August Grading Numbers
 

From Gemrate

Overall grading activity was ⬆10% in July compared to June and ⬆34% YoY.
The 10% increase is consistent with the trend seen in 2024, and the 34% YoY gain marks the fourth straight month in the 30–40% range.
Grading activity totaled 2.30 million cards in July, up ~215k compared to June.
PSA graded 1.67m cards - ⬆17% vs June, ⬆31% YoY. [Record high]
CGC graded 399k cards - ⬇7% vs June, ⬆110% YoY.
SGC graded 153k cards - ⬇3% vs June, ⬇21% YoY.
Beckett graded 75k cards - ⬆19% vs June, ⬆37% YoY.

PSA graded 1,676,743 items during July; total output increased by 17% vs June and was up 31% year-over-year.

PSA activity hit another new high, driven by the major sports in July. Overall, PSA continues to have multiple levers to pull and appears poised to finish the year with significant momentum.

SGC activity declined in July, likely marking the start of a more gradual slide in the months ahead. As Collectors de-emphasizes the SGC brand, we expect volumes to continue trending toward pre-pandemic levels - likely working towards the 15,000 to 25,000 cards per month range in the not-so-distant future.

CGC saw a modest pullback in TCG grading in July, resulting in a dip in overall activity. That said, volumes are still well above historical norms and look likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.

Beckett results were the strongest since late 2023, driven by increased TCG grading activity. Another strong month in August could point to a sustained upward trend.

After my experience with CGC/JSA at the National (including grading and auto authentication), the quality of the product, and how great their people were to work with, they have my allegiance. This isn’t just a Pokémon company.

I'm curious how many graders are employed by the opinion seller who sold 1,676,743 million opinions in July, which is a rate of slightly less than 1.6 seconds per opinion (based on a 24 hour work day, 7 days per week).

Doug "I'm a curious guy" Goodman

100% I am on board with CGC. Not only do they support the oldest vintage card site (us) they give the best service, have great pricing and have one of the best graders in the hobby running their vintage department. They also don't give preferential grades to their top dealers....

Unless it is A T205 or T207 Cubs all of which is graded SGC, I send everything to CGC for grading. They are reasonable on cost and fair on Grading. Also like the Slab Size and quality of slab. PSA slabs are plain and simply ugly and take forever to return. Just not a PSA fan.

Thanks for the report parkplace,
Curious if MBA has any numbers/%s out there

I have not kept up with the different grading companies as I always used PSA and SGC. One time I did use CSG. So the dumb question of the day is; did CSG change its name to CGC?
Thanks,
Bob

Leon, I'm curious, how were you able to ascertain that CGC doesn't "give preferential grades to their top dealers"?

Depending on what happens to SGC over the next few months, I'm very likely to give CGC a try. I just wish CGC had a black-tux slab like SGC's. To me, SGC's tux slabs greatly increase the eye appeal of slabbed cards, especially the smaller pre-War cards and the black & white pre-War cards.

I have been friends with Andy Broome for the last 25'ish yrs. He is as honest as you and I are. He knows almost all cards will change hands. And in his CGC holders he wants accurate grades. Has he, and CGC, made mistakes? Of course, they are human. But he won't intentionally give a grade because of the submitter. I would bet my E90-1 Young in a 7 holder on it. Once they get more of a track record I might cross a lot of my cards over to their holders. I like to do business with honest companies. But that is just me. Right now, PSA brings all the money. For dealers, money is the only concern so I can't blame anyone for using PSA. I spoke to around 75+ dealers, and maybe 1 said they like PSA, other than the money aspect. And I am only saying 1 because there probably was 1, but I don't remember even 1.
.


.

Maybe it's not such a dumb question, because I want to know the same thing. I have a few basketball cards graded by CSG. Here's an example.

I've wondered the same thing.

I only average grading maybe 50 cards a year, but I'm done submitting to PSA. My last PSA submission took almost 7 months to get back. Never again. I'll still happily buy PSA cards but they've received my last submission dollar due to their insane turnaround times.

Maybe I'll give CGC a try for cards. I have a few CGC graded comics and have been very pleased with those.

CSG became CGC. It was probably to have conformity in their company. I have quite a few CSG holders.
No difference and the same graders are grading...as far as I know.

Thanks Leon. I thought it was the same.
Bob

Still curious...

100 graders at PSA, according to this website:

https://cardhoundvintage.com/behind-...ading-process/

Seems low to me, since that would literally mean each grader is grading about 100 items per hour if they work 8 hour days for about 22 days each month.

That would mean they're giving every submitter a whole 36 seconds per card! How very generous.

What about bathroom breaks?

Good point. I suppose they have to eat, too...

At least we can rest well knowing that the last 36 seconds of their shift has as much quality as the first 36 seconds.

1,676,743 opinions from 100 employees means 16,767 per month each divided by 31 days of July = 541 opinions per day each.

Now I'm curious how much they get paid for each opinion, or would it be hourly?

Rumor is PSA hired the Infinite Monkeys 🐒

That would be funnier if it was farther from the reality being discussed...