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New SGC grading fees
I got an email a day or two ago from SGC indicating their new grading fee schedule. I forget when it goes into effect
I wish I kept it, but I didn't. The increases are astronomical. Currently, any card valued over $25K is $850. Now the highest tier is any card over $100K is $3,750.00. Yikes!!! There was a few tiers between $25K and $100K, but the fees were over $1,000 for each tier. Does anyone still have the email to post the prices? Thanks, Tony |
This is their new prices. I don't really care about the price changes but I would love to get my cards back that are on business day 34 of a 30 day submission. I sent them in before their 2 weeks off for Christmas/New Years so I actually sent them in 64 calendar days ago.:(
EDIT: Just got a email from SGC that my order will ship today.:) Standard 20 Business Days $10 Any card valued less than $250 Express 10 Business Days $15 Any card valued less than $500 Priority 5 Business Days $35 Any card valued less than $1,500 Next Day 2 Business Days $85 Any card valued less than $3,500 Same Day Same Day $250 Any card valued less than $7,500 Walk Through Same Day $500 Any card valued less than $20,000 Immediate Same Day $1,000 Any card valued less than $50,000 Premium Same Day $2,000 Any card valued less than $100,000 Super Premium Same Day $3,750 Any card valued $100,000 & above |
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They say it was a BANNER year for them and then they raise the prices. Wow gee thanks. Great way to repay your loyal customers
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This is why I never send cards in, I would rather send my money on more cards, lol. |
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agree
I would almost always rather spend someone else's money on the grading. A few exceptions, but this is usually the case for me.
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Gosh, grading high valued cards must be a lot more difficult.:rolleyes:
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If I was really into grading my cards. I would bring a box full of them to a show and take advantage of a show special. SGC might want to have a sliding scale down on the fees, when they don't meet the timeframe the customer paid for. Accountability would be gladly welcomed by most, and it will help the number two used TPG catch up to PSA.
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Last time they were here in NY, it was $35 a card on site
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Yeah, except when they decide it should be more. I took them a Clemente RC at the AC National for grading, one that cost me under $500 because it was lower grade. They wanted over $100 to grade it because it was a Clemente RC. We argued for quite a while with them claiming that the card is worth multiple thousands of dollars and my pointing out that it is worth that in better shape but it is a beater that cost me $500, so not. They finally stood firm at $75 and I did it, but it left a really sour feeling about their services. I've found a lot of that at the Nationals with SGC; bait and switch on grading costs. The $35 seems to be the starting point, and they negotiate up from there. Needless to say they aren't especially busy at the show while the PSA booth was swarmed from the moment the place opened.
I have been a fierce critic of PSA in the past and a fan of SGC, but that started changing a couple of years ago. When PSA upgraded its holders, improved its web site dramatically, started offering real, valuable specials to club members, and generally professionalized its approach, that all resonated with me. Add to that the whim and caprice of SGC's pricing, especially for autograph authentication, the poor quality of the large slabs, blown turn times, a stupid club, the idiocy of nearly every card except a basic set getting forced into 'custom cut' inserts at the regular price, and now the prices going up, and I am not really sending them anything like the volume I used to. SGC gets my business if PSA won't grade the issue. |
So if you have a card valued around $4K (say a mid-grade T206 Cobb or Goudey Ruth), you will pay $250 at SGC or $95 at PSA.
Yeah, good luck with that, SGC. |
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I like SGC more than PSA. Most of my collection is in SGC holders. I think they are more consistent, their holders make cards look better and their customer service is far better than PSA's but this new pricing makes no sense to me. Maybe it is a push to get people to buy memberships in order to take part in the grading discounts? Fact is that card for card by grade, PSA crushes SGC and since most of my submissions for grading are for resale there is no way I could pay more to sell something for less.
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Val |
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Honestly, why would anyone even worry their selves with SGC on submissions at higher prices? If you had a high end T206, give me a solid PSA 6 over an SGC 84 anytime...I have some SGC graded cards currently on the Net that if comparably graded by PSA, they would be a lot higher in price. Nice, solid cards, but not graded by PSA. From what I have been told, SGC seems to be going thru a very large transition....And for the questions out there, no, it is not that simple crossing SGC to PSA, not at all....
