Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) has been hit with a class action lawsuit by a baseball card collector who claims that the appraisal company knowingly graded altered cards and sold them at auctions.
Plaintiff Eric Savoy, a baseball card collector says that he has sent his own baseball cards to PSA for grading and has bought graded cards from the company.
In fact, he believes that he has purchased at least one graded card despite the fact that it was altered.
According to the plaintiff, a card owner sends a card to PSA in order to get a rating for that card. PSA will then determine if a card is “authentic and unaltered.” If the company determines that the card is authentic, it will grade the card on a 1-10 scale, based on its physical condition. If the company finds out that the card is altered, it will not grade the card on the 1-10 scale.
The plaintiff maintains that the PSA grade will have a direct impact on the market value of the card and that a “step up” of one or two grade could increase a card’s value tenfold, depending on the value of the card.
“Contrary to its guarantees to consumers, PSA in fact graded a substantial number of altered cards on its 1-10 scale,” the PSA class action lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiff maintains that PSA knew that cards were altered when it gave them the grades on the 1-10 scale. The plaintiff states that the altered cards were then sold with their newly inflated ratings and, in July 2019, The Washington Post reported that collectors had identified $1.4 million in the sale of altered cards.
In fact, the Washington Post points to a Stan Musial card from 1952 which reportedly had a spray black print mark on a white frame and sold for $2,800 in late 2017. The article notes that, seven months later, another 1952 Stan Musial card without that print mark was sold for $28,100. Collectors are claiming that the two cards are the same item, which was allegedly altered to remove the blemish, thus inflating its value.
According to the class action lawsuit, other altered cards have stains removed and creases smoothed out in order to increase their value. Sometimes the cards are “trimmed” to create a gap between the card and the edge of the case in which it was placed, the plaintiff alleges. In addition, each card reportedly has its own distinctive characteristics such as how the image on the card is centered in the frame as well as patterns on the fibers on the cards which collect dirt or other debris. The altering of these aspects of the cards could result in a card getting a better grade than it actually deserves, the plaintiff maintains.
“Indeed, collectors were able to use PSA’s records to uncover the scheme, yet PSA contends that it continued to grade altered cards without noticing from its own records that it had previously graded those cards at a lower grade,” according to the class action lawsuit.
PSA’s fee schedule incentivizes the company to over-grade cards for consumers who are willing to pay more so that their cards can be graded, according to the PSA class action lawsuit.
“PSA charges based on the perceived market value of cards and requires consumers to self-appraise the value of their cards before submission,” the plaintiff alleges.
The plaintiff states that PSA knowingly graded cards at higher grading levels for preferred customers who gave the company a high number of cards in order to collect the fees that come with those submissions.
The PSA class action lawsuit claims that the company guarantees consumers that it will not grade altered cards and that if they purchased an altered card, they will “be made whole” for the lost value of the baseball card.
The class action lawsuit also states that the company defrauded consumers by grading cards that were altered and then selling those cards to consumers.
In addition, another defendant in this case, PWCC Marketplace LLC, is accused of knowingly selling cards that were altered that were purported to be unaltered.
“In fact, collectors identified instances in which PWCC sold PSA rated cards which were then altered, submitted to PSA, graded at a higher level, and sold through PWCC by the original buyer,” the PSA class action lawsuit states.
Potential Class Members in this case include: “Individuals who used PSA’s services to rate cards, who bought altered cards that were nonetheless rated by PSA on its 1-10 scale, and who currently hold altered PSA rated cards including, but not limited to, those purchased through PWCC.”
Have you had baseball cards appraised? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Marcus J. Bradley, Kiley L. Grombacher, and Robert N. Fisher of Bradley/Grombacher LLP, and Sahag Majarian II of Law Offices of Sahag Majarian.
The PSA Altered Baseball Cards Class Action Lawsuit is Eric Savoy v. Collector’s Universe, et al., Case No. 30-2020-01130892-CU-RI-CXC, in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Orange.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru vehicle data collection class action lawsuit investigation
May 17, 2024 | Legal News
190 thoughts onPSA Card Class Action Says Altered Baseball Cards Graded and Auctioned
sent in one card, rookie mantle, undervalued is an understatement.
Please add me.
I’ve had plenty cards I’ve pulled from packs and sat on the for years. Sent those cards into PSA gotten back Miscuts, Altered, Minsizerq. I’d love to be added to this as well.
Please add me. Sent in cards that were under graded and thought I was The only one who thought it was a scam.
Add me too. I’m calling a lawyer tomorrow. I have prof of inconsistency! And them giving shitvgrsdes then looking for them for sale on eBay to buy and grade themselves. It has to be the graders doing it. They have to be in on it. Making millions on are cards !!!
I used to submit cards through PSA, until my cards started coming back not in the same condition that I sent them in. A long time ago I sent in a super clean 94 sp A-rod it came back an 8 and with a dinged edge. Then I sold a 89 Griffey jr topps traded Tiffany to a dealer , the card had a very back dinged corner. The dealer said that’s fine, I was baffled. He said that he sends so many cards to PSA That it would be fine. The card came back mint 9? He also said their population report was more of a population control?
Is there an obligation by the evaluating company to tell you how the card was altered? I sent Beckett 40+ cards and the sent 5 back (Nolan Ryan rookie among them) saying they were altered, but not how. My mistake for not checking when I bought, but to naked eye they do not look altered in any way.
for the record, I do not support the trimming or altering of cards to increase their value or to deceive buyers, but here is something to think about….
I collect comics too and when I send in comics to be graded I can pay the grading company to press out creases and clean the book to remove dirt and pencil marks BEFORE they grade it so the book will be in the best possible shape. I know MANY comic dealers that press/clean books themselves before submitting them for grading to save the fee the grading company charges (around $30 per book). this is an accepted practice in the comic industry. comics are also commonly graded if they are trimmed or altered, although they are identified as such and do bring much less than a regular sized book.
why can comic grading companies get away with this but card companies are investigated by the FBI?? seems like a double standard to me!
my experience with PSA is that my cards are undergraded, especially the newer ones.
add me i have an obvious fake in a psa holder bought from psa and may questionable items
I just had two extremely questionable grades come back from PSA. Please add me.
Have lots of PSA cards I’ve been buying and selling throughout the years. I wonder now how many now may not be a 9 or 10
I submitted 4 Wayne Gretzky rookie cards that i purchase myself in single packages because I was a Ranger fan and wanted the Ranger Cards. I kept all of the cards and pulled out the 4 Gretzky when I was challenged by my father that I didn’t own hockey cards. I did an in your face dad and pulled out all my cards and I found out I had 4 Gretzky. I wanted to sell them when the value was around $100 but was told no and we locked them away. I submitted the 4 cards to PSA and all 4 came back as altered. They were never altered. They never saw the light of day until I brought them to the show to submit.