Pics added of first 2 PSA cards ... Which would be better investment?

[Kutcher55]

It's an interesting debate in terms of where the vintage market is going. I can see both sides. I definitely think you're going to continue to see things go up until at least winter is over. From what I'm seeing, key vintage cards are generally more expensive now than they were 2 months ago and well they say trend is your friend.

Agree about Aaron and Mays as well. Those cards have gone up quite a bit already in 2020 and there's more room to grow if you benchmark them against Mantle. I can't ever see them on par with Mantle in terms of prices, but they certainly could close the gap some.

[jchcollins]

Prices are silly right now, yes, but it's hard to imagine nice midgrade 50's and 60's star cards of folks like Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Robinson, Koufax, et al. ever going down significantly or being "bad" investments. They've been rock solid for nearly 4 decades now in most cases. Prices might level off for a bit, sure - but it's hard to see Mantle cards en masse "going down." With him, even low grade stuff and it's hard to go wrong. 10-15 years ago, and a lower grade slabbed '53 Topps Mantle? Even like a 1 or a 2 could be had for $500 or less. What's that card worth today? Even a 1 is well north of $1,000.

It's all relative, but short of thermonuclear war or the asteroid from Armageddon materializing - it's just hard for me to see those cards turning out bad in the long run.

[wdwfan]

I just bought 3 cards last night. Haven't gotten them in yet, but it's 2 PSA and 1 SGC. Looking at the SGC, I think they look really nice. But I'm not sure once I get it in hand. However, I know they sell for like half of what PSA does. Can anyone explain this to me?

But I also got word today that the card my LCS subbed in its 10-day PSA sub back in early July finally popped today (four months later BTW on a 10-day sub). Should be in later this week, so could have 4 graded cards in my possession by the end of the weekend.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

Looking at the SGC, I think they look really nice. But I'm not sure once I get it in hand. However, I know they sell for like half of what PSA does. Can anyone explain this to me?

I don't know that the average (for vintage, anyway) would be "half" of what PSA goes for, but yes - SGC on the whole does not have the same resale value.

It's a number of things. PSA was the first recognized major third party grader, and they set up their "registry" system which was basically allowed collectors of graded cards to compete with each other early on as to who had the best and baddest slabs. Genius marketing idea. That and just the pervasiveness today, the widespread availability of cards graded by PSA I think does it.

On the flipside - I'm an SGC fan, I think for vintage and especially lately they are a more consistent and slightly tougher grader than PSA. Their slabs to me look better and are a more impressive product. So it doesn't bother me so much that SGC slabs are not at a premium compared to PSA, because I prefer them - but I think there are several reasons for this. One, no registry. One has been promised in one form or another now for decades, but it has yet to happen. Two, just a different culture of customer service. SGC is more laid back, and I've seen analogies comparing the two companies which say PSA is the corporate suits, while SGC's staff are the college potheads. Who knows. From my perspective, PSA / Collectors Universe (their parent company) have several things going against them right now, the largest of which is their alleged participation in the PWCC alteration scandal, and giving larger customers preferential treatment. Oddly enough, this has yet to even put a noticeable ding in their reputation since that scandal broke in 2019. To me, PSA's public persona is just a bit shady, with former president Joe "Never Get Cheated" Orlando failing to really even address the issue. If you've been collecting vintage for any length of time, you know full well that there are altered cards in many numbered PSA slabs. The first card they ever graded back in the 90's is now known to have been altered, and well - yeah on a macro level - nobody really cares. There are just some things that don't add up to me. But I digress...

Go SGC and save some $$ if you like. They are A-level graders with a rock solid reputation and just because they are not PSA doesn't mean they aren't legit.

[Exhibitman]

Time.

I thought about time this morning. Time is what so many collectors have had on their hands for months now. I think that is part of the puzzle of why prices on some cards are rising and some are not. Collectors have the time to think, really think, about their collecting right now. I've found myself contemplating what cards I want and how I want to collect them to a greater degree than normal, and have been selling off good chunks of material and acquiring other stuff in turn. My collecting is more purposeful than it was a year ago because I have nothing else to do than pay attention. No more rushed purchases on my phone while heading out for the evening. To be fair, I'd been going that way for a while--instead of coming home from the National with a carry-on full of random crap, the last few years I'd come home with much more directed purchases--but the virus mess has made me more aware of what I am buying and how it fits. I've even started (gasp) a few small vintage boxing sets, something I haven't done for years as a boxing type card and HOFer collector.

[wdwfan]

I now own 2 PSA cards (both scanned in OP), with one being the new cornerstone of my collection. Love them both and glad I've decided to take the plunge into graded vintage.