SGC vs PSA

[hoshua4710]

Im sure this has been asked a thousand times, but as i said a while back, im working on my m116 set right now, and I have a couple cards graded by psa, some by sgc, and some even by gai. Now obviously gai isnt even in this contest, but between psa and sgc, is there one i should choose over the other or is it pretty much just personal preference? Is there much of a benefit of having every card in my set graded by the same company? And one more question, is it worth it to crack the gai cases and regrade through one of the others? Rookie questions, I know. Thanks guys

Josh

[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by hoshua4710

Im sure this has been asked a thousand times, but as i said a while back, im working on my m116 set right now, and I have a couple cards graded by psa, some by sgc, and some even by gai. Now obviously gai isnt even in this contest, but between psa and sgc, is there one i should choose over the other or is it pretty much just personal preference? Is there much of a benefit of having every card in my set graded by the same company? And one more question, is it worth it to crack the gai cases and regrade through one of the others? Rookie questions, I know. Thanks guys

Josh

If resale is important, then I'd recommend PSA. If not then it doesn't really matter which company you pick (PSA or SGC or even GAI). Having uniformity in a set is aesthetically pleasing as opposed to a mishmash of different holders. So, personally, if I were building a graded set, I'd want all the holders to be from the same grader. Some companies tend to encapsulate a higher degree of trimmed cards. You generally don't have to worry about PSA or SGC in this regard but they aren't 100% exempt. I don't know if GAI is bad for this or not. Perhaps someone who has some experience with them can respond.

[glchen]

Personal preference. Even the GAI one, you don't need to re-grade unless you think it's worth it. That is, not really worth re-grading a low grade common. However, if it's a mid to high grade HOFer, then something to think about when you are ready for resale. If you're not selling, you can wait.

[toledo_mudhen]

I prefer SGC as the slabs are way more aesthetically pleasing than PSA and to some extent, I trust SGC more than I do PSA to be consistent and deliver a quality product (IMHO). Having said that, there is no doubt that PSA slabs typically bring higher dollars on resale. It all depends on what you are looking for in your collection.

Additionally, you will hear that for Pre War - go SGC and Post War go PSA. I personally have violated this rule for many years as I am an avid 55 Topps collector. They look awesome in SGC slabs.

Finally, I have struggled with acceptance of GAI for many years as I want to trust them but have probably subbed a dozen or so to SGC for crossover and am 1 for 12 on having that happen successfully. The same goes for Beckett - not a lot of luck on having them cross.

If all of this makes you more confused than before you started reading - simply pickup identical cards, (one PSA one SGC) in identical grades of a lower cost card and put them side by side.

I think your choice will then become obvious.

[t206blogcom]

All previous posts offer very valid points for your consideration. Personally, I prefer SGC for pre-war cards. I've had good experiences with them, I find them to be more consistent than PSA (and tougher on grading), and I prefer the look of their holders for pre-war cards. I prefer PSA for modern cards though. You might want to take a look at Beckett as well. Their cases are the thickest and the toughest to crack, which can add to card protection and tamper-proof security. They also put the card in a sleeve before encapsulating, so some feel that offers additional protection. Finally, Beckett tends to be the toughest on grading out of the three. I have purchased a few Beckett graded cards and they are growing on me. It'll probably come down to which case do you think makes your cards look the best. Good luck!

[billyb]

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