News From SGC
 

Effective August 25, 2010, Brian Dwyer will be resigning his position of Business Development at Sportscard Guaranty. He has been with SGC since 2008 in that capacity. Brian will be leaving to pursue other interests within the industry but will remain available to SGC as a consultant on special projects.

“My time at SGC has been a valuable and rewarding experience that allowed me to come in contact with countless people within the hobby,” said Brian. “I’m thankful for my time there and look forward to continuing the good relationship into the future.”

Many customers have been in regular contact with Brian or looked to him for assistance with issues relating to SGC. Going forward, these inquiries may be directed to Sean Skeffington (x101) or Michael Goldberg (x105).

Sean Skeffington, Vice President of Operations, acknowledged Brian’s contributions to SGC during his time with the company. “Brian has been a great asset to the company over the past two years. While we are sorry to see him go, we are pleased that he is remaining within the industry, and we wish him nothing but the best.”

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Brian (x114) or the SGC offices (800-742-9212).

Sorry to see you leave SGC, Brian. I worked with you on many submissions, and you always provided excellent customer service. Always very quick to respond to emails and postings in this forum and the SGC forum. Definitely a huge loss for SGC.

hey brian i hope psa offered you 4x the money :)

Brian,
Best wishes and thanks.
Jeff

Brian - you will be missed.

Sorry to see you go, always a pleasure to deal with. I wish you the best in the future.

Hey Brian
 

Hey Brian
It's always been a pleasure to deal with you. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. If I can ever help you let me know....best regards

Brian, you will be truly missed. It was a pleasure dealing with you the last couple years and I wish you much success.

Rob

I too am sorry to hear this (for greedy reasons). I'm a low volume submitter but enjoyed working with you and discussing the occassional (what is this submission). Are you able to divulge what lies ahead for you?

Hey, Brian:

Thanks for all of your help over the past couple of years. I will see you tomorrow morning in person to wish you the best of luck in the future.

Phil

Brian
 

Congrats Brian on the move. You are a great asset to the Collecting industry thanks for all you have helped me.

Kirk

Brian was a HUGE asset to SGC. I am sorry to see you go. Good luck in whatever you chose to do. Glad to hear you will remain in the hobby.
JimB

brian
 

sorry to see you go but wish you all the best!!!


barry

Brian is the epitome of a company representative and should be the bench mark for not only a hobby company but any business wishing to provide the best customer service possible.

Where is he going? To PSA?

I couldn't agree more, always tough to find a good people person for the face of any company. Best of luck in whatever you do Brian !

In an industry/hobby full of whiners, snivelers, bitchers and moaners - you are one of the few guys I never heard a negative word about. Whatever you do or where ever you go, you will be successful.

Good luck Dude!

Hey Brian---Will miss seeing you @ Wilmington this Fall. Best of luck on your next endeavor!

Brian GOOD LUCK
 

Brian,

GOOD LUCK!!!
SGC is a great company...they will miss you....Michael Goldberg is GREAT ALSO!!!:)

PEACE

Johnny

Hey Brian,
It was great working with you! Best of luck in your future endeavors!

Mark

NO say it an't so.

Brian was an amazing help with all my registry sets and locating my stolen cards. He will be missed.

Best of luck in your future plans.

I hope the SGC guys get someone to help poor Michael out, as there is just too much to do and he is already over worked and under paid :-P

James G

I seriously doubt he's going to PSA, for several reasons, but also because he will remain a "consultant for SGC on special projects."

Think of all the knuckleheads on this forum (myself included). Imagine having to deal with all of their odd requests and complaints related to grading 100 year old cardboard. Brian did it for several years without fail, very impressive!

Thank you all for your kind words and support. It's been a total pleasure dealing with the board members along with countless other collectors whom I've met and helped.

I am not leaving to work for PSA or any company within the hobby. Upon leaving SGC, I will begin dealing cards full time with a focus on baseball from the 19th century to the 1960s.

I will continue to be on this board and others and will continue to attend shows around the country. I have no doubts that I will deal with many of you into the future, but now it will just be in a different capacity.

