Beckett Grading

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Posted By: Dave

Will BVG ever get in with the big three in grading pre-war cards, or always be just a place for modern card slabbing?

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Posted By: Chris Ahart

but I like their holders. I never sent them cards when they gave the 4 grade breakdown on the labels. The current regime seems to grade fairly, if a little tough. Again, I prefer the slab.

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Posted By: T206Collector

What grading companies we use and trust in 10 years from now may be very different than the ones we use now. Only one thing is for certain, 3d party grading in some way is here to stay.

Perhaps in 10 years each card will be electronically tagged like a finger print and kept in a data base. The company that does that most efficiently might be the brand of the day. Like iPod with Apple. 10 years ago, iPod was a non-existent brand. Today, they've taken over the world. Tomorrow, it could be someone else --- it could even be you!

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Posted By: dennis

it seems to me that there are just as many beckett graded vintage pre-war as gai on ebay lately.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Which grading companies are preferred is in the minds of the collector. From the little I have seen of BVG, their grading appears tight. But I really need to see more.
I like the idea that they make holders which are not designed to be easily crackable. It gives the impression that there is certainty in their opinion.

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Posted By: Paul

Isn't there a board member nicknamed "The Cleaver"? I bet he could crack em out. I think the BVG cards I've seen have been graded very accurate. I suppose eventually they should make some headway. It certainly would help to see some of their slabs in the major auctions.

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Posted By: peter chao

Dave,

I just don't like the idea of Beckett's Price Guide listing the prices of cards graded by Beckett. They should realize they cannot do both without somebody accusing them of bias. Okay I'll accuse them of bias...laugh out loud. It's just like they say "money talks" and Beckett's is listening.

Peter

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

At the 2005 National I saw some obvious 1938 Goudey reprints in Beckett Vintage holders, so, no.

Not bad for shiny stuff, though.

-Al

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Posted By: RayB

Dave,
Seriously doubt it.

I will say that those holders are the toughest to crack out of.

You need to put that sucker in a vice and use a hack saw to cut off a corner so you can then get a screw driver in there. I'll give them that.
RayB

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Posted By: Chris Counts

I realize Beckett has been around seemingly forever, and they're clearly a big part of the hobby, but I question their objectivity as well. It is obvious to me that they go to great lengths to hype and inflate the values of the modern shiny stuff. Why should I trust them on vintage cards?

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Posted By: NetJr

Can't agree they are just "modern" slabbing. To me the BGS grade carries more weight then PSA in modern cards. I love BGS 10 cards. They are by far more rare then a PSA 10. Its interesting to see some of the 80's care in BGS 10 - the market has not been set for them yet. Owners are asking unreasonable sums, but they don't know what to "give" them away for. BGS 9.5's are going for 1/2 of the PSA 10 and could well qualify for that grade, BGS 10's are asking 5x the PSA 10 and not getting it.

As for vintage I don't see why BVG can't make it, but as always - its up to them.

PS...their registry is far easier to use then PSA's.

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Posted By: Rick Mcquillan

My one experience with them last summer was not good. The grades seem OK, but the service was lousy. When I called to find out what was up I got a smart ass answer. Nobody in the grading department seemed to be aware of the special in Old Cardboard magazine, so they didn't honor the timelines or offer a refund. I had to scan the ad and email it to them before they responded.

Rick

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Posted By: davidcycleback

If they apply themselves, I would think Beckett would have a fair chance in the Pre-War market.

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Posted By: Dylan

I agree with the above statement. If beckett wanted more of the vintage market share im sure they could do more, they just seem primarly interested in the modern card grading scene. What the devote to vintage grading is a distant second.

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Posted By: peter chao

David, Dylan

From the collector's viewpoint though, fewer is better. I'm tired of having cards in all different types of card holders made by different grading companies. To me having fewer grading companies is better. As a matter of fact my most cherished sets are ungraded and much easier to display in the manner I prefer.

In a warped way, I hope Jim Crandall is right, almost all valuable cards will be slabbed. Then raw ungraded cards will be a rarity and my cards will become more valuable. Laugh out loud.

Peter

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

BVG grading isn't the greatest but it's reliable in determing reprints. The main issue is the size of the holders. Stack a pile of 20 BVG slabs next to a stack of 20 of any other slab.

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Posted By: JK

Hey Ray,

No need for a vice and hacksaw to crack a beckett slab. Ive never tried this, but I hear it works like a charm:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/message/1136272829/Cracking+a+BGS+-+BVG+case

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Posted By: James Gallo

Beckett seems to be a lot more strict with the grading on modern cards. A BGS 9.5 should cross to a PSA 10, which is why the BGS 10 grades go for super high money.

From a Pre-war standpoint I don't think they will make it.

The other companies offer a better service, holder and are more familiar with the market.

It seems SGC is on the raise and perhaps GAI is dropping off a bit.

Regardless I don't see Beckett getting anywhere and anything under a 8.5/9 is just looked at as crap. A lot of this goes into the metal thing, but why have a BGS 8.5 when it could be a PSA 9 or 10.

In most cases I think a BGS 9.5 is nicer then a PSA 10, however as mentioned above a PSA 10 will go for more, which is all really the mental thing.

Lastly, that is the best and easiest way to crack a Beckett holder and it works very well.


James G

Looking for 1915 Cracker Jacks and 1909-11 American Caramel E90-1.

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Posted By: FYS

I think the fact that Beckett has officially labeled the 33 Goudey as the Ruth Rookie Card answers your question. Never say never, but there is a lot of ground to make up. Also, card grading is not a very big market. It is probably around a $10M dollar industry per year (Card Grading Only!) and there are 4 main competitors (5 if you want to count raw collectors). There are several markets with capitilizations into the billions will less major competitors.