Hello PSA Customers,
While we continue to ask for your patience as we move through the backlog of submissions, progress is being made on many fronts. I am happy to share the latest updates on PSA’s capacity growth and our work to get your cards back to you with efficient processing and accurate grading.
ORDER ENTRY IS CAUGHT UP
On May 18, we reached a considerable milestone as we became completely caught up on Order Entry. That means that all valid PSA submissions have now been entered into the system. This is big news as we continue to make progress processing the backlog of submissions. With that said, the temporary suspension of Value, Economy, Regular and Express service levels is still in effect. It’s allowing us to concentrate our available capacity on those orders already in the system.
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS CAUGHT UP
With a massive increase in customer submissions comes a similarly large increase in customer inquiries. We have been growing our Customer Service team and improving our response times to meet the growing demand. We are handling more phone inquiries than ever and responding to all email inquiries within 48 hours. We will continue to invest in hiring, training, and technology to ensure we are providing you with outstanding customer care.
PSA UNVEILS CUSTOMER REQUEST CENTER
In other Customer Service-related news, PSA has officially launched the online Customer Request Center. The CRC is a division of Customer Service that sits directly in our Operations department to streamline the process around product-related customer inquiries. The CRC provides customers with an easy path to resolving three scenarios: label corrections, research requests, and quality assurance reviews. Read our formal introduction for details on how and when to submit a request to the CRC.
JULY 1 REMAINS THE GOAL
As stated previously, our goal is to bring back the suspended service levels with a tiered approach beginning on July 1. It’s not an easy solve as it’s imperative that we re-emerge with daily submission volume being less than daily grading capacity. We will continue to keep you apprised on that situation as the date gets closer. As a reminder, current Collectors Club memberships have already been extended by three months and will be extended further to reflect the duration of the Value pricing suspension. Please stay tuned for further updates.
UPDATE ON CARD QUALIFIERS
Based on feedback from customers as well as improving overall order efficiency, we’re making a change to our policy on the use of qualifiers in the card grading process. In the past, submitters had to decide whether to request “No Qualifiers” and mark their submissions accordingly on a card-by-card basis. As of last week, PSA no longer requires card submitters to decide on qualifiers. Going forward, the Marks (MK) and Miscut (MC) qualifiers will continue to be applied when warranted. The other qualifiers – Off Center (OC), Staining (ST), Print Defect (PD) and Out of Focus (OF) – will be assigned at the grader’s discretion, and most typically will impact the numerical grade rather than carrying a qualifier. There are nuances and we encourage collectors to review the updated policy on the PSA Grading Standards page.
PSA WILL BE AT THE NATIONAL
In other exciting news, I’m happy to share that PSA will attend the 2021 National Sports Collectors Convention. Scheduled for July 28 through August 1 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Illinois, the PSA booth will once again be in place offering trading card and autograph authentication and grading services. We plan on bringing a small, dedicated team to receive, accept and grade orders ON-SITE (sorry, no drop-offs for take home service). We are still working through the logistics, but we will be there to service what will likely be the largest National ever. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention PSA will be actively recruiting for many more positions at the show. If you’re interested in working for PSA, look for more details leading up to The National.
Our top priority is to work through the backlog, all while continuing to expand our team, our facilities, and our capacity. It’s a challenge that all of us at PSA embrace daily as we know you are eagerly waiting for your cards. I thank you for your ongoing patience.
Enjoy collecting,
Steve Sloan
President
