The new SGC is almost here!
 

For those of you who haven't read this yet here it is. It's nice to see some changes coming to SGC.

SGC Moving to 10-Point Grading Scale, Plans Submission Process Upgrades

June 19, 2018 By Rich Mueller from Sports Collectors Daily

SGC will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer but cake and ice cream aren’t the only thing the grading and authenticating firm will be passing out.

Some big changes are happening as part of an overall rebranding of one of the hobby’s most familiar names. Earlier this month, the Florida-based company announced the upcoming launch of a uniform authentication division. That was the first of many developments customers can expect in the coming weeks.

The biggest move centers around the core of its business. SGC says it plans to do away with the 100-point grading scale it implemented upon the company’s 1998 launch, moving instead to a 1-10 system. While SGC’s holders currently include a 1-10 grade on the label, it has always been in smaller font and below the assigned grade from the 100-point scale. With PSA having adopted half-point grades several years ago, SGC’s labels will match those of its competitor—with one difference: SGC is adding a new 9.5 grade, something Beckett Grading also offers. The SGC label itself is also being redesigned. The changes are expected to take place before the National Sports Collectors Convention in early August.

“The 1-10 scale has become more universally recognized in the industry, so we decided to fully adopt it in order to better unify collectors and simplify the process,” stated SGC Director of Business Development Tyler Grady.

It isn’t the only change, though. SGC says it’s making improvements to the entire submission process including the ability to know where a particular order is within SGC’s system at all times.

“The new ‘Submission Tracking’ feature will allow SGC customers to easily and precisely track where their order is within the process: from receiving, data entry, and grading, to encapsulation and shipping,” Grady told Sports Collectors Daily. “This feature will also allow our customers to see a current estimated date of the completion for their submissions.”

The online submission form, too, will be simplified and Grady says every card SGC grades will be scanned in its holder prior to shipping.

“Customers will be able to see the images of these cards via our new ‘certification number look-up’ feature. This will allow customers to further verify authenticity by comparing the card they are planning to purchase with its image on the SGC site and be confident that it is actually the same card that SGC graded. SGC will also make sure that all certification numbers are randomized in order to protect customer privacy.”

Population Reports on the website will include images and users will be able to automatically upload scanned images of their cards to the Set Registry.

Later this summer, SGC will also begin offering a ‘Grader Notes Option’ which will allow customers to review the notes made by its graders as they examined a card, which will help better explain the reasons why it received a certain grade.

For the first time, Grady says SGC will also offer a buying and selling platform for users, which will be ready by late this year.

“We are building a marketplace that will connect collectors across the world and facilitate transactions. Collectors will be able to make offers through the Pop Reports, the Registry, and our new platform. We anticipate that this marketplace will serve as a valuable asset to collectors and will also provide us with helpful real-time pricing data.”

Grade notes would be a nice touch. Hopefully they're more than the post it note you get from PSA that just says corners.

My biggest concern is the new labels :-(

I believe this could be a good move for SGC, give them an edge to the competition for the time being. Without these changes there wasn't much chance of taking market share away from others, this gives them a chance.

SGC, IMO, has always had the best looking slab. I like the black insert surround and the green label. My slabbed cards are better than 90% with SGC. My big question is how similar is the new slip and label to the old? Can we see a scan of new and old side by side? It is hard to tell from the following picture how well the two will match/compare. Does the green become black?

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Can't wait to crack a few.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I concur . . . If the new label is black in color . . . how much longer do we have to make a submission with the old green label?

I don’t know Joe. I was wondering the same thing. I have a few sgc cards I’d like to have reholstered due to scratching. I wonder if I can request they insert the same old label? I don’t want this new large numbered one.

For us Pre-War guys the grade typically isn't the focal point. It is a feat for me to simply obtain SF Hess Newsboy cards. I want the slab to frame the card nicely and the grade is a distant second. I don't want a large number trying to take attention away from the card.

If you collect post war Mickey Mantles, maybe the grade is the bigger deal and you want to bring attention to it.

The size of the number isn't a deal breaker for me but I do hope they retain a green label . . . seems were through this once before.

Why would anyone care what the label looks like. It's all in the grade. I like the big numbers. I don't care if the label is candy stripe. A more modern label would be great.

I think you'd be surprised. Collectors are a funny breed and too much change too quickly can spook them, epecially when it comes to uniformity issues within their collections. The majority of guys that I know who prefer them over PSA do so for how their slabs and labels look, not because of the grades. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this move sinks SGC.

It may be hard to believe, but some people actually enjoy things that are aesthetically pleasing.....

Some care about the label, others the black insert, or the grade, or the holder. Some wackos might even care about the card inside. To each their own.

What a crappy looking flip. And welcome to the 21st century in moving to a 1-10 grading scale. They can re-invent themselves and pull rabbits out of their hat all day long, but for post-war sales value, PSA will still blow them out of the tub for the same grade on the same card. :rolleyes:

Will the changes come on Monday?