Thanks again.

Brian

Brian, will miss you at the Chicago shows, you made working with SGC a pleasure - surely will be missed. Glad to see you'll still be here and in the biz, best of luck in your new endeavors!

Ed

Brian is a class act. I wish you the best. It was always nice working with you at SGC.
Looking forward to seeing you at shows now and hopefully buying some cards.

This is a terrible loss...
 

...as Brian was terrific to deal with at SGC. Fortunately SGC has a lot of people that are terrific to deal with, including Michael Goldberg and Sean Skeffington, both of whom are tremendously responsive, helpful and friendly.

Hi everyone! On December 31, 2010, I left my position as Customer Service Manager of SGC to pursue other endeavors outside the hobby and return to school to complete my degree.

Over the course of my 4 ½ years at the company, I saw and handled an incredible amount of rare and unusual cards, and learned a great deal about this hobby. I added volumes of knowledge to what I already knew from my 30+ years in the card & memorabilia industry, and met a lot of wonderful collectors and dealers – many who have become close friends.

I strived each and every day to provide all of the company’s clients with outstanding customer service, answer every question asked, and treat everyone the way I would hope to be treated if I was the customer.

I feel confident that everyone at SGC will continue to do their very best to provide outstanding customer service and accurate grading, both of which have always been the hallmarks of the company.

Hopefully I will see many of you in the future at various shows around the country.

If anyone would like to contact/email me for any reason, please feel free to PM me through this board.

In closing, I wish continued success for SGC, my former clients, and the entire collecting community. I still intend to be a part of this hobby which has been so good to me for many years to come!

Sincerely,

Michael Goldberg

MG,

I think that most everyone that has used SGC has a positive attitude towards the customer service that was provided. PSA could have learned a lot about customer service by following what you did at SGC.

I don't know you personally but I've spoken to you on the phone in the past and have only positive thoughts about SGC because of what you brought to that company.

Best of luck to you in your future endeavors,

Fred

Mike, I have almost 1,000 slabbed cards and you have handled just about all of them. Whatever you decide to do I know it will be a success. I am glad I can call you a friend, and please stay in touch...nice to see you on the board!!

Rob

Michael
 

You were always most helpful to me and I, along with many others, will surely miss your sage help at sgc.
great having you on the board, though.
all the best, ole friend

barry arnold

Michael and Brian were the face of SGC for me and I appreciated their friendly and personal service each time I made a grading submittal. I wish all businesses I deal with offered the same quality of customer service; my life would be a whole lot easier. I am confident that both of these young men will be successful in their future endeavours.

Best of luck Michael. Thanks for your prompt responses to queries in the past!

Ricky Y

Hi Michael- I know we never met in person- you met my wife, but not me- and it was always a pleasure working with you. Good luck in your upcoming studies. I was sorry to see you leave SGC, but as I always say, nothing lasts forever. Be well.

Regards,
Barry

Re: News From SGC
 

Best of luck Michael. You were always a pleasure to deal with.

Best Customer Service Ever
 

You understand the needs of the client more than most people in most industries. If you continue to bring that level of game, you will certainly be successful in whatever you do.

Mike good to hear from you, always a class act & hope success finds you in the future.
Been dealing w/ SGC the last few years as their customer service has always been top notch.
Though all the people I worked with are now gone, Mike, Sean, Glyn & Brian.
Those are big shoes to fill and hopefully SGC will maintain their fine customer service.

I, too, have had the pleasure for the last several yrs of dealing personally w/ Michael, Brian, Glyn & Sean, mainly at the Shriners Show in MA and on the phone. I always appreciated the very quality fine service from each & every one of them and all 4 are & will be missed.

My best to all of you in your future endeavors.

I just called into SGC today to ask a question, and was informed that head grader Derek Grady is leaving the company with today being his last day. Has anyone else heard about this or know the reasons behind it?

in keeping with the former post
 

too many of our great friends are leaving or have left sgc, it seems.
does anyone have an update as to how things are running.
thanks for any help.
best,
barry

my understanding...
 

