Q : Who is Cardhawk and why should I use CardHawk to submit my cards to PSA for grading?
Answer: CardHawk has a long track record of handling high value cards, especially vintage sport, both in terms of buying/selling/brokering and submitting to PSA (and other grading agencies) for grading. We handle every card with the same professional and caring approach, not matter what their value and submission level, to ensure they arrive at PSA in exactly the same condition as they arrived with us.
Once the cards arrive with us they are prepared for shipping within 48 hours, and are included in our next shipping consignment, which are normally dispatched on a weekly basis, or in busy weeks maybe more frequently. Shipping is via Fedex or DHL who we have been using for the last 5+ years and who have never lost or damaged a package in that time - they collect from our office, and ship directly back to our office, so no use of PO boxes, postal drop offs or any other method of shipping - every parcel is handed directly to the shipping company by one of our staff, and is received directly back into the hands of one of our staff.
Q : PSA Submission Levels - which one to use?
Answer: There are a lot of factors which go into selecting your submission level, but key amongst them is trying to ascertain what value you think the card might have once it is graded - obviously not easy to know until the card has been graded. However, if anything untoward were to happen to the card when in transit or while being handled by PSA, any insurance claim would only pay out a maximum of the maximum insurance value applied to the submission level you chose. So, for example, if you have a card which you think might be worth £1,000 or more when graded, but only elect to send it via the basic submission level which has a max insurance value of $500, if that card were lost or damaged in transit, the highest possible insurance payout on that loss is $500. Also note that for the bulk submission levels, the number of cards is a minimum of 20 so please do not submit smaller lots at this submission level - if you do we will have to merge your lots with other customers submissions, which is time consuming and therefore bears an additional cost.
Please note the estimated turnaround times for the submission level you select. These start at 65 BUSINESS days, so 65 days excluding weekends, and drop to just 3 days for the super fast (and expensive) turnaround times. As soon as grading is complete we will invoice you for the return shipping costs as charged by PSA.
If your cards are graded higher than expected at PSA and as such PSA would deem that they should have been submitted in a higher submission level, they will automatically upgrade the grading charge and invoice us accordingly. We will contact you for the uptick in the grading charge, but on the basis your card has graded higher than expected it should be worth more than expected, so the additional submission level charge is a good problem to have.
Q : Packing your cards - how should you pack your cards?
Answer: Each card should be individually placed into a soft/penny sleeve, and then carefully put into a semi rigid. Once you have all of your cards together, put a piece of stiff cardboard or similar on either side of the bundle, and put a couple of elastic bands around to secure them together. Once bundled up, put them into an oversized box with plenty of bubble wrap/protective packaging, and send to us at the below address - ideally via Royal Mail Special Delivery so you can be sure they reach us safely. If you have very high value cards which need higher level of insurance please get in touch and we can provide you with a Fedex or DHL label to cover the total value of the submission.
If you do not have soft/sleeves or semi-rigids to hand then you can request us to transfer the cards into these for you – please just order the number of soft sleeves & semi-rigids you require and we will do the rest. There is charge for this service, to cover both the cost of the materials but more importantly the handling of the cards between containers.
Please print of a copy of your order form email and drop it in with your cards, and clearly mark your name and address on the package.
Q : Shipping - how does that work?
Answer: Once we have your cards they will be processed as quickly as possible, and sent on to PSA using Fedex/DHL Priority fully insured shipping. We normally ship once or twice a week so aim to get all cards which are on site with us before a shipment included in that delivery. In the period between the cards arriving with us and them being shipped to PSA, they will be stored in our office safe and only removed for entering onto the PSA submisison forms and when they are being packed ready for shipping. The cost of shipping to PSA in the US is included in the per card grading costs you see on the submission forms. In the event that we have a number of smaller orders of single lower valuer cards, we do occasionally combine cards into one submission, but this is clearly documented on our side so there is no chance of your cards getting mixed up with other submissions.
Once cards have been graded, PSA will ship them back to us using the same shipping agent we used to send to PSA, and will return the cards back to us as and when they are graded. Once they notify us of the return shipping cost, we will provide you with an invoice via Paypal or Stripe to cover the cost of the return to UK shipping. We do not aim to make a profit on this cost - we charge you exactly the amount charged to us by PSA in order that your cards return safely to us in the UK.
Q : Tariffs - how do they affect my submission?
Answer: We know how to manage Tariffs so they are not applied to our shipments on the basis they are sent for grading and return. The customs paperwork allows the outbound and inbound orders to be tied to each other by the shipping companies, proving that the goods are not being sold into the US or bought from the US, so are able to travel free of tariffs. This is a minefield unless you are experienced in Customs - this is where we add value.
Q : Insurance - who covers thats and how are cards valued?
Answer: When listing your cards, please try to be as accurate you can in terms of the value of the cards as they can only be insured for the maximum insured value eg $500 is the standard maximum insured value for a “Value 1979-Older” submission, so if the unlikely event that card is lost or damaged in shipping or at PSA or with us, the maximum insurance payout value is $500. If you think your card would be worth $5,000 once graded, then please use the relevant submission level – it will obviously cost more, but in the event something does happen to your cards en-route to the US, then you are fully insured for the value of that card.
In the event your card grades higher than expected and is deemed by PSA to have fallen into a higher value grading bracket, then PSA will contact us for additional payment which we will contact you to arrange, and from then on it will be insured for its new value in transit – though in the event that does happen, you have a more valuable card than you thought on your hands so a nice problem to have!
Q : PSA Grading Updates?
Answer: We will keep you updated as to the progress of your cards once they arrive at PSA, right through to the point that they are ready to be shipped back to the UK. Once the cards are ready to be shipped back to the UK, PSA will notify us of the shipping costs before the despatch. Once we know that amount we will issue you with an invoice for the exact amount charged by PSA which will need to be settled before we can release the cards to you. PSA use Fedex/DHL insured shipping as standard to the UK, but on the basis they are a very large shipping customer, they do have very reasonable shipping costs considering the service and insurance levels. Once the cards are back in the UK with us we will open the box to ensure there has not been any damage in transit, and then forward on to you via whichever shipping method you choose to use.
Q : My grades - how and when do I find out what they are?
Answer: We prefer not to notify you of grades before they arrive with you, but if you are keen to know as soon as they have graded please let us know – but there is nothing better than the magic of opening the box and revealing the grades for the first time – pure childhood christmas-day magic!! If you share the onboxinh online tag us and we will give you a mention to our growing community - helpful if you are looking to sell or trade your cards online.