CLEVELAND — The lines for the drop-off service at the PSA booth — a misleading term for the grading company's multi-story behemoth set-up — have been robust during the first two days of The National Sports Collectors Convention.
For collectors, it’s a rare opportunity to deliver cards directly to the grading service without having to worry about the mailing process and with the added benefit of getting the grades turned around by the end the of the show.
For PSA, it’s an undertaking of massive proportions.
“This is just a miniature version of what we have in California, New Jersey and Tokyo. The thing that's missing is any kind of automation machines that we have,” PSA president Ryan Hoge told cllct during a rare visit behind the scenes of the operation.
Once collectors drop off their cards at the PSA submission window, an employee wheels a locked cart of cards along the back wall of the convention center, hidden from view by a black curtain. The cart eventually finds its way through massive, hangar-like doors and into an on-site grading space so large that it required a building permit.
There, amid the constant hisses of cards being encapsulated, about 80 PSA employees are working diligently to process more than 10,000 cards over the course of the four-day convention, bringing each through the standard process from arrival to quality insurance.
According to Hoge, one ultra high-end card was ushered through the service last year, beginning to end, in about 22 minutes.
Within the inner sanctum of the grading space lies another dark-curtained area home to six of PSA’s most senior graders, selected specifically for their expertise as graders for the event.
Even with the considerable cost of investment going into on-site grading at this scale, the endeavor is still a profitable one, says Hoge.
Though, it would still be worth it for the company even if it wasn’t for the financial benefit.
“I think it's invaluable for us to do, to get this face time,” Hoge said, referencing the various box-breaking streams he and Collectors CEO Nat Turner have been running from their studio, as well as the company’s ability to meet directly with industry partners.
Though pulling off a logistical feat of this sort is a major effort from the company, it’s not as if operations can cease elsewhere. Back at its headquarters, standard grading continues unfazed (albeit, without some of its top talent).
“We're also attending San Diego Comic Con this week,” Hoge said, explaining the efforts of PSA’s 10-person event team, responsible for setting up at major shows and drop-off events.
While PSA has certainly managed to lock things down to somewhat of a science, it’s not without its challenges.
Hoge was personally at the PSA booth well after close on the first evening of the event to make good on the promise of the top service level submissions for same-day returns.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.