SGC has gotten tougher on centering
 

Just noticed from the last couple submissions and talking to dealers that SGC is really cracking down on centering. Anyone have an opinion as to why?

As someone with centering OCD I can only guess that better centered cards are more visually appealing and go for a premium, maybe they are now taking that into account.

Hard to imagine they could get any tougher with their grading. I really feel like there is this unspoken competition between PSA and SGC as to who can grade the strictest.

Can you post some examples? Just curious what is coming out there at this moment.

Yes! They used to grade the card and let the buyer decide on eye appeal! About.2 years ago I sent them a 9oc and asked for an sgc 6. I got a call saying "we aren't even going to charge you, because it's barely a 2". I found that pretty odd

Sean, I agree with others you have spoken to regarding SGC and centering. Below is an example of two similar cards with very different grades. The first graded only on merits of the card condition with no hit for centering (I don't own). The second (I do own) I was graded a 3 due to centering, the card is otherwise in EX-NM like condition. I was shocked at the severity of the hit.

It has a lot of implications, one of which we already see in the record prices achieved for cards graded 1-3, which often look better than old 4-6 grades. People are buying the card more than ever except for registry people and really high end scarcities in grading. It makes grades more irrelevant other than being able to get graded instead of not-graded or Authentic. Even authentic’s trade well if they look nice. So…instead of increasing their relevance, the TPGs are decreasing it for most cards. I used to not look at 2’s and 3’s for cards i wanted to collect,now i welcome them because they might go cheaper and they often look great.

+1

For example, i bought most (39) of the non-premium N162s in this set in these grades. The cards are stunning! Most have a little print imperfections on the backs that are barely noticeable. If they had been given 4-7 grades (what i consider them) they would have been untouchable at the prices I paid. So it can be great when buying. (Either that or no one else cares about these, which is what i would find out if I went to sell them again! ;-)

Centering seems to be pretty good on those two!

Is the grade really entirely due to nearly imperceptible print imperfections on the back?

I just don't understand why you guys keep doing this to yourselves.

We need affirmation! Plus a little recognition from authority always helps.

From the great philosophers of our day:

Mixed…Some are worse such as the Muldoon back, but others are like this SGC 2:

You can probably technically see the grade, but still…anyway, these are my favorite buys as a collector. Backs lower the grade trchnically but the cards are beautiful. (I know it’s not centering, but similar idea).

(Muldoon back on the bottom)

SGC has always been more strict than PSA on centering. Their grading standards are published on the website. And PSA is more strict on corners than SGC. Always have been. I don't understand the confusion. This isn't new. Opportunities abound for arbitrage between the two companies as a result. If you have an OC card and you sent it to SGC, you probably made a mistake if your goal was to sell it.