My understanding is that Derek is leaving for a better opportunity in the industry and it's not with a grading company. I don't know if all of the details are final so don't want to say too much else. I consider Derek a good hobby friend and am very happy for him. When the rest of the info comes out ya'll will understand why :). And no, he won't be coming to B and L auctions. best regards

So much for SGC

What in the world
 

I must say that after they didn't do onsite grading at the last Philly show I was pretty ticked.
That being said the submission I gave them at the show was back VERY quickly and in much less time then the 10-15 day turn around.
However part of what I really loved about this company was that I knew the people I was dealing with by name and they knew me. We had a nice working relationship and I was able to do a lot of registry work as a result. I do not think that I would be able to do that at this point although I won't know for sure until I have some further interaction with the new customer service guys.
That being said shouldn't a company try really hard to keep good people.
In the last few months SGC has lost the VP, head grader and both customer service guys. This does not sit well with me, especially after everyone said well the customer service guys are gone but the graders are still here. Now that isn't the case either.
I also understand that there are other graders who are more then capable, it just doesn't sit right with me to have so much turn over in a short period.
James G

Sgc
 

I wish Derek and the gang the very best as they pursue other options.

As an FYI
 

Although I can't speak as to the future of the operation they do still retain 2 of their former graders, so the grading should remain as before. And, customer service is alive and well as I spoke to them several times today.

HOWEVER, they no longer have the PO Box 6919 in Parsippany. DO NOT mail any submissions there using USPS. Send them all to the office address at 1 Gatehall Dr Suite PO11 Parsippany, NJ 07054 whether it be by USPS, FedEX or UPS

With new ownership will always come changes, especially at the top. That is typical of any company. How SGC responds, in terms of customer service and grading consistency is anyone's guess. But it is hard for me to envision them doing a better job than they had done under the prior regime. I would just hope they are more consistent than PSA, which in my opinion, gives them some room for error....

.

Poll
 

I'm sure the people at SGC would be interested in the results of the poll also.

Good experience
 

I had a very positive experience with customer service person there, Joe DelGrippo. Very quick to respond to questions, provided tracking numbers when requested and followed up when asked. This was only a couple of weeks ago.

They seem to be keeping the ship afloat through the rough seas.

Couple of things
 

1) I realize all those people left about the same time, but the standard question to ask is,, did they leave for the right reason. And the right reason is usually, is this a better opportunity or fit for that person's skills.

From what I met of Brian, he probably needed to spread his wings a bit more, Michael posted that he wanted to do something else but he loves cards and is a lifer and we'll see him in the business, Sean may have needed a break -- his position was probably very stressfull and I don't know Derek except by face -- but with a talented son who was on AI and other interests in his life, it may have been time for him to try something new as well.

2) Joe DelGrippo is a long-time hobbyist so he does understand the business and Jimmy S is an old friend of mine going back to our dealing/collecting days in the New York area in the 1980's. He has had a lot of the same people working with him in the autograph part of his business so I would think he has a good idea there on working with people

3) Sometimes change is needed as well, it's good to get fresh blood in sometimes -- but granted a grader as well respected as Derek is hard to replace. But remember this old saying, the graveyards are full of indispensible people.

I would just watch what happens at SGC but not panic at this point

regards
rich

I don't think these changes make me lose confidence in SGC, but they just make me nervous. Heck, I don't even know who the head grader is at PSA, and I can barely remember the first names of any of the customer service reps there. However, Brian and Michael just provided such an excellence of service, it simply feels as if it would be hard for the newer reps at SGC to beat. Even though I personally feel that PSA is beat up a little too much on this board, I do agree that SGC has been simply more consistent in grading overall than PSA. You simply see many more mistake grades from PSA than you do at SGC, and that's definitely the product of the people who have been there a long time.

SGC poll?
 

