Which grading co. would you choose?
 

At this time, who would you select for a grading submission, PSA @ $22 ea or SGC @ $23?

Assume you have 100 cards made up equally in the following categories:

1. • Prewar
   • 50's baseball
   • 60's baseball
   • 70's baseball
   • 50's to 80's football
   • 90's basketball

For my collection? SGC every day, and twice on Sunday.

What are you trying to do with it? Pawn it? Sell it?

Psa

Psa

Did SGC open a new pricing tier? I thought they were still charging $30/card.

Sgc $23
 

SGC charges $23 per card through their bulk submitters. I shipped out an order of 202 cards. Received on the 6th, graded on the 12th, shipped back to me on the 13th and expected to arrive on the 16th! SGC ALL DAY!

Bingo. These are highly relevant questions.

If I needed to quickly flip them, I’d choose SGC all day. If I wanted to flip them, but time was not a concern, I’d choose PSA.

If they are PC cards, choose whichever one you stylistically prefer. I, personally, am partial to the tuxedos.

Good to know, thanks. That's quick work, alright! PSA probably wouldn't have opened up your box yet...

At the bulk submission level, I think PSA is currently estimating 120 day turnaround. And that's estimating. Delivering could be a whole different story.

My own personal approach is to guess at about 6 months, and then if they are done early, I'm just happy it didn't take the full 6 months.

Whatever the thinking here, the overall market has spoken and will continue to speak unequivocally. The relative turnarounds don't seem to have much impact.

I’d go SGC… Especially for pre-1960’s, which seems to make up about half or more of your hypothetical submission.

tru this!

SHC any day

Jeff, you and I both know SGC doesn't get the same prices that PSA gets.

psa

Top three highest sports cards sales were SGC graded.

SGC without question, 8 days a week.

Where might one find one of those $23 bulk submitters?

I'd keep them raw!

Mike

Csg
 

At the time of submission, $12 per card bulk order. Registered mail has not been fun on the turn around.

Examples:

T206https://www.csgcards.com/certlookup/1028469007/

T206https://www.csgcards.com/certlookup/1028469009/

T206https://www.csgcards.com/certlookup/1028469008/

E96https://www.csgcards.com/certlookup/1028469080/

E96https://www.csgcards.com/certlookup/1028469092/

E102https://www.csgcards.com/certlookup/1028469132/

It depends entirely on the cards themselves and what the flaws are. While yes, it is true that a PSA 5 almost always outsells the same card in an SGC 5 holder, it is not always the case that the sale card will get a 5 at both PSA and SGC. If you take the time to study the subtle nuances that make them different, you can predict fairly accurately what grades you're likely to get at each one. If I have a card that I'm pretty sure PSA will only give me a 4 on, but SGC is likely to give me a 5, then I'm going with SGC because an SGC 5 will outsell that PSA 4 every time.

I’m partial to SGC for turnaround times and customer service . If I were solely focused on selling for a profit, then PSA for anything 60’s and newer. For me, those are the only two grading that I will buy right now.

I just had an SGC returned to me and couldn't be happier. Their grading is the most consistent and they look so much better in SGC slabs. Here is one for example

First I would not pay to grade anything right now unless it is for the purpose of trading or selling. So if this is stuff that is not going into your PC then my thoughts are as follows:

I prefer the SGC holder. The fast turnaround time is a plus too but I just cannot consider SGC right now for higher grade vintage material from any era. Both PSA and SGC are being tough but much easier selling an under graded PSA card.

If it is mid grade to lower grade material I would go with SGC.

I agree with Snowman however. The merits of the card and how PSA versus SGC will interpret it will have a huge influence on where the card goes. One other thing to consider is if the card being submitted is one that would appeal to set registry collectors than you have to go with PSA.

which grading company?
 

SGC all day- Trent King

I'm a very detail oriented person, as I have OCD. I'm also a data nerd, so I find myself constantly studying the differences between TPG grades. I've crossed a lot of cards successfully from one TPG to another, and in both directions (PSA to SGC, SGC to PSA, and the same with BGS and CSG). I've even sent multiple cards to all 4 grading companies as an (expensive) experiment to see how they all handle various flaws. Here are a few guidelines that I have found to be true, and which I use when making decisions about which company to send cards to when grading, or when deciding whither or not to attempt a crossover (or a crack and cross rather).

