Pre-orders for the first PSA-certified repacks sold out within hours Wednesday despite a controversial initial launch.
Released in collaboration with Atlanta-area card shop CardsHQ and its founder Geoff Wilson, all 200 repacks available prior to the product’s full launch sold out within 12 hours, Wilson confirmed to cllct.
Titled Graded Grails, repacks retailed for $299 with one PSA-graded card per pack. The full release, available starting July 30, features a single series for basketball and football and two series for baseball. Each series includes 432 total repacks.
The launch of Graded Grails arrived alongside significant criticism from some in the hobby, with many targeting both the validity of the product as well as the marketing prior to release.
Curated by third-party vendors using cards already pulled from manufacturer packs, repacks have become a controversial element of the hobby, with detractors often criticizing the business as an unregulated form of gambling. Critics also target repacks created without transparency through clearly stated odds or complete checklists.
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Repack supporters typically argue that, though the products still largely offer poor returns on investment, they offer better value than flagship products offered directly from the major trading card manufacturers.
The pricing of the first PSA-certified repack based on its checklist was highly scrutinized with collectors carefully comparing recent sales to the product’s advertised ceiling of about $1,800 and a floor of about $140. Most repacks can be heavily impacted by secondary-market prices shifting between the time the product was created and the time it’s sold. Though sometimes unavoidable, major differences in pricing can still be viewed by collectors as highly negative.
Despite widespread criticism for the concept, the impact of repacks on the industry has been undeniable, with major companies, including Fanatics, Arena Club and Courtyard, offering repacks or similar products. The repack business has also driven significant secondary-market liquidity, with repack makers often willing to pay more competitive prices than many of their peers.
Aiming to take its own piece of the rapidly expanding pie, PSA launched its repack certification program Wednesday as an all-around service it believes repack makers will use to bring legitimacy to their products.
Through the program, PSA will allow repackers to purchase inventory through the PSA Offers program as well as the PSA eBay storefront. From there, PSA will help organize, package and ship the product either to the repackers for their own distribution or directly to customers.
To some, PSA stepping into a controversial business to provide additional transparency has been a good move. To others, repacks shouldn’t exist at all — or at least be heavily regulated — and PSA’s entrance further legitimizes a business that shouldn’t be viewed as such.
Beyond the partnership with CardsHQ, PSA is in active discussions with other dealers, both large and small, to expand the program.
Controversy aside, early sales for the program’s first repacks show the appetite for the service could be significant, and short of additional oversight or regulation, the business only appears to be getting bigger by the day.