Newport Beach, CA (Feb. 1, 2021) – With more and more athletes, movie characters, TV personalities, and even political dignitaries being immortalized as vinyl figures, PSA is pleased to announce a new autographed Funko POP! encapsulation service. This will provide both protection and preservation for the unique collectibles. And while PSA has long provided autograph authentication of the signed Funko POP! figures and/or their signed vinyl figure boxes, the new service offers encapsulation of the figure inside its original packaging.
“The service offers peace of mind for collectors as well as an excellent way to store, preserve and present their Funko POP! figures by way of the easily stacked, encapsulated holders,” said Jamie Kiskis, vice president of Product Development at Collectors Universe.
The incredible market growth and demand for Funko POP! figures over the last several years is what prompted the new service. In 2018, Funko Inc., which launched the POP! vinyl figure line in 2011, reported the company’s net sales were $686 million, with its figures representing 82% of all sales. By the end of 2019, it had produced as many as 8,366 different figures – including 29 different examples of late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien and more than 50 distinct versions of Marvel superhero “Ironman” – and that number continues to grow every month.
“Autographed vinyl figure boxes are one of the top items that arrive at PSA for authentication,” added Kiskis. “In the last 18 months, they rank sixth on the list of autographed items most frequently submitted for authentication.”
To be clear, PSA does not authenticate or grade the packaging or the figure itself; it only authenticates and grades the autograph on either the figure or the signed box. And an autographed Funko POP! figure submitted without its box is not eligible for encapsulation. The cost of the PSA encapsulation service is $25 per holder. To coincide with the launch of the new holder, PSA is offering two quarterly specials through March 31; visit www.PSAcard.com/FunkoPopSpecials for details. For more information on the service, please visit www.PSAcard.com/FunkoPop.
PSA is the world’s largest trading card, autograph and memorabilia authentication and grading service. Since 1991, PSA has examined and certified over 40 million collectibles with a combined value of over $1 billion. For more information, visit www.PSAcard.com.