Posted By:
David Seaborn1. SGC - nobody's perfect, but inmy mind they're the best. Especially when considering vintage material. very friendly too.
2. GAI - Still notvused that much, but clearly gaining momentum and, in my opinion, has passed PSA.
3. PSA - still the giant in terms of numbers, but that's also their downfall. To worried about an assembly line mentality. Poor customer service, much more concerned with modern cards (b/c that's where they can get more submissions = more $$$). their cards still sell a good penny though (more than SGC on some issues like T206's- although they are slipping, less on others like T202's and most caramel cards). Again, only my opinion, although the latter statement can be supported by data.
4&5. SCD & Beckett - just haven't cracked into the vintage market. Much more geared for modern cards. I don't even know if they have the expertise necessary for evaluating the few vintage cards that they have (maybe,I just don't know).
6. You probably don't want any company past the "Big 3" and you certainly don't want any of these. This would include PRO (known for trimmed cards), AAA (I won't vengo there), NASA (ditto),and any other three letter abbreviations.