TPA Help - PSA vs SGC

[aphanna25]

Hi everyone,

I am considering getting some of my autographed cards authenticated/encapsulated by a TPA company, either PSA or SGC. I've never done this before, and am trying to educate myself on the process. Everyone has an opinion and had good/bad experiences everywhere I'm sure, but was wondering what the masses here normally choose and why. I've only used PSA in the past for bat authentication, and recently had to deal with SGC on a cert issue (misspelled name) from something else I bought. I don't know much about SGC, but found their customer service exemplary and they seem to be growing in the TPA space. But, I see PSA everywhere and that seems to be popular (and pricier). All recommendations welcome. These cards are modern production, if that helps. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[mschwade]

Are you doing it to sell your items or gain peace of mind about your items? If it's to sell, I would recommend PSA because like you, customers see PSA everywhere and there's an obvious recongizable brand already. If you're doing it for peace of mind, I'd recommend SGC. They're probably the toughest authenticators of the three. Good luck!

P.S. One other thing, I've heard that SGC is taking a lot longer to get items back to people where PSA is generally about a month.

[tazdmb]

Although not mentioned, I would avoid JSA. I have seen some real bad stuff come through them. I guess if you have something fake and you want to sell-they are your TPA.

[jgmp123]

Originally Posted by tazdmb

Although not mentioned, I would avoid JSA. I have seen some real bad stuff come through them. I guess if you have something fake and you want to sell-they are your TPA.

+1 - not to open a can of worms, but I have spoken with several people and the consensus is that JSA is going from in a direction from bad to worse to just awful.

[packs]

I don't think either one will hurt you with autographs. If you were grading high end cards I'd say PSA but with authentication I don't think you'll see a difference in sale price, if you're looking to authenticate to sell.

[aphanna25]

Thanks for the feedback. I suppose my reasoning for doing it is in case I ever decide to leave the hobby or want to reshuffle my collection, then it's an easier sell if it's been slabbed (or at least I think it is). I don't really need the peace of mind, most of the stuff I know is legit. I suppose I have to factor in the cost of the service versus what some of the cards sell for in the market, but generally in a some of these cases I'll break even at best. I hadn't considered JSA to be honest, I read enough of these boards to know the TPA drama. I don't have an axe to grind yet, hoping to avoid ever needing to.

[sbfinley]

I trust them both equally, and JSA as well. If you're looking to sub a bunch of autos I'd recommend SGC as they're much more affordable already and PSA has already announced PSA/DNA fees are rising in 2015.