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I think SGC is shooting themselves in the foot and ruining EVERY SINGLE edge that they had over PSA. In all honesty, I really don't see ANY advantage they have over PSA now.
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Might be coming out of Left Field here, but is it possible they are increasing their price to increase their market value? Not saying it's a smart solution growth wise, but one of the #1 reasons people mention to go with PSA is resale value. With SGC increases their prices, could one of the effects be people ask more for cards graded by SGC, simply because of grading expenses?
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Looked at the fee schedule and wish I had some $25,000.00 cards. For the average collector, price changes will have little or no effect on things. Kmac |
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I wonder if they do this with the $25,000 cards.
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Slippery Gasket Company...
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Bvg
Curious with the SGC adopting the PSA club pricing model and increased rates if Beckett has changed their model at all?
I know there's the never-ending debate on PSA vs. SGC - likes, dislikes, values, consistency, etc - but I rarely hear/see BVG thrown in? I know, I know, BVG resale values pale in comparison (especially to PSA), but I always wondered why? Aside from not liking the bullet-proof holders, I never understood why they are a distant 3rd option and/or garner so much less on resale? The cards that I have seen them grade seem to be fairly consistent - at least as much as PSA and SGC, if not even better. Everyone here has some horror story over PSA grading a creased or paper-loss card (especially prewar) as 4, 5 or better. And those damn qualifiers - inconsistency - one card with worse centering has no qualifier vs. another of the same card which does. I've also heard the common perception that PSA grades bigger spenders less stringently. True or not, if that perception is common place .. and if consistency is very much in question, why then doesn't that chip-away at the perceived value? Isn't that a core reason for why BVG grading is less in-demand/less resale value? I really not a fan (or hater) of any of them - just curious how/why BVG fell to the 3rd string depths. |
Ed - they have no registry. So you can't tell everybody how great your collection is. Hence, they are a distant third.
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I think BVG is so far behind because their vintage never crosses over at the same grade. It's usually 1 or sometimes even 2 grades higher than it should be. They also let more trimmed/altered cards slip by. I currently own a pre-war BVG slab with a numerical grade that very obviously measures short.
Their BGS brand for modern cards, on the other hand, seems to be a high quality product and sells even better than PSA. Quote:
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I have only directly submitted to SGC and they charge your CC as soon as they receive your cards. I personally think that is BS and they should wait till they are done with your order and they are mailing it back so they have actually earned the $.
How do the other companies do payments? |
Clarification
I would like to clarify a couple of things from my post. First of all, I was referring to the submission of raw T206 cards. If SGC's fees are now considerably higher than PSA's, why would you submit to SGC? That defeats the purpose of why you would be using SGC in the first place, doesn't it? Secondly, most of my T206s are high end grade wise. There is a much higher price difference between PSA and SGC with those types of grades (7's and higher), versus middle to lower grades (1's-6's), where the price difference is not that terribly different at all. I realize that most T206 collectors fall into the later, so I thought this was important to note....
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The fees for SGC are still cheaper than PSA on the low end if you aren't submitting in bulk and/or don't have a membership. The cheapest regular PSA fee is $18 per card for $500 and under declared value. For SGC, it can be $10 for $250 declared value for 20 business days or $15/card for $500 declared value and 10 business days.
SGC also lets you combine tiers and card sizes within a single submission while for PSA, you need to separate each into its own submission with separate shipping costs for each. Therefore, if you have 2 standard cards at the $500 declared value, 3 oversized cards at $500, 1 card at $1000 declared value, and 1 card at $3000 declared value, for PSA, you would have to have four different submissions, each with its own shipping charge (w/ the minimum charge being $18/submission). For SGC, you can combine all of these different cards into one submission, and save on the shipping fees. (Turnaround time will typically default to the slowest tier.) SGC and Beckett typically charge your order once you receive it. PSA charges when they ship your order. PSA/DNA (e.g., photos) charges when they receive it. |
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I still don't get it. Do graders spend more time inspecting a $10,000 card than they do a $10 card? If they don't, why does it cost more?
