// KOTAKU — GAMING
Card Collector Who Spent Over Two Years Building $100,000 Collection Gets Terrible News From PSA
The explosion in card collecting, from Pokémon to basketball cards, has led people to pay a premium to get their collections graded by official third parties like PSA. Usually, the worst thing a customer can hear from a grading agency is that their prized card isn’t the mint condition they thought it was. But for Sky-B, a recent email from PSA had news that was way worse.
PSA reportedly messaged him recently (via IGN) to inform him that a FedEX truck leaving its facility in Southern California was burglarized and his order was one of the ones impacted by the theft. “We understand how upsetting this news must be,” the email read. “While your items were not in our possession at the time of the burglary, we take our role in helping secure your items seriously and will work with you to resolve this situation as best we can.”
"We will compensate you for the items from your order that were involved, which is based on fair market value up to the Maximum Insured Value ("MIV") you selected for each item." @natsturner, I pray you handle this and take care of everyone affected in the most professional… pic.twitter.com/2U3zp6lYR5
According to Sky-B, the collection he submitted to PSA for grading was worth $100,000. He released a YouTube video discussing the incident and going through some of the most high-value cards in the collection and what he thought they should be worth. One was a Tyrese Maxey with a projected PSA 10 value of $1,911. Another was a Caleb Williams PSA 10 valued at around $1,500. He said he spent $8,000 just to get all of his cards graded, insuring the collection at up to $156,000.
“We will compensate you for the items from your order that were involved, in accordance with our terms and conditions, which is based on fair market value up to the Maximum Insured Value (“MIV”) you selected for each item,” PSA wrote in its email. The company said it would reach back out soon to begin that process while it also engages local law enforcement to see if the products can be recovered.
Other collectors have also started popping up suggesting their rare cards were part of the heist. “Fedex truck was robbed and my Smaug The Magnificent was stolen!” wrote one person on Reddit. A PSA 10 Zoro One Piece card was also reportedly stolen, leading some to speculate that the total value of the haul could be over $1 million.
The FedEx heist is bigger than we think. Just one card alone in the truck, c07 Roronoa Zoro PSA 10 pop 12, was valued at 500k and it was being transported to its final destination in that truck.
I believe that the value of that truck was in the mid 7 digits, obviously who ever… pic.twitter.com/evZXR7Bkii
A representative for PSA shared the following statement with Kotaku:
We are aware of a theft involving a third-party shipping vehicle carrying PSA-graded items. We are working closely with law enforcement and the carrier as the investigation continues.