Cross Registry

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by steve B

Those are some interesting thoughts.
While I enjoyed my very minor participation in SGCs registry years ago, and yes, it felt weird to be interested in seeing my one or two cards added bringing me from like 70th to 65th, I hadn't considered anyone paying anything beyond the grading fees to use the registry.

I wouldn't be in at a few hundred a set, but I could see some people being into it that much. (I'm not even sure I'd be in at a few dollars a set, I'm cheap)

One thing I have learned being here, is that way more people than I would have ever imagined are obsessed with consistency, having the cards all be the same grade, in the same version of the same companies holder... Totally not me, I'm happy to just "finish" a set and have most of the nice cards in some sort of holder. Stuff is getting pricy enough I may have to buy a couple cases of penny sleeves for the P-F cards.

I wasn't thinking of pop reports either. Just that having some ability to automate by checking with the database like the serial number lookup feature does would prevent a ton of data entry costs.

It's certainly true that the set registry isn't everybody's thing. But I've heard it said so many times that PSA's set registry is what gives them such a huge market advantage, that I figure there's a market for an independent registry that can be used for any legit TPG. A collector could still have cards from only one TPG if they want, but there would be the option to mix and match cards from different, reputable TPGs.

Here's how I envision it working, to illustrate the value to the collector:

Someone is working on a higher grade 1966 Topps set. It takes them a few years of buying the best, yet affordable, examples of each card. This means picking up nice cards regardless if PSA, SGC, or BVG. They are buying the card, not the holder, but they do want them slabbed with some assurance of authenticity. Finally their set is complete, and they want to "show it off," so to speak, and list it among other 1966 Topps sets to see just where it stands. Maybe with a few upgrades it can move up the ladder a few rungs.

So they go to the Registry site and it works like this:

1. They pay the fee (which covers the data entry costs, website development and hosting, plus some profit to the registry owners)
2. They submit proof of ownership of the cards in their set
3. They give their set a moniker for the registry. For example "Mas Takela."

4. Their cards are entered into the database. Fields included are:

Set (1966 Topps)
Name (Mas Takela)
Card_number (50)
Card_Name (Mickey Mantle)
TPG (BVG)
TPG_Grade (6)
TPG_Cert_Number

From a technical, data modeling perspective, several of the fields above, particularly the first 2, would use surrogate keys to reference another table. With further thought, more fields might also be useful.

Then the Registry sends an email to the collector, saying his set is now in the database, and his current ranking is #12 among 1966 Topps sets.

The collector has fun upgrading it here and there, moving up the ladder a bit, but having other sets upgrade past his, sort of like a slow-moving horse race, and one day he decides it's time to sell it. So he consigns to an AH.

Currently, when an AH sells a complete set, they list the grading details of the key cards, and then some general description of the other 500 cards in the set, like 50% PSA 6, 35% PSA 5, etc.

But with this new registry, the AH describes the key cards and then adds: This set is currently #12 on the Net54 Cross Registry, listed as Mas Takela.

Here's where the value comes in. Prospective bidders go to the Registry site, select 1966 Topps, look down the list to the 12th row where the Mas Takela entry is, click on that name, and a data dump of all the cards in this specific set display. They can see, for every card in the set, all the fields listed above - TPG, its TPG grade, and cert number.

So, let's say a prospective bidder already has a near complete, mint, run of high numbers, and he sees this set is weak in that area but strong everywhere else. This is a great upgrade opportunity for him. Or, like Steve says, lets suppose someone much prefers a particular TPG. They can see how many, and specifically which cards, are thus slabbed.

And then, when somebody wins the set at auction, they can compare each card's cert number to the Registry, to be assured they are receiving precisely the set they were bidding on, down to each common. Of course, the AH would do the same verification before listing it.

When someone wants to upgrade cards in their registry set, they aren't slaves to a specific TPG. If PSA has 8 month wait times and price increases, they can submit to a different TPG if they want. It's their choice to use the same TPG for all their cards, or not. It is, after all, their set.

An added outcome is that it increases competition among TPG in terms of their pricing and service (wait times) and that is good for the collector. If PSA has a monopoly on set registries, breaking that monopoly is good for collectors.