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Someone did reply to state, due to insurance/shipping costs, and maybe a few other things, the price was justified because of the value. Don't shoot the messenger. :D Speaking of grading, I just posted in Post war and want everyone to guess which cards graded what and why? Just having a little fun, but I also want some info to further gain some knowledge. http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=235854 Thanks. :) |
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I think both companies have their strengths and weaknesses. All of which have been hashed over many times. For the lower end collectors, it's not much of a change. I usually sent stuff in to SGC on specials, may not do more since the decent specials are now "members only". But most of what I would send in would qualify for the $10 fee so it's only a couple bucks more than I was getting on specials. They've done some stuff lately that I don't like at all. So has PSA. I can see the PSA/SGC stuff mattering a lot more for higher grades and more expensive cards. If I was organized enough I'd see about starting my own grading service. It would be tough to get any real traction, but with the right things to make it better I think there's room for at least a couple more. A much higher end one. Although not quite as high end on fees as SGC is now (Maybe, I mean if you've got the dough to have a 100K card 3K plus for the grading isn't really all that much. ) And a lower end one something like BCCG but not as cheesy and confusing. Just lower fees for cheaper stuff. Steve B |
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I had already been on hiatus from submitting to SGC due to a couple of other issues/concerns I had. This is bullsh*t IMO and pretty well cements my transition to PSA. Hope it works out for them, but I won't be contributing.
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My grades popped today and 109 of them seemed spot on but 10 of them seemed way off base. I am talking 3 to 4 grades off. Maybe I missed something but I highly doubt it, can't wait to get them back to look at again. |
Anyone who pays a higher price depending upon what their card is worth is a sucker. The PSA/SGC argument is better than BVG is a crock of crap.
Anyone who knows who's really grading at BGS/BVG knows that Andy Broome does the vintage grading at Beckett and was a senior grader for PSA. Anyone can go pull out horrible examples/mistakes by each company and use those extremes of why not to utilize that company. Accuracy AND Consistency is where one should judge each company. The reason Beckett has gotten a bad rap is that they had previously put out they would grade a sheet-cut card so long that it measured up to the measurements set-forth by the card companies. I would argue that quite a bit of the vintage I've submitted to BVG has been as good or better than PSA examples and has come back with lesser grades. |
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Really would be cool if these companies would be more transparent. You think that would be important in a hobby like this. How does one even become a card grader? Are there any former or current graders on this fourm?
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There is a guy that is active in the hobby who had a 1970 Topps Nolan Ryan bump from a PSA 9 to a PSA 10. A $36,000 increase at the time simply because PSA rendered a different and more favorable opinion. When he got the email or call that they were going to charge his credit card more because the value of the card was higher than what service level it was submitted under you really think the first thing that crossed his mind is man I am sucker. You have to be kidding with this statement. I don't have any cards in this price range but I promise you this that if I ever send in a card and get contacted by PSA saying I owe them more money, the first thing out of my mouth is going to be Woooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! |
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Imo, they should just be glad you chose them as the TPG of choice and not someone else. They also receive free advertising, which, of course, equals more sales, more $$$, when these cards come up for auction. To me, it's like if you happened upon a $1000 dollar card that you got for a $100, then the next guys says, I will give you $150 because you only paid $100 for it yourself. |
It has been done for years.