* If the card exhibits evidence of screwdown damage (glossy squished corners) always send it to SGC, as PSA will flag it as "altered" nearly every time. SGC will often grade it (though not always), as they do not consider this to be an alteration. BGS/BVG will also grade these.

* PSA is considerably more strict than every other TPG when it comes to corners. By nearly a full grade when comparing to SGC in some cases (particularly for grades 2 through 5 in vintage and for 10s with modern) and often by two full grades when compared to BGS for mid grade cards. CSG is strict here as well, though not quite as strict as PSA. For grades 6 through 9, PSA and SGC are pretty similar with corners though.

* PSA is more strict with surface wear than SGC. Particularly with grades in the 3 through 5 range. But that doesn't mean you can just get a bump by crossing a card with surface wear. It really needs to be the only differentiating factor for SGC to want to give it a higher grade. And it can often only be a 0.5 grade higher, though sometimes a full grade or even +1.5 if it otherwise has strong eye appeal.

* SGC is more strict on centering than PSA across the board. They will also often reward you for strong centering. Their half grades are commonly applied to cards entirely because of nice centering. PSA couldn't care less. Their half grades have a very low correlation coefficient with centering, despite their claims to the contrary on their website. BGS is also more strict than PSA with centering, but the way they score a card allows that to not come into play in all cases.

* SGC is more strict than PSA with minor creases. Particularly in the VG to VG-EX range. If a card has a small reverse crease near the corner (within about 1" from the corner or so) but otherwise looks VG-EX, PSA will still give out a 4, whereas SGC will often give it a 3 (though it can still get a 4 if it otherwise looks EX or EX-MT). BGS couldn't give two shits about creases. Hell, I bet you can find "gem mint" cards with creases in BGS slabs (OK, that was a joke). But in all seriousness, you can regularly find BGS/BVG cards with creases in EX+ holders. PSA also cares more about WHERE a crease is than SGC, though both definitely care about that. If a crease runs through a player's face, you're going to get hammered by both PSA and SGC. Also if it's in the middle of the card, it hurts more than it does closer to the edges or corners. Basically, the closer to the corners it is, the more likely you are to benefit by submitting to PSA over SGC.

* Contrary to what some might wish to be true, neither SGC nor PSA cares at all about soaking cards in water. So if you need to remove them from a scrapbook, I wouldn't worry about that at all. It won't affect your grade.

* PSA can be slightly more strict than SGC for edges, though I'm less confident in this one as I've had some head scratchers with edges. I think there's just a lot of variance among individual graders especially with edges. Some graders seem to be really bothered by rough cuts while others aren't. I typically don't let this affect my decision though. At least not by itself. I more weigh this in with other factors when deciding who to send to.

* PSA and SGC seem to be pretty on par with each other when it comes to depth and richness of color.

* If your card has very minor paper loss, you are more likely to get a 2 from SGC than PSA, so long as the card otherwise has very strong eye appeal. Your card could be gem mint with minor paper loss on the back and PSA is still going to give you a 1.5. And yes, I know you can find examples where PSA has given a 2 for these, but good luck getting them to do it today. SGC will hand out 2.5s for cards with tremendous eye appeal on front and minor paper loss on back.

* SGC seems a little more strict with stains than PSA, with the exception of wax or gum stains, as they seem pretty aligned on those. But I'm not quite as confident with this observation as I don't like stained cards in general, so I don't submit them and don't pay as close attention to them as I do with other flaws.

* In general, PSA is more strict than SGC with minor surface defects like tiny dimples and light surface scratches on ultra modern chrome cards. However, they're also very inconsistent with this. You can get PSA 10s with surface flaws sometimes, but it's harder.

* PSA cares more about surface issues on the back than SGC, but SGC cares more about back centering, although this rarely comes into play (I've only noticed it with gem mint grades or miscut cards). BGS cares way too much about back centering. I've crossed two different BGS 8.5s to PSA 10s simply because of back centering alone.

