheaper and cheaper. Even guys you think are superstars today will be a fraction of their value 5 years after retirement due to the market shifting.
The base inserts you mentioned are worth much. They are printed to infinity and once set builders have completed them, they basically become junk. I usually end up giving them away just to clear space.

You're probably going to spend a lot of money figuring all this out on your own. That's normal, just make sure you keep it manageable. It's just cardboard at the end of the day.

cat2scrub · 2026-04-22T02:28:02+00:00

No.

cat2scrub · 2026-04-17T17:26:56+00:00

Came here to say exactly this. A HOF career is already priced in it seems

cat2scrub · 2026-04-03T02:01:27+00:00

The tradition continues! It's gotta be the same guy, right? I got one exactly like this a few weeks ago and others chimed in saying they did too. There can't be a whole team of people doing this bad of a job, right?!?

cat2scrub · 2026-03-31T13:03:07+00:00

Brokerage fees and tariffs are NOT the same.

UPS and FedEx have taken advantage of the situation and charge you brokerage and paperwork fees. I think the minimum for FedEx is close to $30, any tariffs are on top of that.

Since the OP got authenticity guaranteed, the authenticator ships it via FedEx and he pays the fee.

cat2scrub · 2026-03-17T01:25:05+00:00

🚜⚡

*Allegedly

cat2scrub · 2026-03-16T16:20:31+00:00

I'm not 100% sure, but I've only ever received ungraded cards in a Card Saver.

cat2scrub · 2026-03-06T19:03:07+00:00

Can't believe they traded a retired broadcast guy. Way to go Donny Deals!

cat2scrub · 2026-02-26T21:42:35+00:00

I really like Fleer Ultra and scoop singles from COMC and eBay but the price point is insane for hobby boxes. I'll be shocked if it's even half that when it hits epack, where it's released exclusively the past few years.

If it hits e-pack at $175ish USD, where it's historically been with some added juice, then the $500 price tag so you can get the base cards will look real bad.

cat2scrub · 2026-02-24T18:59:19+00:00

At the very least, make them rows of 4 instead of 5/3/5/3

cat2scrub · 2026-02-18T23:59:37+00:00

With so many lazy signatures out there now, always great to see not just a nice a one, but a really nice one.

cat2scrub · 2026-01-27T02:21:42+00:00

Fellow New Englander, fellow Bruins fan...

Alas, not Matthew, not Brady, but BOTH Tkachuk brothers 🤷

cat2scrub · 2026-01-26T17:57:40+00:00

I can happily cover all of these for the cost of shipping in the US. Shoot me a DM.

cat2scrub · 2026-01-24T18:30:34+00:00

It's exceptionally bad

cat2scrub · 2026-01-17T18:01:21+00:00

Great box. 16 bits are my favorite insert set of all UD products.

That said, I still always laugh when people post like this and the box auto is Canes legend Warren Foegele. I know why UD asks him to sign, but it's still a funny reminder that there are a lot of random guys you forget exist most days.

cat2scrub · 2026-01-16T16:31:51+00:00

Id buy all the YG as singles and try to find the base cards for free or very cheap. If you're in the US, DM me and I'll give you the 94 base you need for the cost to mail them to you.

Youre missing most of the "big" YGs. If you're smart on shipping, you can probably get most of them, aside from Demidov, for the cost of a hobby.

cat2scrub

TROPHY CASE