Welcome to our FAQ blog post. We took the decision to call a sample of customers to answer their questions. As part of this process, we have created this blog post compiling the questions and answers. It will be updated each month with new questions.
Last update: 03/01/2022
Can I send my cards in a binder?
We recommend that you do not send your cards in anything other than top loaders and sleeves. If you send your cards in a binder, depending on the binder, there is a risk that the cards will fall out of the binder during shipping. In addition, we will not be able to send the binder back to you by mail. You will have to pick it up in person.
Why don't you accept ancient Mew cards anymore?
We have not been accepting ancient Mew cards for almost a year. This card has a significant recurring defect related to its dimensions. Indeed, a significant part of ancient Mew cards are bigger than classic Pokémon cards. This difference in size is in millimetres and is difficult to detect before sealing. Since the PCA case is designed to fit the card almost perfectly, a millimetre difference greatly increases the chances of the card getting damaged. For these reasons we are no longer accepting Ancient Mew until we find a solution.
I couldn't find my card in the database, so I selected another card.
Our database is now the primary cause of delays compared to our current processing time of 6 months. For the moment, no interface allowing to add or modify cards in the database is available. As a result, modifying the database requires knowledge of the code language which can only be done by one person. Our developer has been working on the interface for almost 2 years now and we are in the testing stage. At the moment there are 400 orders impacted by database problems. We are currently processing several dozen per week. We advise you not to send missing cards in the database to avoid your order being delayed for several months in addition to our current processing time.
I forgot to insert the order form in the shipment, is it a problem?
In this situation we invite you to contact our customer service immediately. If you have correctly entered the tracking number of your shipment in your personal space, then the identification of your order upon receipt will be possible. However, without a tracking number, if you do not contact our customer service it will be impossible for us to identify your order upon receipt.
I am moving soon, I might receive my order after my move. How can I change my address?
It is possible. We invite you to contact our support via our contact form, Messenger or Instagram. A customer service agent will change your shipping address. Expect to receive your order between 6 and 7 months from the date you placed it. If you are planning to move, feel free to change the delivery address or hand deliver.
Do you plan to grade sealed products such as booster, display etc...
Currently we do not offer this type of solution. For the moment, we do not plan to grade this type of product for several reasons. Firstly, on the technical point, our production tools do not allow us to seal boosters. Our current investment is entirely focused on our basic production. Secondly, we also need to review the grading scale. We believe that grading a sealed product in the same way as a card is not relevant.
How does the tracking on my personal space work? How does it update? I don't really understand the names used in the order tracking
The starting point for PCA tracking is the postal tracking number. Once you enter your personal space, the PCA tracking is unlocked. When your carrier delivers your package, their tracking number is updated and so is the PCA tracking. Your order will go to the "Received" stage. Then, depending on card storage capacity, a few months later your package is opened and the tracking updates to "In Processing". Your cards have not yet started the grading process, they have simply completed the registration process of entering the workshop. In the "In processing" step, there are several sub-steps. The first, "In Grading", is the period during which the cards in your order are graded. They will be graded by at least two graders. When all the cards are completely graded, your order changes to "In conditioning". This is the stage during which your cards will be sealed in our cases. Once this step is completed, your order will update to "In Quality Control 1". This is the moment when the quality of your graded cards will be checked. If a card does not pass the quality control, for example because of the presence of dust in the case, it is graded again and then goes through a new quality control. On your side, the display will indicate "In quality control 2". Once the second quality control is done, the order will be shipped and the tracking number will be sent to you by email.
How is it that you have 6 months to wait while other companies offer 1 month.
The processing time of a grading company depends on its demand. It is totally normal that the new and recent grading companies can provide a processing time of two months. For a long time PCA was also able to do this, we only had one machine at the sealing process and it was able to meet the demand in a stable way. PSA, Beckett, CGC and PCA had a huge demand during the year 2021. None of these grading companies' production could keep up with the demand, resulting in exceptionally long processing times. The current goal is to reduce this processing time and meet the demand in a stable manner.
