Best Card Saver for PSA Submissions to buy now!

Grading Candidate holders when submitting to PSA, BGS, SGC, and HGA!

I had my grading candidate holders made to eliminate the confusion about which card saver to use. These holders are for standard-sized cards and work great to ensure that your card stays inside and doesn’t slip out during transit. Please help support the website and buy my Grading Candidate holders! Shop on eBay here!

Card Savers come in a variety of sizes.

Card Savers come in all shapes and sizes. They protect collectibles such as sports cards, gaming cards, photos, lithographs, posters, magazines, comic books, postcards, tickets, currency, and records/music. They are also the only holder PSA accepts in their graded card submissions for standard cards.

Grading Candidate Holders

When submitting cards to PSA, you want to use the Grading Candidate holders. They are wide enough to get your cards in without comfortably damaging a corner and tall enough to prevent them from falling out. PSA states on its website to use semi-rigid holders and not top loaders. If you want to improve your odds of receiving high grades, submit your cards in these Grading Candidate holders.

Card Saver 2

Card Saver II fits standard-sized baseball, basketball, football, and other trading cards. It is slightly smaller than the Card Saver I – measuring 3″x 4.5″, including the 1/2″ lip.

I do not recommend buying or using these to store your cards.

I have used them before, and the opening is too small. The corners of the card could get bent or flake when attempting to squeeze it in. Even when using a penny sleeve, the risk is too high. I play it safe and buy the recommended Saver 1’s.

Card Saver 3

This Card Saver is for tall cards from the ’60s & 70’s football and basketball sets known as tallboys. They measure 3 1/3″ wide by 5 7/8″ tall. You can store your tall cards in these and submit them to PSA. Do not send your standard-sized cards in these Card Savers; PSA graders will have difficulty removing them. Your card could potentially be damaged as well.

Card Saver 4

The Card Saver IV is the largest holder for items up to 4″ x 6″. The actual size of the CS4 is 4 1/2 x 7 1/8, including its 1/2″ lip—100 per retail package and 1,000 (10 packs) per master case. The Card Saver IV accommodates promo cards, postcards, and PSA submissions of larger cards you wish to have graded and encased.

Does PSA return the Card Savers you submit?

I remember receiving my first PSA submission return as if it were yesterday. It was almost as exciting as when I woke up to my 80CC Yamaha dirtbike under the Christmas tree as a child! I carefully cut the shipping tape with a razor blade and slowly pulled the top box lid out. Looking down at the crisp, clean, and beautiful plastic cases, I felt my heartbeat increase a beat or two. I laid the box on its side and cautiously lifted it to let the slabs slip onto the table. Going through them one by one, looking at each grade, I remember asking myself, “Where are the Card Savers”?

Not being able to use top loaders.

I was concerned about the Card Savers because I remember thinking of how it was a pain to buy them. Why couldn’t PSA accept my top loaders? I thought the Card Savers were flimsy and didn’t see why I had to submit my cards in them. When I noticed that PSA didn’t return them, I felt robbed. I wanted to use them for my next submission.

So, do we get them back?

When you receive your submission back from PSA, you will get your PSA slabs only, not the Card Savers or any holder submitted with your cards. PSA has not publicly explained why they do not return them, but there is speculation about why they don’t.

Cutting off the tops

Some collectors state that PSA only allows cards submitted in a Card Saver because they cut the tops off for easier accessibility. If the cards were in top loaders, they would be unable to cut the tops off, and accessibility would be more difficult. Cutting off the tops could also result in faster production times.

This makes sense due to the ample room the card has inside the Card Saver 1. However, cutting the tops off to pull the card out doesn’t add up. Simply squeezing the sides of the Card Saver will allow you to insert your fingers, grab the card, and pull it out. Cutting off the tops may or may not be the reason. PSA has yet to state why they keep them.

PSA wants us to buy more?

PSA sells Card Savers on their website, stating that you must submit your cards in Card Savers. Could this be why they did not return them to their rightful owners? I highly doubt it.

PSA didn’t become as successful by ripping off its loyal customers. I have seen collectors state that this is why PSA doesn’t return your Card Savers, but let’s claim this false.

They put stickers on the Card Savers.

PSA slaps stickers on the Card Savers during the grading process for identification purposes. Some think that PSA deems them non-reusable because they’re hard to get off. Who should be the judge when it comes to how “usable” the Card Saver is? PSA or the paying customer?

Since PSA did not purchase the Card Saver, I feel this is not the reason. If it were, they would give you an option during the checkout process, right? Do you want your Card Savers covered with a removable sticker returned or trashed? If this were the case, I would undoubtedly select returned.

Decrease the weight for shipping costs

A single Card Saver weighs nowhere near any notable amount of weight. Thinking PSA wants to save on shipping doesn’t add up. Even when you factor in the 100 and 500 card submissions, the shipping cost would be less than $10.

Conclusion

Let’s not be petty, people. Packs of 100 Card Savers cost roughly $10 a pack, equating to 10 cents per card saver. Which isn’t enough money to cry about. What about the 500 and 1000 card submissions? You’ll have to spend an additional $50 – $100 for something you’ll never get back. Not many collectors will ever submit a submission higher than 50. So a measly $5 is worth the 50 graded cards you’ll get.