[53toppscollector]

A couple more random thoughts:

* I do think PSA gives slightly discounted rates to bulk/group submitters. I don't think its a drastic discount, but I do think they get a discounted rate, or at least they did back when Economy was open

* If PSA doesn't eventually offer any kind of bulk/value pricing, ie, their lowest service level settles around $50-75, I think it could create an interesting dynamic in the hobby. SGC may become the go-to TPG for base cards, because while you aren't going to pay $75 to grade a base card, you might pay $30, especially if your game is based on volume and turning/burning quickly. So PSA could solidify everything above the base tier, where if you have a card that is worth $150+, you will opt to send to PSA at the $50-75 level. Anything under $100, you will send to SGC.

* This could create obvious ripple effects, because if SGC gets flooded with cards, which could happen if PSA doesn't open a sub-$75 service level in the next year, then you are paying $30 and looking at 3+ month turnaround times because of backlog.

* I know that money changes everything, but Nat Turner has talked a good game about the importance of the set registry to him and to PSA. Their registry is miles ahead of any other TPG. But at $50 per card, you are basically killing the set registry. Grading $2 commons or junk wax inserts for $50 just doesn't make sense at all. And I can't imagine that even the most competitive set registry participants, even if they have the money to burn, will be eager to pay $50 per card to grade hundreds of commons. Given where we are TODAY, it seems impossible to imagine a $10 service level ever coming back. I'm just not sure how the registry survives without it

* This isn't breaking news or anything, just something I thought of this morning, but it still blows my mind that PSA has established the dominance in the hobby that they have considering that a.) the first card they ever graded was trimmed and they didn't know it and b.) they still command such a huge premium over other TPGs despite not offering subgrades