Go get a coin graded by PCGS and this is their top tier..$250 + 1% of value ..A 2 million dollar coin would be $20,250 to grade.... SERVICE MAXIMUM COIN VALUE ESTIMATED TURNAROUND (BUSINESS DAYS) PRICE RARITIES None** 2 - 5 days $250 + 1%* WALKTHROUGH $100,000** 2 days $125 EXPRESS $20,000 5 days $60 REGULAR $3,000 15 days $32 ECONOMY(Non-Gold, Non-Hammered) (Pre-1932 Chinese and Pre-1925 Russian coins must be submitted at the Regular Service level or higher.) $300 20 - 30 days $20 MODERN (1965 to date) $1,000 20 - 30 days $16 MINT ERRORS $20,000 25 - 35 days $60 SPECIAL ISSUES (U.S. - Colonials, Fractional Gold, Patterns, Territorials) $20,000 25 - 35 days $60 GUARANTEE RESUBMISSION (Charge refunded if coin downgrades) None up to 60 days $25 REHOLDER None** 5 days $12 SHOW SERVICES SHOW RARITY None** 4 hours $250 + 1%* SHOW EXPRESS $100,000** 4 hours $250 SHOW $100,000** End of Show $125 SHOW ECONOMY (5-coin min.) $3,000 End of Show $65 SHOW GOLD (U.S. Gold only-10-coin min.) $3,000 End of Show $45 SHOW REHOLDER None** End of Show $12 Quote:
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The value of PSA cards are vastly over-inflated and are not even remotely superior in quality to anyone else's grading. The main reasons you have the demand you have is their set registry, they are a publicly traded company, and they do coins. Unfortunately none of those things actually has a direct correlation to my cards being graded in a more accurate manner or being of a better quality than another grade from another company. It's a case by case basis and if I am a true collector (I'm not) then I'd want to individually inspect any card I'm buying before I buy it no matter what holder or grade is on it. I wouldn't just blindly buy something in a PSA holder just because. |
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I could, maybe, understand a 1 grade bump, but a 3 grade bump is something that should never happen, imo. As someone told me once on here, PSA really means, Please Submit Again. :) |
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As for the SGC prices my guess is the higher rate is due to the risk of damaging the card. But the chances of me sending a 10k plus card before the fee increase to SGC was very low. I would put them at just above 0 now. |
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Everybody in the hobby will turn a blind eye to this because so many chase grades and because - hey, we can be the beneficiary as well - but ultimately the situation you just described is a text book definition of conflict of interest. |
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Please elaborate. The person I am referencing is just a collector who was fortunate enough to buy a card they felt was under graded and paid money to have PSA look at it again. It worked out in this case. There are plenty of cards that get sent in and returned with the money kept. |
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I understand that me being able to walk in to Beckett and get a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle graded on the spot for $50 is an immense value, BUT charging someone $1,000 or whatever for the same process is an absolute ripoff and a joke. Where the happy medium is.....I don't know, but I know that I'm getting a better overall deal with price and turnaround time with Beckett being in my back-yard. |
[QUOTE=Leon;1634787]It has been done for years.
Go get a coin graded by PCGS and this is their top tier..$250 + 1% of value ..A 2 million dollar coin would be $20,250 to grade.... Leon, I'm not picking on you personally but, just because something has been done a certain way for years doesn't make it right, or mean that it should be continued. Been a CPA my entire adult life and the only real thing a CPA does, that no one else can, is give their opinion about someone's financial information. The operative word is "opinion", which is all it ever is or can be. These financial statement "opinions" are done so owners/others know where they stand as far as the financial state of their businesses and affairs but, they are also extremely critical when people go to buy or sell companies in determining values and price for such transactions. Pretty much what a TPG does when they give an opinion on a card's grade so the owner knows what shape it is in, and can also use that opinion to assist in determining the value of it for sale. As a CPA, I am bound by professional ethics and rules to act in a completely independent and ethical manner. I am strictly PROHIBITED from doing anything as a CPA on a contingency basis, which is exactly what giving an opinion on a card, and then charging someone for that opinion based not on the actual work performed but, the perceived value of the card, is! The reason a CPA is not allowed to provide a financial opinion based on a contingent fee is because if they did, they would no longer be considered "independent" of the people/company they were doing the work for in the first place. In other words, my "opinion" would be considered tainted due to my not being independent and the "opinion" would be deemed worthless. The only reason we haven't held these TPG companies to similar standards is not their fault, it is the collecting community's fault in not demanding it of them. BobC |
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Sgc is about a 45 minute drive from my house. They are great guys and give fantastic customer service. The owner is accessible and friendly. They are consistent (even if I don't always agree with the standards, at least they follow them). And finally, their holders are so much nicer. As an investor, psa gets more money (for now anyway), but as a collector, I like looking at my cards, and their holders really make them pop. Look at these two similar Cobb's side by side. Can anyone even attempt to argue that it looks better in a psa holder???
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I wasn't defending the practice and I agree with you. I was only pointing out it has been being done for years. I am guessing CU has a few lawyers on retainer so I doubt it's illegal and I agree it seems like a conflict of interest to me too.
[QUOTE=BobC;1634834] Quote:
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe SGC guarantees the grade on their card. The potential liability from grading a very valuable card is much higher than the potential liability from grading a $25 card. That, and the cost of insuring the card while in their possession is also higher. I'm sure this explains at least part of SGCs cost structure.
