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Posted By: Judge Dred

Comparing grading services is difficult, there is good and bad for all of them. First, stick with the services that most people feel are reputable:

SGC
PSA
BVG
SCD
GAI

Just because most people feel that the above services are fine doesn't mean they are prone to being perfect (far from it). It just means that people trust the services enough to (hopefully) not grade an altered or unauthentic (reprint) card.

As far as holders go:

SGC holders are nice because they have a black background for the insert that is used to keep the card in place. This makes for a nice contrast when viewing the card in the holder.

GAI holders are nice because they have a descriptive "tab" at the top side of the card that makes finding a specific card easier. On the flip side it has been stated/documented that the cards may not be held too well in place with the insert (black like SGC) that surrounds the card.

PSA holders are very generic and many of the holders do not firmly hold the cards in place (at a 90 degree angle).

Grading:

They all have their quirks and grading criteria:

PSA offers "qualifiers" which means that a card can have a flaw and still receive a high technical grade based on other merits.

The other companies do not offer qualifiers.

Grading is very subjective and can change on a daily/hourly basis. Every grading company is guilty of providing poor service in this department. However I do think that SGC and BVG seemed to have been the most consistent.

Popularity:

PSA cards seem to garnish the highest resale prices. SGC seems to be a favorite among many "vintage/prewar" (not Desert Storm, we're talking WWII)collectors. I like finding SCD and BVG cards because for some insane reason they don't bring the high dollars that PSA does.

Is there value to grading - If you are collecting as an investment and want to be fairly liquid then you might consider these services. If you are confident in your ability to detect altered (if you even care about this aspect of collecting) or reprint cards then maybe you don't need these services.

Something to consider is that graded cards will take up more room to store and you'll not be able to handle them unless you free them from encapsulation. On the flip side if they are protected they will be better protected from corner dings, bends/creases or other disasters.

Perhaps someone else may post a list of undesirable grading services and the reason that they are not accepted as reputable. For example, people believe that many cards graded by PRO are trimmed and this will not enhance the value of the card if it is sold on the open market to someone that understands grading services.

I'm sure that people could write volumes on this but these are just some basics to consider.