Did anyone else notice a scarcity of something beyond toilet paper since the start of the pandemic? If you’re a card collector, a unique shortage presented itself within the collectibles industry: Card Savers.
That’s right, the preferred packaging method when submitting cards to PSA for authenticating and grading services suddenly became a rarity itself. Card Savers unexpectedly became the hobby’s woolly mammoth. To assist collectors during the shortage, PSA has modified its submission requirements to fully allow cards to be submitted inside top loaders until further notice. Though PSA still advises against submitting cards in hard acrylic cases or screw down holders, top loaders are permitted provided the cards are also inside penny sleeves.
“The top loaders are only ‘not recommended’ for use, due to the amount of movement they allow,” said PSA Customer Service Manager Stephanie Marine. “We still will process an order that arrives in top loaders, and we definitely recommend using penny sleeves to decrease the amount of movement.”
PSA officials will continue to notate any submissions that arrive in top loaders, just in case cards get damaged in transit on the way to the company’s California facility. Once the Card Saver shortage gets rectified – expected to be sometime in October – PSA will revert to Card Savers only.
One more note, if you have a thick card you want to get graded – either a jersey card or a helmet card, for instance – please use Card Savers 4 for that type of submission. They provide the necessary width to still insert the thicker cards for safekeeping during transit and should not adversely affect the corners. Lastly, submissions of any Topps Project 2020 cards will be accepted in their original packaging.
