PSA DNA Is A Joke

In anticipation for the upcoming holiday season, I searched for autographed items for someone I know. It wasn't difficult to come across them, and I finally settled on one in particular. Said item was denoted as PSA DNA authenticated. However, as it was only recently done, their website didn't reflect any reference to this particular set of signatures.

After comparing the signatures to several of the other listings I was looking at, I determined on my own that this was most likely legit and made the purchase. Additionally, I contacted PSA DNA to confirm they serial number and autographs matched with their records. If it didn't, I would simply file a claim to return the item.

That's when everything went nowhere.

My first correspondence was on September 28th. I got the typical auto response that my e-mail was received and someone would be in touch. Then I waited.

On October 3rd, I sent a second e-mail. "I haven't heard from anyone at PSA DNA. I'm trying to authenticate the signatures are legit to the ID number you assigned." Then I waited.

Marlene at PSA DNA finally responded to my correspondence on October 9th. Not with anything useful. "Please send additional photographs," was essentially what she requested. So I did. Then I waited.

On October 15th, Marlene once again responded. "Please send even more photos," she essentially requested. So I did. Then I waited.

On October 17th, Marlene informed me she would be forwarding everything to their Authentication Team, and that I should hear back soon.

It's now October 27th. No further correspondence has come from Marlene or PSA DNA in general. No confirmation of the signatures being legit. No confirmation stating otherwise. Just nothing.

It's important for me to note that throughout this entire process I had been in constant contact with the seller. He too claimed to be trying on his end to get some form of response from PSA DNA, but was also not making any progress. He finally conceded the futile attempts and asked if I wanted to return the item for a refund.

At this point, it's equally important for me to note the conclusion I came to when first buying the items. In comparison to others, and there were many, these set of signatures appeared to be legit. I told the seller that while I believed the signatures were authentic, at this point it was more a matter of PSA DNA needing to do the job he paid them for.

PSA DNA is hired by individuals to authenticate their items, whatever their methods may be to do so, and in concluding their legitimacy are to then post this information on their website to be included in their definitive database. This database serves one purpose - In the event of a sale, to authenticate a claim that a signature, or signatures, are legit. Without PSA DNA following through on their end, and actually publishing this information, simply stated, the person requesting this service is throwing their money away.

Now I don't know about you, but personally, I see this as a breach of contract. As far as I'm concerned, PSA DNA is not fulfilling their part of the agreement. They've only done half the job they've been paid for. No matter how you look at it, that's not right.

Because my correspondence over a thirty day period has only been with Marlene, I can only conclude that PSA DNA's biggest problem is that they don't have enough staff. They're running their operation mean and lean. While that's probably great for their profit margins, it ultimately means they don't have the people in place to actually do all of the work. This leads to them not completing any one job in a timely manner.

Worst of all, they already have your money, so what can your average person honestly even do about it? File a lawsuit and throw even more money away? Average Joe isn't going to do that.

I sent one final e-mail to Marlene today asking her to please help me understand why this process takes so long. We'll see if she responds.

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