* Pop reports matter. To whatever extent "pop control" is a thing, it definitely seems to occur more at PSA than it does SGC. There are just some cards that PSA simply refuses to give high grades to. It is worth checking pop reports if you have an otherwise close decision.

* PSA and SGC seem to treat surface indents equally in my experience.

* If a card has pinholes, staple holes, moderate to severe paper loss, or tape on it, I would just send it to PSA since it will almost certainly get the same grade at either PSA or SGC (a 1 or 1.5). Same for cards that have had tape removed.

* PSA also incorrectly rejects more cards as "min size" than SGC. This seems to be more of a competency issue to me though.

* If a card looks like it's on the fence between a 2 and a 3, I would send it to SGC every time nowadays. PSA has drastically moved this goalpost in recent years.

One thing that matters a lot to me however, is that SGC just has better and more consistent graders overall than PSA. And it's not even close. PSA will give the same card a 6 one day and an 8 the next. This will almost never happen at SGC. It's somewhat expected though simply due to the fact that PSA just has a lot more graders than any other TPG, and the more graders you have, the more variance you are likely to have as a result. Just remember though, that while PSA may be "better" for some cards, it's still somewhat of a gamble with them, as you are not guaranteed to get a fair and accurate grade the first time. You may have to crack it and pay again to get a fair grade at PSA. I typically will weight PSA's grading fees at 1.5x what they charge because of how often I just end up cracking them out and either resubmitting or sending it to SGC instead. I rarely send anything to PSA though nowadays because of this. I keep waiting for them to demonstrate competency again. Though I've heard that they have started to shift back in the right direction very recently. Time will tell.

great stuff, travis. i think we'd get along pretty well with the OCD thing!

to your last point, i just got an email last night from PSA with upcharge info. i didn't look at the full extent of the cards/grades as that would ruin the fun, but i did quickly look to find the lowest grade of 8 among 26 cards (and only 3-4 of them). mostly mix of 9 and 10. and i'm far from an expert on grading, just pay attention to details and hope for the best.

Unfortunatly PSA is the only route to chose for reselling. If you are keeping them then I would say SGC for prewar and PSA for the rest.

Csg
 

I will be sending them some cards in the near future. I think they will gain some market share over time. Only time will tell.

Which grading company?
 

Snowman- great detail, thank you! T205GB- I must disagree wholeheartedly with your comment that PSA is the “only” route for reselling. While the statement is often true for already slabbed cards- which still amazes me- the topic is about submitting cards for grading. The problem with PSA is that you and I could submit the same card to PSA and SGC, let’s say a T206 Jack Bliss with common back. My SGC could come back a “5” while your PSA comes back a “5 MC”, because those idiots declare a T206 “miscut” if a millimeter of the name at bottom is cut off. Of those 2 cards, the SGC resells higher than the PSA. If you can stand the obnoxious wait for PSA then that’s one thing, but they are so poor at grading that the “higher hammer values” mantra now carries an asterisk with it. I own PSAs I bought slabbed, but it’ll be a cold day in Maui before I would let them touch my cards and grade. Trent King

If they were cards I was keeping, I'd save all that money and time and keep them raw. $2300 to spend on more cards, and all the time used to prep the submission could be put toward further self education to avoid future card issues. It might also end up helping you make some money through new discoveries gleaned from your research. But hey, that's just me.

I can't believe people still submit to PSA. It's like Stockholm Syndrome.

1) SGC or 2) CSG for me.

SGC for me. I don't necessarily have an axe to grind with PSA, but I'm not a flipper with my cards. I typically assume that what I acquire will stay in my collection and I think the SGC cases are 1000 x's better looking than PSA. Also, PSA still entombs cards that allow them to float around inside the case. I find that ridiculous.

Bill

Can’t speak for every single slab these days, but I have seen PSA using some fancy new internal anchoring sleeves to keep pieces from floating around. I’ve had a handful that have come back in this fashion.

Here’s an example of one that I just got back recently.

Neither, at those prices!

I have a stack of 26 low-grade T207s and six T205s I need to get graded, and $20 a card is far too expensive!

Steve

What can I say? Some of us are just gluttons for punishment! When you've got 2,000+ pieces from PSA, and only a handful from other grading companies, plus you're pretty well invested in the Set Registry, making a switch isn't an easy thing to do. Maybe someone needs to set up a 12-step support group to help us break the cycle?! Or maybe just an old-fashioned intervention.

