But Who is to Blame – PSA or FedEx?
The biggest hobby story last week was about the theft of nearly $1 million dollars’ worth of cards graded by PSA. The cards were stolen from a FedEx truck that was parked near PSA’s headquarters in Santa, Ana, CA. I don’t get cards graded too often, but I still thought I’d chime in my two cents on this matter.
The FedEx truck was left unattended for between 60 and 90 minutes. I don’t understand how this happens. I’ve seen delivery drivers eat their lunch in their parked truck. The only time I’ve seen a delivery truck unattended is either when the driver is dropping off a package, or when they are picking up packages from a location. This had to be an inside job involving the delivery driver.
Apparently, three palettes worth of boxes were stolen. That means that the boxes were put on a wooden palette and then wrapped in that clear plastic wrap. You would need a forklift – or the strength of the Hulk – to move one of those. This wasn’t just someone pilfering the box closet to the door; this was roughly 250 boxes containing graded cards.
PSA has deactivated the ID numbers that appear on the graded label. So, if someone looks up the stolen card on the PSA registry, it won’t appear in the population report.
This doesn’t go far enough. I think that the numbers on the graded label of a stolen card, when typed in at the PSA website, should state that the card has been STOLEN. Of course, the few times I have bought graded cards at a show, I never look up the registry number, so I don’t know how helpful this would be. But maybe I should start.
And then there’s the issue of compensation for the many people who had their cards stolen. PSA charges for grading and for shipping based on the value of the cards submitted – but there is the “insured” value and the “fair market” or “estimated” value. That’s where things can get even murkier.
Back in March, I sent six cards to PSA for grading. I stated the cards had a value of $3,000. After the cards were graded, PSA estimated that five of the six cards were valued at $2,529. PSA did not grade the sixth card, which it deemed a “FACTORY MIS-PRINT”.
Thankfully, I received my graded order without any problems. However, if the package had gone missing, I would have been very upset if PSA decided that it would only give me $2,529 (and, maybe a buck for the card it refused to grade). I paid for $3,000 of insurance, and that is what I would expect to get.
So, who is to blame? I would say FedEx. It was their employee and their truck, which was parked near the PSA shipping facility. However, it is up to PSA to make things right with the many collectors who were wronged. While FedEx is the shipping service, it is PSA who is ultimately responsible for getting the cards back to its customers.
Sadly, this theft is just another example that trading cards have hit the big time. New cards are expensive when released, and rare and high-grade vintage cards now routinely sell for upwards of $1 million or more at auction. And now, like in the Ocean’s Eleven movie, trading cards are the subject of a big-time heist.
Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 4 – Issue 42 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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