PSA Lost My $25K Cards, They’re now on eBay — PSA offers 50% MV and wants NDA
 

I need some serious advice from the hobby because this situation has gone beyond frustrating.

Approximately [b]4 months ago,[/b] I dropped off a high-value submission with [b]Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)[/b] in Massachusetts worth roughly [b]$25,000.[/b]

[b]I have complete proof:[/b]
[LIST][*]photos and video documentation of every card[*]photo documentation at drop-off[*]drop-off receipt / paperwork[*]timestamps and follow-up correspondence[/LIST]
The submission never made it the receiving stage and PSA has failed to return the cards.
After months of follow-up, I was able to [b]positively identify two of the exact cards listed on eBay.[/b] The seller's location is marked very close to PSA’s Santa Ana California headquarters.

At this point I have [b]filed a police report[/b] and preserved all screenshots, item numbers, and seller details.

PSA has now verbally told me that their [b]maximum settlement offer will be $12,500,[/b] which is only [b]half of fair market value,[/b] and that I will need to sign an [b]NDA / release.[/b] They say this will be sent to me within 10 days.

I was also told that if the cards are later recovered, I may have the opportunity to [b]buy my own cards back at settlement cost,[/b] which honestly seems outrageous.

Check this:
They make an insurance settlement with me for my cards that [i]they are responsible for losing.[/i] Their insurance company pays this out. If they regain possession, they [i]might[/i] extend an offer for me to [i]buy them back.[/i] That would mean, that due to their negligent behaviour, that they are [i]profiting[/i] in the end, by returning my own cards back to me, [i]after collecting an insurance settlement.[/i]

Not to mention everything else that I have lost: hours of time, the hassle of law enforcement involvement, and the high likelihood that I might never recover my irreplaceable 1/1 cards; and if I did, that they might come back in [i]way worse condition than when I submitted.[/i]

[b]So after 4 months, the best outcome they are offering is:
[LIST][*]take 50% of the “market value”[*]sign an NDA[*]possibly pay again to recover my own property[/LIST][/b]

Can this even be legal in CA under stolen property law? [b]Has anyone else in the hobby ever dealt with something like this from PSA?[/b]

At this point I am strongly considering:[LIST][*]arbitration[*]legal action[*]Chapter 93A consumer protection remedies[*]public escalation[/LIST]
This is my first post on Blowout Forums, and any advice from the hobby community would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if anyone from PSA monitors this forum, I would welcome a direct response because this feels completely unreasonable.

At this point, I am going nuclear and using every resource I have to put pressure on PSA. X, Instagram, Facebook, etc. I am putting Nat Turner in everything I post.

I would also reach out to attorney and see what they say. In the end you may end up paying legal fees to get your cards back, but sticking it to PSA and making them accountable is actually what is needed these days. They are trying to throw their weight around and make you settle. That is what is wrong with them, they take responsibility for nothing and rely that since they are the big dog, they can get away with whatever.

Get this story out there everywhere. That way, your story cannot be hidden with an NDA. Absolutely speak with a lawyer. You may even be able to recoup legal fees from PSA

Agree with the above, post it everywhere a hundred times. Put the pressure on PSA.

And tell them to shove their NDA up their bum

+1 so you can keep attention

Do not sign the NDA as they will then come sue you if you talk about it to anyone. Pretty sad they want a signed NDA for cover up that an employee must've stolen your cards. Very bad business policies imo and further reinforces how the big companies in this hobby are not here to take care of their consumers.

i would reach out CardPurchaser and accounts like this on X (there are plenty) they will share your story and have massive reach. Social pressure is your best route here i think

[QUOTE=J1L;20241800]i would reach out CardPurchaser and accounts like this on X (there are plenty) they will share your story and have massive reach. Social pressure is your best route here i think[/QUOTE]

Reach out to YouTube watchdogs as well. This is free content for them.

I have a couple of clarifying questions.

1.) How are you determining market value?

2.) Are you basing value on the fact that it's a raw card?

Yeah that sounds awful. That bostoncardhunter guy on YouTube / X I’m sure would love
To share your story and get more eyes involved. Check him out.

[QUOTE=dodgerfanjohn;20241831]I have a couple of clarifying questions.

1.) How are you determining market value?

2.) Are you basing value on the fact that it's a raw card?[/QUOTE]

I think two things can be true, PSA could be lowballing him and he could be overvaluing his cards.

PSA doesn’t have a MA office. So which authorized dealer did you drop it off with? And from there, what kind of tracking did you get and at what point was it clear that it was lost?

[QUOTE=KhalDrogo;20241897]PSA doesn’t have a MA office. So which authorized dealer did you drop it off with?[/QUOTE]
Huh? No authorized dealer needed. PSA often appears at card shows/shops on behalf of themselves, not an agent, as a drop-off event, not on behalf of an authorized dealer. These are PSA employees accepting the items, and you submit orders through the PSA web site. All you're doing at PSA drop-off events is handing the cards direct to PSA employees, instead of shipping items to them via the mail.

buy a $1 card from that ebay seller. That way you'll know his exact location and maybe his name. Maybe he works at PSA

Well, the NDA option is likely out the window now that you have posted here, so I would not worry about that.

