Grading Companies

[Ben Yourg]

Is AGS as reliable as PSA etc.?

[Leon]

Is AGS as reliable as PSA etc.?

Since I am quite addicted to the hobby and have never heard of them I am going with a "no" on this answer. I am not sure we need more grading companies besides the big 3 we have today. Since grading is a little bit about perception of the grading company I would only use one of the 3 standard ones, SGC, Beckett, or PSA.....As for buying something in a holder from another company than those 3, I would be very leery. And even if in a holder from one of those three you still need to know what you are buying....(card-wise)...best regards

[nebboy]

I know that Canadas biggest grading company is KSA and if your dealing with OPC Hockey its OK to be in that kind of holder. But how does that company stack up to the big 3 in USA?
Are there any other grading companys outside of the US that you have ever bought a graded card in?

[BobbyVCP]

Personally I would put KSA is the same category as all the other grading companies AGA, AMA, GMA, etc. I took a close look and they are no better then the others. SGC, PSA, BVG and if you want to add a 4th there is GAI.

[Ladder7]

Ive seen KSA's with paper loss get VG 3. Scary stuff

[JamesGallo]

Ive seen KSA's with paper loss get VG 3. Scary stuff

This doesn't say much, I have seen PSA 4's and 5's with paper loss.

I have heard that they are ok, with maybe a half grade off either way, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Not sure I would take a chance unless it was really cheap or a no lose situation.

James G

[glynparson]

KSA has more support then most of the small time grading companies, but personally I would avoid their cards. Unless I had the card in hand and the holder allows me to see the edges.:). PSA and SGC both have Canadian drop off locations, at least they did the last I heard. I believe Lem Pottie (SP?) does this for PSA and Larry Kerrigan does it for SGC. Again these arrangements may have changed but i know they were both in place a few years ago.

[Irwin Fletcher]

I agree that sticking with SGC, PSA, and BVG is the way to go. I very much prefer SGC, but I have had generally good experiences buying PSA and BVG as well.

I once purchased two cards on eBay that were in holders from Mint Grading Service - I took a chance because they were very inexpensive and were cards that I was having trouble locating. Both were graded 6 by MGS and I dropped them off at SGC for crossover. One dropped one grade to an SGC 60 and the other dropped three full grades to an SGC 40.

As everyone has said, though, the most important thing is how the actual card looks, not the holder. If you can examine it up close and in person, then buying an "off-brand" holder isn't too much of risk since you know what you're buying. For internet purchases, though, I stick with SGC, PSA, or BVG.

[terjung]

Agree with what has been posted above. To me, though, it is less about the number grade that an off-brand company puts on the flip and more about the question of authenticity and/or alterations to the card.

Granted, no card companies are perfect, but the 3 listed (SGC, PSA, and Beckett) have a lot better chance at getting it right than others. GAI would be the 4th to add to that list, but their grades are commonly assumed to be 1/2 grade too high when compared to the other 3. Each company has their strengths. SGC has the firmest handle on prewar, PSA seems to hold down the post war market, but has some credibility in prewar and modern as well. BGS is king of the modern, shiny stuff. Beckett's vintage grading (BVG) is making progress at breaking into older stuff, but they are not as prevelent as the others.

Again, the biggest fear that I would have with an off brand is slabbing a card that isn't even authentic. The second fear is that it is trimmed or altered in some way. The distant third concern would be that it is graded incorrectly.

...and there are times that I would even fear trimming or alterations on cards graded by the big 3 - depending on the card. Remember that there are instances where guys have started slabbing cards in their garage. The industry has largely accepted those 3 (or 4 with GAI) as the ones with credibility. For me, personally, I much prefer SGC - not only due to the appearance of the cards in their slabs, but due to my respect for their understanding of prewar (read: more scarcely seen) cards. I largely collect prewar, so SGC is my strong preference followed by PSA and then the other 2.

As Leon said though... it is important to know about the cards you are buying before blindly trusting anybody. Good luck!

[Bob Lemke]

. . . or one of his shadow companies. 'Nuff said.

[Robextend]

I agree in trusting the 3 major companies (SGC, PSA and Beckett) over the others. I also believe in terms of re-sale value that I would agree

Pre-War: SGC
Post-War: PSA
Modern: Beckett

However if you are grading cards more for collecting rather than worrying about re-sale, I would say I prefer SGC over PSA for post-war cards as well. I feel at times there is an unfair stigma attached to SGC's post-war grading. I've seen many PSA and SGC graded post-war cards and I still feel SGC is better in terms of fairly assessing a card's condition. Just my two cents...

Rob

[cozmokramer]

good timing for a question on grading companies...

over the past couple weeks i've been contacted a few times by a startup company that has MANY resources joining them from the other big grading companies. from my discussion it appears that they have a solid plan, unique holder and an approach to serve the mid priced card market.

they'll make it affordable to have lower tier/priced cards graded with fees in the $3 range with a 20 day turnaround. they describe some unique tools to assist collectors sell online as well.

i know they've contacted a few board members on here and will be doing some marketing blitz over the next month.

[GehrigFan]

Virtually never see anything from AGS. Of the KSA cards I have seen, I actually would trust their cards more than most of the other second tier (non Beckett, PSA, SGC, GAI) holders. They seem to crossover to ours more successfully than most of the other 125+ current or former second tier companies.

As someone already stated, you pretty much need to see the card in hand first.

[chaddurbin]

if the AGS is from the guy selling a few prewar cards on ebay...then they're all reprints. wouldn't be surprised if he slabbed them himself.