Like it or not, we all need to sell our cards in the future or give to our kids, therefore PSA will bring the highest prices for me and my survivors.
I don't think I've ever looked at the label, I like the cards much better. Only graded so the kids have a easier time selling them. Label ?

Personally I don't care what their label looks like, or what their holder looks like. The only thing that I care about is that the grade they do put on the card is an accurate grade! I have way too many SGC & PSA graded cards that have been so inconsistently graded over the years that it's almost embarrassing to pull out a 7 in a holder that today would be lucky to get a 5 with todays grading. If they are going to make one change, please let it be consistent grading of their cards for all submissions. I for one am getting tired of playing the submission roulette depending on which grader you happen to get on any given day with both PSA & SGC.

Random question: is Tyler Grady any relation to Derek Grady, who was SGC's old Director of Grading?

Tyler
 

It is his son. He was a contestant on American idol.

New slabs
 

I hope the new slabs are the same size as the old slabs. I have been slowly sending cards from my T213-2 partial set to SGC. I want the look of the new slabs to fit in with the old slabs.

My wall is made from barn board that was recovered from a barn that was built in Iowa in the 1880's, and I like the way the black slabs look against the barnboard.

I know that SGC can't make business decisions because of one wall in my room, and I will stay with SGC as I complete my set, but I would like to have a close look at one of the new slabs.
Rick

But will the printed corners on the label be rounded or square?😂

Have a submission in right now. Hopefully I will still get the old label. LOL

SGC should start giving Old Judge cards (or any 19th century photo cards) higher grades for better image clarity. Makes no sense to grade corners and back damage, etc, when the clarity is what's important.

I turned in a quick submission myself hoping for the same results. Though I don’t hate the new flip design.

Prolly just o/c. :D

from OGK

So a 10 is still poor. Or is it just the 40 years of seeing poor abbreviated as PR in hobby publications.

Also, that's one UGLY label.

That's horrible.

I don't care what the flip looks like as long as they pick one and stick to it. I understand PSA changing theirs 3 or 4 time since the new slab but don't want that done to the slabs I collect.:D

I think I like the old flips better. Maybe this style will grow on me.

Not a fan of the new label, who’s idea was it to change ?

I appreciate that after 20 years they’ve figured out how to produce a label without perforated edges.

I’m curious about the 9.5 grade. Will 9.5 equal the old SGC 98/10 grade? Or is the new 9.5 somewhere between the old SGC 96 and 98?

I like it.

I like the black as it doesn't clash with any color of a card, unlike the red PSA flips. I like the green flips as well but I think the black flip will focus more attention on the card than the flip.

I think the gold is a great touch. Pristine is truly being set apart.

When someone who knows nothing about cards sees an SGC card at someone's house it helps complement the card as a display piece rather than "oh that red flip".

not sure I'd ever consider old cardboard "luxurious?"

I like this flip
 

I hated the old flips I like this upcoming flip.

That’s a bad ass wall!

This could be pretty cool, especially if they don’t take 10-20% of the sale like eBay or an AH.

I have one card with them (Priority 5 business day) that they received on 6/4 and the grade still hasn't posted, so make sure you cross all of your fingers.

That sounds a bit long from my experience with SGC. Have you been in contact with them?

I like it! Their label was in desperate need of updating. As martuzzi stated the perforated edges on their old labels looked horrible at times. I think this change was a long time coming.

Sent an email on Sunday - no response.

I am always amazed (amused? perplexed?) at the extreme negative response that a new flip can elicit. As long as it's not entirely distracting and it serves its purpose (ie. it relays the necessary information), isn't that good enough? Typically when I look at a graded card I will just glance at the flip and then spend the rest of my time looking at the actual card.

I can understand not wanting a change for uniformity with existing cards in the collection, but to classify some simple, gold colored text laid out against a white background as "ugly" or "horrible" seems a bit overdramatic.

To each their own, I guess.

ch.uck wo.lf

One thing I will say about Beckett is I love the subgrades being listed on the flip. I think Dave and the guys at SGC are doing some great and innovative stuff. I’ve always preferred sgc to psa, and I really like what they are doing. Particularly the photos of the card in the holder (to prevent fakes) and the “make an offer” program, which is brilliant.

Bryan, call them up, they're very responsive.

+1 - never have great luck emailing them but always very helpful calling them. From my experience the same 2 guys answer the phone.

Agreed: the scans of all submitted cards available to the public as well as the offer program are obviously groundbreaking in TPG.

This!!!

New Free Sale Outlet
 

The offer program in particular is exciting!

Hey Chuck, I have no concerns over the pristine holder, none of my cards would be graded as such. It all boils down to uniformity with the other SGC graded cards. I have nearly 100 Detroit OJs, all in SGC holders with green label. I have a couple upgrades ready to be sent in that will now stick out. When displaying the collection a good looking slab with a uniform look will help put the emphasis on the cards as it should be. I'm very stubborn on uniformity in all my hobbies, be it cards, coins, etc. I recognize it as a fault. This label change will result in some of us being less loyal to SGC. I'd be satisfied if they simply retained the green border. Maybe I'll be less opposed with time.