OK, everyone makes mistakes, right? And grading companies are no exception. Maybe a card comes back with a wrong label, or your grade is a real head-scratcher.
But it’s tough to beat this one. If you have a better story than this PSA grading blunder, post in the Comments below!
$1m Cuban card lot?
Ryan Christoff of Cubanbaseballauctions.com featured this dandy as lot #1 in a recent auction. Starting bid? A mere $1,000,000. Sadly, the lot went unsold:
PSA Grading Blunder
Setting the Stage
Ryan sent several cards from a large order back to PSA for review. PSA and SGC’s treatments of these cards is wildly inconsistent, and many sharp cards in this submission came back as 1’s.
On first glance, the cards here look like a simple label swap error (Bragana, FYI, is the guy on the right, and Arago, on the left). No big deal! Typically a customer would return these cards for free expedited reholders, problem solved.
But let’s hear the entire saga in Ryan’s own words (from the listing–tongue firmly in cheek):
“When I got these two cards back, due to my inexperience with Cuban baseball cards (editor’s note: about 30 years of inexperience), I mistakenly thought PSA had accidentally put card #80 Hector Arago in the holder for card #93 Ramon Bragaña. And I thought they had also accidentally put card #93 Ramon Bragaña in the holder for card #80 Hector Arago. When I sent the cards back to PSA, I even put sticky notes on each card letting them know about what I thought had simply been their mistake, figuring they’d put the cards in the correct holders.”
PSA Doubles Down
“I was unprepared for what happened next. UPON REVIEW, PSA stood by every card they had graded, including these two! Meaning that this was a brand new hobby discovery! I was now the proud owner of the only Ramon Bragaña variation of the Hector Arago card, as well as the only Hector Arago variation of the Ramon Bragaña card! In the history of the hobby, no other examples of either card has ever surfaced, making both of them 1 of 1s.”
Ryan continued with the hard sell on these undiscovered variations, but to no avail:
“This is a one of kind opportunity to pick up some of the rarest cards in the hobby, not just graded by PSA, but double-graded by PSA and guaranteed after reviewing them for the second time! So bid with confidence knowing that PSA stands by these cards. PSA: A company you can trust. After all, the ‘P’ stands for ‘Professional.’ NOTE: Lot comes with original post-it notes as seen by PSA.”
If you can top this, go for it in the Comments.
If you are interested in this unique opportunity, the cards might still be for sale!
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