I will agree that the Walsh is a very weak seven. With that said, I have a few very sharp SGC 5.5 ( 70 ) and 6 ( 80 ) cards that would easily pass for near mint / mint if raw. I don't really keep track of PSA cards, although I realize they are the "original" / "top dog" or whatever term you want to put on them. this has been a rather long thread, so I'll make a couple points and then bow out.
* It was mentioned by a previous poster that SGC might be moving to Florida. I would think this could be a mistake. SGC has some loyal collectors in the Northeast, and anytime I go into their office, they seem rather busy with people dropping off and picking up submissions. They seem like they have a nice thing going in New Jersey, I can't imagine that the move to Florida would see the same "walk in" business.
*As a collector and not an investor, I know it has been said a million times, but there is something that really makes the SGC cards pop with the black inserts, I just don't feel the same about PSA. I would have to think that someone looking to put together nice mid / upper grade raw sets could do very well buying sgc 5's and 6's at good prices and then popping them out of the cases. I can't speak for pre-war, but for 50's thru 70's stuff, I will admit that PSA does sell a little stronger in many cases.
* Finally and also mentioned before, the whole thing about joining PSA just to allow them to grade your stuff... I'll pass. My wife already thinks the whole card thing is a little weird. I mean if it was the other way around and my wife got her shoes graded, had to pay a place just to let them grade her shoes, I would find that a little extreme to be fair. Not a great analogy, but I think you know what I'm getting at. Why wouldn't PSA just let anyone send their stuff in and let members get a discounted rate, be eligible for specials, etc. I do agree with a previous post that a mixed registry would be a good thing. Make it that at least 25% of the set needs to be SGC or some sort of similar criteria.
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