PSA vs SGC...the definitive Debate!!!

[bbcard1]

I cast my vote for GAI. And also for Mrs. Howell.

(if you are under 50 you probably don't get it).

[bbsports]

My vote goes to PRO. With PRO you know what kind of cards their grading. With SGC & PSA, it's like buying a box of Cracker Jack. You never know what your going to get.

[Matthew80]

Couple of questions from a rookie:

1. Is it widely believed to be true that the name of the submitter can influence the grade?!

2. Are there any studies (reputable or otherwise) that have tested the popular claim that these companies grade inconsistently? It seems like it would be a great way to objectively identify which of the two is most consistent.

3. Is the experience and anticipation of waiting for a submitted card an enjoyable or scary one? In other words, do they tend to be too generous or picky? I'm not sure which way they lean, or if they're really all over the board.

Thanks in advance.

[bobbyw8469]

Sounds like SGC was consistent and you just disagreed with the grades. I would definitely like to see scans of what you are talking about. Mutoscope is non-sports? 1940s?

SGC was consistent. Consistently bad. Mutoscopes are 1940's pin-up girls. I won a box of vending from one of the major auction houses. These cards looked brand new. I called Michael Goldberg and asked him about grading the entire set. I wanted to pay extra for the "My Divers Liscense" card as that is the money card and they had to custom make a gasket. The gaskets that they normally use don't fit the cards, and they just float around. I told Michael, that any 8's and above that I got, I wanted to pay extra for the custom gasket. When they were graded, and I asked Micahel how much extra I owed him, he laughed and said "nothing - none of your cards graded that high". I got mostly 4's-6's. The Diver's liscense card graded a '7' and looked more like and '8' or '9'.
When I got the cards back in hand, I looked them over and showed them to my girlfriend, who tolerates the hobby even though she is into other things. I showed her some of the 4's, and she laughed "How did this get a '4'? This looks brand new!?!?!" I stated, "My thoughts exactly" and proceeded to crack them all out of the cases. If I had left them in the cases with the incorrect grades, buyers woulda focused on the grades and not the cards, and I would've received peanuts for the cards. Instead, I sold them raw, got a decent amount, and the bidder who bought the majority of the cards shipped them off to PSA, where he proceeded to get 7's and 8's. I did call SGC for clarification and was told that there must have been "minute cracking/crazing" that can't be seen with the naked eye, and can only be seen with extreme magnification! WTF!?!?! That whole lesson cost me around $400-$500.

PS - I saved the scan of the "money card"