If ya'll want an SGC poll I wouldn't stop it. Why would I? You might consider having it show each members user id, by their votes, so there is no
"haters" stuffing the ballot box but even that is up to whomever starts the poll. regards

SGC always had a face for the hobby. First Dave, then Sean, then Derek. The remaining graders may be fine, but there is no face to the company and the face was what made it more user friendly. Besides, there is no grader in the industry that I trust more than Derek. He was born to grade.

All former Customer Service employees are gone.
The Vice President is gone.
Now the head grader is gone, again, tools of the trade and all.
And the PO Box is no longer valid but they did not think to let anyone know.

The good news is that the name will remain the same and the
fearless and beloved leader was released from a 400K debt for purchases of baseball
cards he was buying for resale so maybe he has more money to toss into the infrastructure.

This is the 2nd time that Mr. Grady has left SGC. The first time was a period of very rapid growth for SGC. I don't think that this had to do with the departure of Derek, but more to do with the grading and customer service staff that the had at the time.

I think that SGC has its hands full at the present and they need to respond in some way. All of the people that interfaced with the collecting community are gone. Some portion of their operations have been sold to JSA, but how much and what are the specifics?

They retain their core graders, but not much more. I've been a very loyal SGC customer for more than 10 years now, but at present, I'm not sure what to think. Perhaps someone on the inside might think it an appropriate time to comment. It's been a dark hole of information since the JSA acquisition and the accompanying departure of the people that I knew.

Greg, this sounds a lot like Global a couple of years ago.

yikes, if PSA is the only (somewhat) legit game in town, looks like raw only for me.

Yeah, too bad they don't have Joe Orlando as the face of their company.

+1

People are born to grade baseball cards? It's not like it's THAT tough to do.

People are also born to file baseball cards down.

Jeff, are we talking about the same person? :)

Oh heavens no, I'm just speaking in generalities. I think that the idea that grading baseball cards is some sort of rocket science is laughable.

Good point James
 

Yeah...grading really isnt that hard to do.
I think the TPG's real challenge is to get its customers coming back for more.

Making a pizza aint hard either but there are some pizzarias that I wont be going back to...but some do embrace the customer service aspect of their business with the urgency that it deserves. I go back to those.

While its not a business requirement to post on a public forum to soothe curious minds, in this case SGC could make some hay (pizza rhetorically) by keeping its customers informed.

I am willing to bet that an awful lot of the TPG users read and post here.
It may not be time to panic but I'd like to hear what's going on at SGC...if for no other reason than for them to build up our confidence in them. This is a pro-SGC board for the most part and maybe we could use a boost.

Say SGC, should we be coming back for more?
:confused:

Well, I personally know Joe Del Grippo of SGC. He worked a couple of auctions for us and I trained him on our style, policies, etc. Veteran and solid hobbyist with a great baseball background.

Maybe I live in the wrong area, but it seems about 1 in 10 pizza places actually make good pizza.

They could smile at me, give me free sodas and pretend to like the same sports teams as I do........but if the pizza sucks, I won't keep eating there.

HOWEVER, they no longer have the PO Box 6919 in Parsippany. DO NOT mail any submissions there using USPS. Send them all to the office address at 1 Gatehall Dr Suite PO11 Parsippany, NJ 07054 whether it be by USPS, FedEX or UPS


WHAT????????????? I just sent a shipment of 26 GAI cards to crossover to their post office box by registered mail Wednesday. :mad: Sure nice of them to let their customers know.

Analogy
 

Maybe my pizza analogy was silly...but my point remains.
So i am not saying you should do business with any place that you dont like just because they are nice to you.
If you have a place you like, dont they still have to try and keep your business...especially if the rumour mill is churning?

We on this board seem to like SGC...it wouldn't take much to boost our confidence in them by letting their customers know how changes at their company would or wouldn't affect their customers.
A paragraph on their website or on this board might suffice.

I sent in a package about a week ago...to the post office box. If my package was returned or otherwise misrouted because they dont use that PO Box anymore i would be beyond disturbed. I checked and they did receive my package and have begun the grading process. I am relieved!
Sounds like TBob, another of their very good customers now has some doubt cast whether his package will be received.
That doubt is preventable...seems as though they have an opportunity to communicate and they haven't. To me that's not a good sign.
Until we hear from them, should we go back for more?

