PSA vs GAI

[Archive]

Posted By: s.slacks

To me, this issue is the weakest part of this otherwise very strong and very informative board.

I end up sounding like a PSA defender when I am just trying to be impartial – and sometimes I feel like I’m the only one doing that.

I think it’s only fair to point out the MW’s business is predicated on the success of SGC vs. PSA. Obviously, he had his reasons to convert, but I think it’s important to know where posters are coming from when they make blanket statements.

Jay writes:

<<PSA: Good with modern cards. Clueless with vintage issues, letting many trimmed/altered and incorrectly identified cards out in their holders.>>

Many? What is many? If we see two examples a week on this board, that might be a very, very small fraction of the cards they grade. When we see SGC mistakes (check the archives, they’re there) that might in fact be more troublesome because those errors represent a larger percentage of graded vintage cards.

Fact is, we don’t know exactly how many cards the grading services grade, but if you think that SGC grades more than PSA, I think you’re wrong.

<<considering the obvious conflicts of interest among Collector's Universe subsidiaries (the same people grading the cards at PSA also run an auction house where they sell PSA graded cards)>>

PSA sold Superior auctions earlier this month and is out of the auction business.

I will agree wholeheartedly that SGC does a better job with vintage – at least the pre-WWI that I see a lot of. However, a card in a PSA holder will still sell for more than in a SGC holder. You can pick examples here and there that show exceptions, but that’s the truth.

If you don’t believe this, look at the completed eBay auctions (through eBay or one of the online services that track auction results) and look at the crap that sells in PSA holders. A raw card with a grade of “good” can easily be accepted in a PSA 3 holder and go for $30 on eBay. That same card will for SGC 20 or 10 and go for half of that. The point is, the PSA holder sells.

Never forget that there are many, many more casual buyers of cards than dedicated collectors. They have a built-in comfort with PSA and pay more for it.

PSA might have lost favor with many of us, but we are a tiny percentage of the market. Their customer service proves it.

Again, I don’t like it, but I think it’s fair to relate these facts to new posters who have questions. I wish SGC was “king,” but that’s only true if king means “many vintage collectors like them the most.”

And yes, money is important to all of us, because the successful sales of our cards helps up invest more in the hobby. And no one likes to leave money on the table in a trasaction.

By the way, I’m slacks and I’m logged in now. Someone already took the name “slacks” (or maybe I did many moons ago), so I’m s.slacks. I’m happy to be a part of this board.