Redemption: SGC Saves the Day!

You go away for one day and a fancy USPS Priority Mail box is waiting in front of your door.  To be honest, I was stumped by what its contents could be, as I hadn't ordered anything coming by Priority Mail in the last couple of weeks.  Except for the below card, which I didn't order as much as drop off for servicing.



Picking up our saga where we left off on Wednesday, I drove to SGC headquarters after talking to the nice customer service representative.  From the phone, he could tell I was agitated and upset, which given how the Orval Overall Plowboy arrived to me was quite understandable.  He said, I could drop the card off at their offices and fill out the necessary paperwork there.

So, I took the card, wrapped in an acid-free comic book bag and board from my teenage years when I worked in a comic shop, placed it in the new Huggins & Scott auction catalog, put the item inside the original box and made the 45 minute trek to find adequate long-term housing for my card.

Having been there before, there was no trouble in finding the office and I was greeted promptly.  I was given a form and a seat at the table.  I was asked if I wanted to have the card processed for next day delivery, but I was aware that the card was oversized and belonged outside the size guidelines for the monthly promotion.  Despite this, I was told the card would ship out in two days and I paid the oversized grading fee price.  I finished filling out the information, agreed to ship the card back to my home by USPS, asking gently if they planned to ship the card by media mail, which elicted a hearty chuckle inside me. 

So, today, I came home and found the card graded and on my doorstep in two days.  I opened the exceptionally well packed box, removing a layer of protective materials and the enclosed form to allow me to make an additional grading request in the future.  Given that I felt a thick, lucite container inside, I was certain the card was at least authentic. 

Despite buying 100 year old cards for the last two years, I am still a little soft on grades.  By soft, I mean, I have a strong tendency to undergrade cards, often thinking cards are a grade or two lower than standard grading.  So, I opened slowly to see whether the card would be listed as Authentic or a SGC 10 Poor.  Maybe, just maybe the card might be a SGC 20 Fair.  Instead, I opened the card and found it was graded SGC 30 Good!  I was quite ecstatic about the grade, especially considering what I learned about the card during my initial research.  (To summarize, I ended up getting a really good deal, considering what I expect the card would go for in auction today.)

In all, SGC took one of my worst card experiences and replaced it with one of my best.  I'm really pleased with the card now and no longer associate the card with the horrible initial packaging of the card, but instead will always remember the tremendous customer service at SGC and how the provided me with a new joy on a card I desperately wanted to love.