PO Box
 

Bob, not a great need to worry, apparently the mail is being forwarded, just another step the in the delivery chain. I sent an overnight to the PO box Tuesday, which the PO still shows as undelivered, yet SGC did finally find that they had it in their possession on Friday.

Maybe this would be a good time for collectors to learn to grade their own cards. Like it was said, it's not rocket science. If there were more raw cards and less slabbed ones, the hobby might actually be more fun.

That said, I'm sure you can still send some cards to SGC and receive in return accurately graded ones....hopefully.

Barry, I asked my pet unicorn about the possibility of people deciding now to simply grade their own cards; he agreed with you.

Unfortunately as we've seen on this board, people use TPG often for one reason: to maximize resale. People bitch when the grades aren't as high as they like -- because they feel they're losing money on a potential resale. I don't think grading one's own cards will fill that void, although how many schmucks do actually grade their own cards even after the card has been slabbed: "FS: 1933 GOUDEY SGC 50 BUT REALLY NM+++++ I GOT SCROOOOWED BY SGC."

Next, as noted above, customer service seems to be the most important attribute of any hobby-related company. After all, Mastro/Legendary is still lauded in some corners of the hobby --- because they send out free catalogs. Never mind that they're ripping people off left and right with their fraud, if they send out a free $2 catalog they are A-OK!

Well Jeff, I know it's not going to actually happen, but if you can learn to ride a bicycle, or learn to play chess, you can learn to grade a baseball card.

Maybe high grade high value cards should get a second opinion by a so-called expert...but I see so many low grade $20 cards in holders for I don't know what reason. Collectors get lazy and they want somebody else to do the work for them. Learning all aspects of the hobby is part of the fun, IMO.

Here are a few reasons other than resale: set registries, protection, good looks. I do agree though, Barry, that learning to grade yr own cards is a very important skill to have and a fun process to learn. Funny how what I thought were near mint cards when i was 10 are psa 5 excellent cards today:o

...and uniformity.
If one is collecting a 1933 Goudey set you would want more then just the Babe Ruth
& Lou Gehrig cards slabbed, many would want them all looking the same even if you don't
utilize PSA or SGC's registry.

Eric- I guess I've never understood the attraction of the registry. It just seems like a goofy concept to me. Sure, if you have the best set in the hobby I suppose that carries some weight. But who cares if you have the 14th best one? I know the registry is popular, I'm just not a fan.

Its just a way to show off your collection and "compete" with others I guess, similar to the pick-up thread here etc. I personally am not interested either, but some folks go gah-gah over jumping up/down in rank, to each his/her own...

registry
 

Barry- Here is my take. Don't think of the registry as baseball card collecting. It isn't. It is a game unto itself. In those terms everything fits well. It's its own game. Very simple. Who can collect the highest number on their plastic wins!!

I don't get the attraction either. Nor have I ever considered the Net54 Monthly Pick-Up thread a competition either. The hobby has passed me by. ;)

Good take on it Leon. The way registry sets are collected really is a hobby of its own. And yes, some people do like to compete. When I collected it was a personal thing; I did it for my own enjoyment. I knew some people had a better collection than me, and mine was better than some others. I didn't think about it any more than that.

lol, Jeff could you ask the unicorn to weigh in on the set registries and /or the economy turning around anytime soon?
:)

Not everyone who's in the registry is doing it for the competition.
I have several sets in PSA & SGC's registry, I can quickly see what
cards I have, what I need and if I should upgrade and what fellow
collectors are doing the same set.

In one of my mid 60's sets on PSA, I'm about 40% and my ranking is #50
so there's 49 people ahead of me and probably about the same behind me.
It doesn't affect me if my set drops a few notches or if I gain a few spots.
There are probably more people using the registries that have this mind set
then the ones that are out for cut-throat competition to advance their #'s