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Marc S.Grading fees are less, time spent with cards is less, and subjectivity is greater. AVOID.
BCCG: An Identity of its Own
3/15/2002 3:26:04 PM
Beckett Collectors Club Grading isn't out to rule the world. It's just looking to be understood.
Beckett Collectors Club Grading. . .just what exactly is it?
Since BCCG launched in late December, several questions about the service have arisen in hobby circles, most of it centering on the BCCG 10 - which is Mint or better.
Confusion over the BGS 10 - Pristine - was common, but now collectors are beginning to understand the distinct differences between BGS, BVG and BCCG.
The most obvious difference is that the BCCG doesn't possess the internal sleeve that BGS and BVG does, nor does it offer a report card. It's also graded on a different scale. "We stand behind the grading of BCCG, and our 10 with BCCG is at least a Mint card," says Mark Harwell, president of Beckett. "This scale is something that is recognized in our industry - it's the way the hobby has always looked at cards. Until recent years, there weren't terms like 'Gem Mint' or 'Pristine.'
"We're just going back to the basics."
BCCG, Harwell says, is simply an alternative to Beckett's other grading services.
"There's a large market outside our industry," he says. "We feel we can reach them with this product at an attractive price point. It's not a replacement to BGS or BVG, it's a complement to those products."
And it's a brand extension of BGS.
"BGS is designed specifically for cards that need and should be protected even while in the slab and need the extra level of a report card," Harwell adds. "There's a lot of cards that need that. But, there are still thousands and thousands of cards that don't need that but are still cards that could be slabbed and sold in a quality product - a quality product where a $5 card might be valued at $15, $20 or $25 slabbed. These aren't cards worth thousands of dollars, and cards don't end up in PSA or BGS slabs. But without those various levels of services like BCCG, some of these cards probably never would get slabbed and probably would never wind up in the wider market."
Another distinct difference in BCCG and BGS is how consumers can acquire the cards. While BGS is open to small orders, BCCG is generally distributed by high-volume outlets including wholesalers and retailers. The BCCG quantities are almost always larger than those shown on the BGS rate card.
It's a quality graded product intended to reach the wider audience.
"The key thing is to meet the wider market that's out there, and to have a product that can meet it at an appropriate price point and also help bring people into the industry," Harwell says.
Beckett is continuing its initiative - through online postings and with Q&A's with various hobby publications - to set the record straight about BCCG. It's a product aimed at a specific audience - a wider market audience that wants a quality graded card at an affordable price.