SGC Up-charges

[perezfan]

Is anyone here aware of SGC applying up-charges beyond their original order? I just got hit with $735 in additional grading fees (on top of the already existing up-charges from the original submission). The cards were submitted at a trade show, in which an SGC representative told me the exact values to list, along with the corresponding up-charges.

Much of the reason I went with SGC is that I was told (from good sources) that once the submission was accepted, SGC would not “hold your cards hostage” for additional money. Their customer service is non-existent… the only phone # they list refers you to an email address in which they never even respond.

Do you think this is a new policy, perhaps brought about by their merger with Collectors/PSA? Hopefully this is not a first glimpse of more corporate changes to get SGC more in alignment with PSA. They say that all good things come to an end, but really hope that’s not the case here. Please LMK if any of you have experienced the same thing from SGC.

Eager to hear others’ experiences… Thanks!

[Republicaninmass]

Horrid! Was it a 61 fleet chamberlain psa 10?

[brianp-beme]

My opinion, for all grading companies, is that fees for more valuable cards should only be based upon the additional cost to insure them when shipping back, and perhaps some adjustment for additional time spent examining them (perhaps double the low value fee would be reasonable). Any amount above these two factors is just a pure money grab.

Brian

[sb1]

Common practice by both SGC and PSA, if the card grade/value post grading falls into a higher grading tier they charge the difference between the fee paid and the one it is now in. Nothing new.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by sb1

Common practice by both SGC and PSA, if the card grade/value post grading falls into a higher grading tier they charge the difference between the fee paid and the one it is now in. Nothing new.

^^This^^ Plus I always loved up charges because it means you are getting higher grades than expected.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I always loved up charges because it means you are getting higher grades than expected.

Precisely. I was not in the slightest bit pissed off when I got upcharged on a Bill Russell RC.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by perezfan

Do you think this is a new policy, perhaps brought about by their merger with Collectors/PSA? Hopefully this is not a first glimpse of more corporate changes to get SGC more in alignment with PSA. They say that all good things come to an end, but really hope that’s not the case here. Please LMK if any of you have experienced the same thing from SGC.

Mark, you do bring up a good question. Maybe this is the first of some changes coming to SGC. I certainly hope not but I have noticed some upcharges as well coming from SGC.

[steve B]

Upcharging is pretty much standard for grading or authentication. Even without grading.

Oddly in a different hobby, as far as I know if you submit something at the higher level and it isn't what you think (Super common if you don't know stuff)
they reduce the charge to the minimum which can be hundreds of times the value of the item. Think like sending an 88 Donruss common as a Goudey Ruth.

I have seen very few that don't have value based fees.

[irishdenny]

Slightly off Topic: An Please Correct me IF I am Wrong...

"But doesn't PSA Own SGC Now?"

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

Slightly off Topic: An Please Correct me IF I am Wrong...

"But doesn't PSA Own SGC Now?"

It's actually "Collectors" that now owns both. People I've spoken with (aside from this conversation on net54) do seem to believe that the recent more strictly enforced up-charges are indeed a result of the merger.

[Snowman]

I regularly get upcharges from SGC. This is standard stuff and has been for years. It has more to do with which cards you're submitting then anything else. If you submit lower end cards, you'll never get upcharged. But if you try to sneak in a nice Goudey Ruth at a lower tier, they'll upcharge you every time. If a card is only slightly above the threshold, they'll usually let it slide (so far, always in my case). But if you're submitting a $12k card at $7499 max level, you're getting hit with it every time in my experience. They have grading tiers for a reason. This is their business model.