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Right, the rationale between charging more for a higher declared value is that the TPG's guarantee the authenticity of the card and the grade. (I know folks will argue about the WWG Dimaggio since it looks like PSA isn't backing off the 7, but let's not get into that here.) Therefore, if the TPG is incorrect, they have to pay for the difference in the value of the card between the correct and incorrect grades or entire value if the card were not authentic. You can think of this as a kind of "insurance," so if the TPG has a higher liability on the card, it would only be fair that they would charge more for that. For example, I believe SGC may have had to pay out due to incorrectly authenticating a few D350-3 cards a couple of years ago including a Ruth (Link) which could have cost them tens of thousands of dollars. (As a result of this, I believe SGC is now no longer putting many stamped back variations on the flip.) Therefore, it seems justified to me that a TPG take higher fees for a 10K card than a $10 card due to these liability issues. In addition for higher dollar cards, I believe that the TPG does spend more time with the card. I remember on the PSA forum, in one thread (Link), SGC did not certify the grade for the card because it would be very valuable with that grade, so they wanted another grader to confirm the grade on that card before they allowed the grade to pop. And that grader was on vacation for that week, so the submitter would need to wait a little longer to receive the their card back even though they paid for a 2 day service level. So it is both greater liability and greater attention to the more valuable cards that factors into the higher service fees.
I just wanted to add that Beckett actually does not charge a different service fee for the declared value of the card. They only charge different fees based upon turnaround time. Only PSA and SGC charge different fees based upon declared values. So you can say it can be a business decision by the TPG also. |
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has anyone on this board ever enacted the PSA guarantee and was compensated?
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I will say this, though. If they are combining turn-around time with value, it ultimately makes sense to charge more. As previously stated by others in this thread, there is more risk in handling a more expensive card. However, I think the ball is dropped from a customer service/integrity stand point when A) the customer is asked to pay up front, and B) when a card has a 2-3 grade increase, the customer is asked to pay more. Regarding "A", what person in their right mind would pay someone up front for a service? I wouldn't even recommend that if you're working with a family member, let alone a stranger. In regards to "B", I think a system should be developed to have the customer provide their grade assumption of each card. If the card comes back with a 1-2 grade difference, they should not be asked to pay more. But if there's an obnoxious attempt to screw over the company, yeah, pay more. Forgive me if such a system is already in place, as I have never submitted a card for grading, just my thoughts. |
Leon,
I knew you weren't defending the practice, which is why I apologized up front in case you thought i was responding specifically to what you said. You are also correct in that what the TPGs are doing is not illegal. As with being a CPA, if I do a job and charge a contingent fee to someone, I could potentially be brought up before the Accountancy Board of whatever state I am in and lose my license to practice for doing that. I could also be sued if something goes wrong or bad in a deal that then relied upon my opinion. CPAs self-regulate and have to undergo peer review every so often to keep and maintain our licenses to practice, as we supposedly adhere to one, common set of rules that all practicing CPAs are supposed to follow. This is where the TPGs really differ, they can all make up their own rules and grading criteria however they want, because no one else forces them to follow anything else. Wouldn't it be interesting if TPGs had a similar peer review requirement and every so often one TPG would have some of their people go over to another TPG and review their work to see if they did it properly and followed the rules. That is where accountability and transparency starts to come in to a practice like this. BobC |
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Can have a company that reviews the reviews as well...and do a IGR 'independent grade review' as far as regulations and having universal procedures in place, its all all about regulation...and freedom from regulation. People differ on that issue in many areas besides baseball cards |
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Just never get cheated...
I bought this in a 2 holder, cracked and resubbed: http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...20Maglie_1.jpg |
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I am curious what would/would have happened if you left that card slabbed? Would have another TPG or Joe himself, asked the previous TPG what he was thinking or would the card remain a 2 as to not admit they screwed up? |
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I am sure that happens too, and may explain why so many of these contractors eventually go out of business? |
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There are many good reasons the owner of the more expensive house is paying more for the same exact thing. If interested Dale I can explain it to you in a PM because I can guarantee people with $ will not understand and will be offended. |
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