NEED HELP.......Crossover Question

[cardsnstuff]

So I have at least 50+; $500+ cards that were graded personally Mike Baker during the early days of GAI. I know for a fact because I watched him do it, during the National in Cleveland in the early 00's. As I'm going thru my stuff, I realize they won't sell at their in GAI slabs for what their worth. PSA is in town this weekend at Valley Forge and I prefer to drop them off.

Questions:
1} Am I wasting my money {probably about $1k}
2] What % will cross assuming PSA will cross them? although I have heard horror stories about crossing GAI stuff.
3} SGC is in town too, am I better off giving it to them?

answers appreciated, as I can really use some advice on this and don't want to ship approx 25K in cards. I've never had them reviewed.

[Goudey77]

If SGC and PSA are onsite I would talk to a rep on both sides and ask them directly. Giving them details of who graded them prior wouldnt hurt to mention. I would personally go with PSA.

[cardsnstuff]

Originally Posted by Goudey77

If SGC and PSA are onsite I would talk to a rep on both sides and ask them directly. Giving them details of who graded them prior wouldnt hurt to mention. I would personally go with PSA.

PSA is not doing onsite; {don't know about SGC is or not} they would bring them with them to CAl. I don't know if there reps would even know who he is.

If need be I can wait until the NAt'l in AC, this year, but it will probably cost me significantly more at the nat'l

[perezfan]

Maybe just crack them out yourself, and sell them raw, via Greg Morris.

You won't have to worry or stress over PSA's ridiculous fees, transporting the cards to California, their built-in crossover bias, the long waiting times, and/or PSA's general incompetence.

That's what I'd do... Greg Morris (raw)

Best of luck!

[DeanH3]

Baker was a very capable grader, but more lenient on small surface wrinkles, slight back damage and corner wear. And standards are much tighter today so I wouldn't expect an equal cross on most even if you were to get an unbiased evaluation.

My experience tells me that SGC has been more "fair" on judging GAI cards for their own merit. While PSA seems to see the holder and not the card. I don't know if this is still true because it's probably been 10+ years since my last experience. But I thought I'd share why opinion for what it's worth.

if you want to go with PSA submit them raw. If you want to leave them in the holder, send them to SGC.

If you're looking to sell, you're better off having your cards in PSA/SGC holders even at a lower grade.

Good luck!

[swarmee]

If you really want them in PSA holders, your best bet is to set the minimum grade at 1 point below what they are currently. If you set a GAI 7 with a min grade of PSA 7, most of them will likely get sent back in GAI holders. If they'll be worth more as a PSA 6 or above, then set the min grade to whatever your break even point is.

[cardsnstuff]

Thanks for the answers; I'll probably stop by at SGC and see what they say, I'm probably going to leave them in the holder, for now. Many are high grade, 8's, 9's and a few 10's. So, I guess I have some homework; I need to see market value for an PSA 8 as compared to SGC 9 etc. If they don't cross, I guess I'll make another decision come NAt'l time.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by cardsnstuff

So I have at least 50+; $500+ cards that were graded personally Mike Baker during the early days of GAI. I know for a fact because I watched him do it, during the National in Cleveland in the early 00's. As I'm going thru my stuff, I realize they won't sell at their in GAI slabs for what their worth. PSA is in town this weekend at Valley Forge and I prefer to drop them off.

Questions:
1} Am I wasting my money {probably about $1k}
2] What % will cross assuming PSA will cross them? although I have heard horror stories about crossing GAI stuff.
3} SGC is in town too, am I better off giving it to them?

answers appreciated, as I can really use some advice on this and don't want to ship approx 25K in cards. I've never had them reviewed.

Tony,

What's the objective? Are you planning to sell the cards? If so, then you're assumption of not getting total value on the cards is probably a good assumption and you'd be better off getting them sent to PSA or SGC. If they're accepting submissions on a walk-in basis at a show, that's probably the smartest way to go because you not only save on shipping, but you'll have peace of mind by not having to worry that they'll make it to the TPG.

If you plan on keeping the cards then why bother with getting them put into different slabs. They're protected already.

If you only plan on selling certain cards then do a walk-in submission for those cards.

GAI was a decent TPG but something happened along the way and they were assigning numeric grades to altered cards (not that it never happens with the other reputable TPGs - it just seemed to occur more with GAI after they were around for a while).

If the cards are newer, then I'd go with PSA, if they're vintage, the either SGC or PSA, however a lot of people are of the opinion that PSA gets higher prices. To me it doesn't matter because I don't bid on the grading company or grade.

[cardsnstuff]

Originally Posted by Fred

Tony,

What's the objective? Are you planning to sell the cards? If so, then you're assumption of not getting total value on the cards is probably a good assumption and you'd be better off getting them sent to PSA or SGC. If they're accepting submissions on a walk-in basis at a show, that's probably the smartest way to go because you not only save on shipping, but you'll have peace of mind by not having to worry that they'll make it to the TPG.

If you plan on keeping the cards then why bother with getting them put into different slabs. They're protected already.

If you only plan on selling certain cards then do a walk-in submission for those cards.

GAI was a decent TPG but something happened along the way and they were assigning numeric grades to altered cards (not that it never happens with the other reputable TPGs - it just seemed to occur more with GAI after they were around for a while).

If the cards are newer, then I'd go with PSA, if they're vintage, the either SGC or PSA, however a lot of people are of the opinion that PSA gets higher prices. To me it doesn't matter because I don't bid on the grading company or grade.

I may keep some, but many are going for sale.

[chalupacollects]

Try selling some on the BST! I have used with many members and though a little leery at first being new at the time. I used PP G&S the first time (covered the fee) with a seller and then FF afterwards...

The BST is pretty darn good at policing itself I must say...

[Leon]

Because it is rather safe, I should mention, it is still caveat emptor (buyer beware) in our BST sections. There are no safeguards other than regular law enforcement. Make sure your trading partner is well vetted and have fun. Any member can always PM me or another moderator to try to help.

As to the original question of crossing over, I will let others opine.

[Yoda]

I know GAI back in the early days used to print on the holder "first graded" if that was the case, which seemed to give the card more credibility and buyer confidence that Mike Baker was the grader. If you have any of those, I am sure they would sell easily on a stand alone basis. \
From a selfish standpoint, I would love to see them, as somebody mentioned, on the B/S/T. Sure there would be a lot of interest and spirited action.