Travis,

Very thorough answer. Just curious if you had any commentary on the major reasons for half point upgraded/downgrades at the various firms. Is it as simple as being slightly better or worse than their grading scale?

grading company preferences
 

I've been sending raw cards to SGC for the the last year, or so, and have been pleased with the results. I have nothing against PSA, and I still buy PSA graded cards; but the long wait for submissions as opposed to SGC's quick turnaround, precludes me from submitting to PSA at the present time.

SGC Vs. PSA prices and bulk submission
 

Bobby, I know PSA used to be way ahead in terms of sale prices on vintage but I believe that gap has closed considerably.
Bulk submissions google SGC bulk card submission dealers.
There is one in Boca Raton, down the street from SGC. VERY QUICK!
Jeff W

PSA all the way.

IMO, the buyer of the card should personally grade the card, taking into account its' pluses and minuses that matter to him, before considering the slab, regardless of which TPGer is involved.
I also agree with Travis about SGC's brutality on off-centered cards, which is mildly amusing since they were known for their extreme laxness on o/c cards submitted in the past. They have done a major tweak to their grading model.

I LOVE CSG! I've been sending them a lot of my PC stuff lately. The market doesn't give them the respect they deserve yet, but I think that will change. Their slabs are just so much better than everyone else's. And their grades are fair, accurate and consistent in my experience thus far (out of the few hundred cards I've given them).

Great question. With SGC, it's pretty straight-forward. They award the half point almost entirely for eye appeal. Or so I claim. They don't really "downgrade" by half a point though. They basically assess the technical grade first and if it has strong centering, registration, and color for the grade, they give it that extra half point. It's similar to how PWCC awards their eye-appeal stickers. I only collect centered cards, so I get a ton of half grades from them. However, one thing to note is that sometimes it seems like they'll give a full grade bump due to eye appeal. I have a really nice VG-EX Kaline RC that is dead centered with great surface. It was a PSA 3 when I bought it. A 4.5 is probably the correct holder for it, but SGC gave it a 5 in an order where every other card was graded perfectly accurate. I can't prove it, but I really do think they gave it a full grade bump due to eye appeal. Whoever game that card a 3 at PSA though should not be allowed to touch vintage cards.

As far as why PSA gives out the half point? I have yet to figure this out. Their lack of consistency makes it difficult to solve that riddle. It really does seem like there's no rhyme or reason to it at all. Although it does seem lille they give half point downgrades sometimes. But I'm just not sure. One thing I do know though is that they do not award it for nice centering/eye appeal like they claim on their website.

With CSG, they seem to treat half point grades as literally being halfway between two grades. Everything comes into play there, with centering being the most important. But they consider corners and edges too when determining whether to give that half point. But they'll rarely award it if the card isn't centered. Although it's worth noting that my sample data with them is heavily biased towards 1986 Fleer basketball. I have sent them some 1950s Topps cards though.

Just like most of you I am on the internet every day looking for cards. One thing I have noticed lately is that SGC is closing the gap a lot with PSA. People will finally wake up to the long uncalled for wait to get PSA cards back.

SGC all day long....Nothing against PSA......SGC's grading seems to be more consistent....meaning all 6s looks like the other 6s......PSA seems to be very inconsistent to my eyes....6s look like 5s at times and sometimes maybe even lower....

I always buy the card and not the grade and slab for any graded card I may buy.....I've submitted tickets to PSA before but never cards to either service.......but SGC seems to be better at keeping grades "in the lane" so to speak....

In my humble, educated, non biased opinion...LOL

SGC does seem to give the half grade to nicely centered examples!

Ya, there are a few head scratchers out there like this one. I'm not really sure how it got the +0.5. Obviously, it's not for centering. Maybe they just thought the corners were strong for the grade? Or the color? I don't know. Other than the centering though, it does look like a nice copy for a 4.

SGC standard grading is usually less than 3 days, and returned within 1 week. That's amazing customer service!

CSG...they r great
 

CSG all day long they will be the leaders soon as they r in comics and coins. My 2 cents