If you have drop off verification in [I]Massachusetts[/I], who is the authorized dealer and do THEY have a verifiable record of [U]their[/U] delivery to the PSA mothership? If they do not, that might be shed light on where things went wrong; if they do, that is also good to know.

Are the cards you identified on eBay graded... or no? Is there verification they ever hit the PSA offices?

The question is WHEN did the cards get "lost" in the travel, IMO.

[QUOTE=tmoore_25;20241741]Get this story out there everywhere. That way, your story cannot be hidden with an NDA[/QUOTE]

This is 100% the way.

Reach out to YouTubers and also posting/sharing a screenshot on all social media platforms makes it easier to spread the story. (Instagram, X, FB, etc.) Reaching out to YouTubers, and sharing a screen cap to SportsCard Nonsense FB group and others is a way to spread the word as well.

I'm really sorry you're going through this, and it just sucks. Pressure and negative publicity is definitely the way to go because PSA only seems to make things right when people are watching. [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf4mayQmCNU&t=1434s"]T-Pot's latest YouTube about his counterfeit card that PSA slabbed and then decertified was a perfect example of preferential treatment only applied since T-Pot has a YouTube channel and an audience[/URL].

Once again, I'm really sorry this happened to you, and I hope things turn out well in the end.

[QUOTE=inaka;20241914]Huh? No authorized dealer needed. PSA often appears at card shows/shops on behalf of themselves, not an agent, as a drop-off event, not on behalf of an authorized dealer. These are PSA employees accepting the items, and you submit orders through the PSA web site. All you're doing at PSA drop-off events is handing the cards direct to PSA employees, instead of shipping items to them via the mail.[/QUOTE]

Reasonable question though - was it PSA or an authorized dealer? For clarity's sake.

Even for a direct PSA drop off, I assume you have to mark the value for the insurance in the submission form like normal, if it was subbed at $25K value why wouldn't PSA just honor that?

No one wants to lose $25K in cards, but it's worse for PSA to get heat publicly for this, more costly in the long run.

[QUOTE=inaka;20241914]Huh? No authorized dealer needed. PSA often appears at card shows/shops on behalf of themselves, not an agent, as a drop-off event, not on behalf of an authorized dealer. These are PSA employees accepting the items, and you submit orders through the PSA web site. All you're doing at PSA drop-off events is handing the cards direct to PSA employees, instead of shipping items to them via the mail.[/QUOTE]
Why are you so sensitive? I’m asking more information so I can try to help him.

[QUOTE=KhalDrogo;20241949]PSA doesn’t have a MA office. So which authorized dealer did you drop it off with?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=KhalDrogo;20241949]Why are you so sensitive? I’m asking more information so I can try to help him.[/QUOTE]

Your question implied that it was dropped off via an authorized dealer since PSA doesn’t have a MA office. I'm pointing out that PSA has drop off events where you hand cards to actual PSA employees, not authorized dealers.

Please stop being so sensitive, upset, and clearly defensive as always.

Sorry if you already answered this but, Did you claim the whole $25,000 on your submission form? Or were you playing the "pay less, in hopes of an Upcharge Game?"

I do find it very interesting that two of the cards missing is on ebay with the sellers location near the PSA Santa Ana location. That just tells me that PSA possibly has a thief/ thieves working for them.

Thanks so much for the assistance guys. To clarify a few things:

My three orders were dropped off at CardVault by Tom Brady in Foxborough. I've graded cards for years, I'm a long time collector, and I am not new to PSA. This however was my first dropoff event.

I thought it the safest way to directly hand the cards to a PSA rep: personal contact, avoiding shipping charges, and third party middlemen.

My cards were insured too low according to my DV, that is true. But there is a huge problem with the DV process. Who is to say what the grade is until PSA determines. I'm not looking to flip so I don't mind a slower turnaround on my PC. They decide to upcharge you in the backend when your cards are graded anyway, so they always get their money. If you overvalue your cards and pay them a few hundred or thousands of dollars extra and you get a terrible grade? They don't refund. But they'll almost always upcharge.

To make it even worse, their insurance policy is the lower of the two values: your DV or the "market price." It's up to them. So if I insured these higher and put these in higher grading lanes, they still could say, sorry, it's actually not worth that.

The grading system is highly unfair. Insured values tied to declared values, which are tied to greatly multiplied grading fees, which you can't change. And all of these extra insured and grading fees don't guarantee anything: your settlement is still subjected to the whims of their approval.

Forgive my ignorance - Is Brady's shop a middle man? I see they are an "official partner" - but can the shop verify they got the cards to PSA, have tracking, anything?

Or technically being a partner makes it the same as "dropping off with PSA"?

I've only ever sent to the CA office on my own.