PSA News Release
PSA Opens New Office in Tokyo
America's Premier Card Authentication and Grading Company Spreads Its Services to the Japanese Market
By Terry Melia
In early November of 2018, PSA unveiled a new satellite office in Tokyo, Japan. After researching, visiting, and gauging the viability of the Japanese market, PSA officials determined that the time was right to make its formal entrance into the country. Spearheading the overseas operation is Tony Aram, a bilingual financial expert and collector who has lived in Tokyo for more than 40 years. With a population of more than 127 million people, Japan represents an incredibly untapped market for sports and non-sports collectors alike.
"Because the practice of authenticating and grading cards is just now gaining popularity in Japan, there is an enormous opportunity to attract new consumers and future hobbyists to the benefits of trading card grading," said Aram.
PSA Japan Business Director, Tony Aram
In fact, within a 100-mile radius of Tokyo, there are five professional Japanese baseball teams competing as well as corporate offices for companies manufacturing and distributing non-sports cards such as Pokémon and the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games. According to Aram, baseball remains America's most successful export to Japan as well as its largest spectator sport. More than 25 million Japanese baseball fans attend games every season in the 12-team Nippon Professional Baseball League, and because of that following, an excellent opportunity has presented itself for the authenticating and grading of trading cards. Moreover, Japanese superstars who have successfully transitioned to Major League Baseball - players such as Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui and, most recently, Shohei Ohtani - have only fueled the growing interest in sports collectibles.
Over the past 12 months alone, several of PSA's top-graded and encapsulated trading cards have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction including a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 card, graded PSA NM-MT+ 8.5, that fetched $810,000 (approx. 91 million yen, the official currency in Japan) in August. Also, in April of 2018, another 1952 Topps Mantle #311 card, graded PSA Mint 9, sold for a jaw-dropping $2.88 million (approx. 324 million yen).
"PSA's new office provides Japanese collectors of both sports and non-sports cards a better understanding of the benefits that come with grading their collections," said PSA President Steve Sloan. "The new location also helps to better serve the overall Asian marketplace by having its headquarters in Tokyo."
The language barrier as well as different time zones have long been deterrents to Japanese collectors trying to utilize PSA's services in the past. That all changes with the opening of PSA's new office. To be clear, all authenticating, grading, and encapsulation of cards will continue to be performed stateside as bulk mail shipments are being made once a month from PSA's Japan office to the company's headquarters in California. The newly opened office's website can be found at www.PSAcard.co.jp and is hosted entirely in Japanese.
_The 2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #SO Shohei Ohtani
was among the hottest cards in the hobby this past year._
_A PSA Mint 9 condition 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 card sold
for $2.88 million (or approx. 324 million yen) in April 2018._
Trading card grading was considered a new concept in the U.S. when PSA debuted in 1991. Employing its grading scale from 1 (Poor, lowest condition) to 10 (Gem Mint, highest condition), the company has now graded more than 31 million collectibles including some of the most impactful sports cards in the hobby's history such as a 1963 Topps Pete Rose #537 rookie card, graded PSA Gem Mint 10, which sold for $717,000 (approx. 81 million yen) and a 2003 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection LeBron James signed 1/1 card, graded PSA Mint 9, that sold for $312,000 (approx. 35 million yen). Both cards sold in 2016. A year later, in the non-sports card realm, a complete 1999 Pokémon 1st Edition PSA Gem Mint 10-graded set sold for $98,400 (approx. 11 million yen). Of the 31 million collectibles previously graded by PSA, 68% of that number consists of sports cards.
In the early going, Aram estimates that 50% of the submissions coming from Japan will consist of baseball cards with a heavy emphasis on players competing in the Nippon League. Non-sports cards including Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering should also be well represented.