Memory Lane

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

The 1959 Topps #464 Mays catch went for $33,989. There's one in PSA 8 for $130 BIN on ebay. I have one in about vg/e that I probably paid 50 cents for 40 years ago.
I liked that T205 Goode SGC 7, but I didn't want to pay $750 for it, when I can get a psa 4 for $39.
The e107 LaChance was at $1,100 when I went to sleep and it closed at around $15,000, so the late bidding helped that consignor.
I picked up a 1952 Topps Spahn in an SGC 8 holder for what I thought was a good price, but it's hard to know what to pay for stuff that you want these days. Rob

Great price IMO. SGC is dead. A PSA 8 53T went for twice that.

[Bram99]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Great price IMO. SGC is dead. A PSA 8 53T went for twice that.

I agree, and I believe more than any other single reason for the downfall, the registry is to blame. It's not that PSA has any better or more reliable grading system. I don't hear a ground-swell that PSA is so much more stringent than SGC. They probably both dock each other's cross-overs to make it seem that the other is less stringent.

SGC's weakness is also not due to PSA's superior service. The SGC holders are the nicest among all of the TPG's and they should be helped by recent changes to the font on the slab, so a person like me with fading eyesight can now actually read the serial number. I think it is the PSA registry killing SGC. Whoever was in charge of that aspect of the offering for SGC missed the boat, didn't hear the alarm clock ring, and as a result SGC is in a relatively poor position.

I have probably 500+ PSA graded items, and maybe 100 or so SGC. At one point years ago, I preferred SGC. I still prefer them service wise and from the holder aesthestics. But I think the demand side of the equation has snowballed against them. I think the registry difference exacerbated that. I have mixed sets now and while I won't cross cards over due to the hassle and wait times now, I may actually buy a PSA card to fill out the set and then sell my equivalent SGC. I can't be alone in that behavior.

When the collector or dealer cannot get the same price in the market for a card in an SGC holder as a PSA holder, who other than someone who intends to never sell the card would choose SGC.

SGC's limited options to save the situation could include joining forces with whatever upstart company comes out with grading by machine optics rather than by humans. That, or if someone would need to come up with some kind of registry that links both of them together, perhaps adding in any other reputable TPG's if there are any (Beckett?). That seems unlikely because each company holds their own database of grading history and why would PSA share that and remove their significant advantage> For now it seems that the registry has SGC in a really bad situation.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Tony, the PSA Registry started in 2001. The decline in SGC prices is much more recent than that.

And I would add, I don't think most guys spending big bucks these days are set builders or registry folks.

[Bram99]

Peter, ok, I hear that.

I think that the registry has caught on more recently - maybe not for the high end 5 and 6 figure T206 Cobbs, etc., but for the 1930's - 1960's collector, it has exploded into a sort of network effect like the social media companies have experienced. Some of them (remember MySpace) went by the wayside as the herd that moved to Facebook and Instagram found that they wanted to be where their friends were. I think the same is happening with PSA registry. It's a form of social media app.

If that's not it, what do you think the SGC downfall is? Do you think their standards or service or something else is causing the market price difference? They both have been caught up and outed in Net54 sleuthing scandals in the past couple of years...

Tony

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Tony, the PSA Registry started in 2001. The decline in SGC prices is much more recent than that.

And I would add, I don't think most guys spending big bucks these days are set builders or registry folks.

+1... I have been saying this for 7-8 years with much criticism from members.....

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Tony, the PSA Registry started in 2001. The decline in SGC prices is much more recent than that.

And I would add, I don't think most guys spending big bucks these days are set builders or registry folks.

That may be true, but they realize that they may some day sell the cards to a registry collector so they might as well opt for the registry friendly TPG.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

That may be true, but they realize that they may some day sell the cards to a registry collector so they might as well opt for the registry friendly TPG.

I really don't think that has much to do with the prices we're seeing on the elite and centered cards. I think those values are independent of the registry.

No question the registry was a key part of building the brand, but I think it's only one of many factors now at play.

[Orioles1954]

Only people I know actively collecting or submitting to SGC are pre-war collectors. Very small niche of the hobby.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

Only people I know actively collecting or submitting to SGC are pre-war collectors. Very small niche of the hobby.

And having said that, here's the irony about that....You can buy T206 SGC 84's for $350-375 range....PSA 7's are more like $525-675....I think that says it all....