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Posted By: Gilbert Porter

As some of you know, I did a larger sample test of the major grading companies some 4 years ago.  That year, at the Sportsfest, I brought a selection of 10 carefully chosen cards - spanning from 19th century to brand new, some already slabbed and some unslabbed, all in exmt-or-better condition.  Slabs that were chosen purposely included one of each of the major four companies.  I also included a "test" - a high-grade high-value card slabbed by an ill-regarded company (but where I knew the provenance and prior PSA grade that had been assigned to the card).  Card values ranged from meaningless to over $20,000.  (Almost forgot - I also brought my son.)  PLEASE NOTE:  None of my panel consisted of "9.5"s or "10"s, since I considered the grading of such cards to be beyond my learning curve.

I spent between 1-2 hours, and in a few cases more, with the head grader of each of SGC (Derek Grady at the time), GAI (Mike Baker), PSA, and BVG - plus some other companies that are no longer in the business (SCD) or are irrelevant.  In the case of PSA, I am not certain that I spoke with their chief grader since they were the only one that treated me with a lack of courtesy (but ultimately did allow me to sit with someone they claimed was senior grader).  Everyone else was extremely courteous.  My sole purpose was to discover the "truth" of grading standards and also to determine the clear "best" grading company.

Unfortunately I no longer have the panel of cards to post for your review, but if people are interesed I can provide some specifics.  And the results of my survey will not take into account subjective variances that can happen with any grading company when different graders review the same card.  Also, I have to assume that there have been some changes with the different companies since then, though my experience grading with each of the major four companies since that date has been, in general, consistent with my initial impressions.  Also, I should note that there seems to some differences in my conclusions as we move to Ex-or-less grades, where understanding the aesthetic rules of the grading company is often more important than the apparent condition of the card.

That said, the results were interesting, if not conclusive.  The two companies that most impressed me - in terms of logical consistency, integrity and thoughtful responses to my questions - were GAI and SGC. 

Summary conclusions that I reached were:

SGC - Toughest grader of the bunch, but extremely consistent in application of its standards.  Grades averaged about one-half grade below my own grade determination, but were consistent in treatment.  More tolerant of centering issues than others, but tougher on other aesthetics (surface condition, corners, clarity, etc.).  While incosistent with other grading companies on trimming issues, they are internally consistent. - resubmissions since then have had identical results.. The test - off-brand slab - card was reviewed cautiously but correctly graded.

GAI: - Very thoughtful and consistent - but with very specific ideas about aesthetics of the card. With vintage cards, they are less tolerant on centering issues, but more forgiving about certain other aesthetics (such as card brightness clarity) so long as the technical conditions (centering, corners, etc.) are met.   Similar to SGC on trimming issues - inconsistent with other grading companies but internally consistent.  The test - off-brand slab - card was reviewed cautiously but correctly graded.  Within a half-grade variation - both ways - SGC and GAI were remarkably consistent - the biggest variation was one full grade.

PSA: - They suffered in my review because of their poorer customer service attitude.  Thus, when they seemed inconsistent in their review of my panel, they were less willing to discuss their reasons, and therefore did a poorer job of persuading me.  I was unable to determine the pattern to their grades - about half were consistent with SGC/GAI, but others were significantly lower or higher.  As to the test - off-brand slab - card, it was promptly declared as trimmed (since then the same card was reslabbed and sold to a dealer, who recently resubmitted it to PSA and received an upgrade from its original grade).

BVG: - They were extremely nice and considerate, but during my seating seemed intent on proviing to me that they were the only "strict" graders in the hobby - without exception, every single card in my panel received its lowest grade of the day at BVG (in some cases tied with another grading company, but in many cases outright).  As to the test - off-brand slab - card it was reviewed cautiously and given a grade lower than GAI/SGC.

Lots of words, but no clear conclusion.  Bottom line, I prefer graded cards to ungraded cards since I like the knowledge that some measure of uncertainty regarding doctored cards - and near invisible flaws - has been dealt with.  But I rarely buy any card without inspection or detailed scan to verify the aesthetics.