SGC T206s....It needs to be brought up, it's scary, very scary if you are a collector

[steve B]

SGC

The revamped registry isn't bad. But it's not a whole lot better than the old one.
Relevant? That's sort of silly. If you only collect PSA the SGC registry is just as irrelevant to you as the PSA registry is to me. Relevance is entirely subjective.

The changed then rechanged flip being a complaint is also amusing. They made a change customers didn't like and listened to their customers. I'm not seeing a problem other than a lack of market research that could have saved them some effort.

PSA

I haven't seen one, but from all I hear the new case is pretty good. Unless you use PSAs own storage boxes, then it's not so good. But a more tamper resistant case isn't a bad thing.

New flip?!?!? I didn't notice. really new? or just tweaks to the same design they've had since the start?

HEH! SGC registry had photos when I did my first submission- I forget when, maybe 2010? So much for innovation.

App? Haven't followed that. I'm betting I can't get it for my phone. It's apple/android only right? (Like every D*** app! Can I sue for discrimination? ) Just kidding, I know I probably can't.

SGC does have stuff they could do better. All companies do. I'd use PSA if they didn't have a silly cover charge. Pay me so you get the right to pay me ......for me that's pretty much a non starter.

Steve B

Originally Posted by brewing

I used to send 90% of my submissions to SGC, I now send 90% to PSA.

Outside of turnaround time PSA beats SGC up and down the block in everything else.

In the past 3 years the following actions have taken place by the companies.

SGC:
Revamped registry site, minimal improvement. Still irrelevant compared to PSA.
Changed flip and rechanged after customers voiced displeasure.

PSA:
New case which is harder to tamper with.
New Flip.
Upgraded Registry to allow for photo albums.
Released app that allows you to scan or input the registration number.

To me, it seems like either SGC isn't trying, doesn't want to improve , or is inept at marketing.

Brent Ingr@m

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by steve B

... I'd use PSA if they didn't have a silly cover charge. Pay me so you get the right to pay me ......for me that's pretty much a non starter.

Steve B

PSA hasn't required a membership to submit cards for grading in a long time. Yet, about once every six months or so, someone complains that they do.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

PSA hasn't required a membership to submit cards for grading in a long time. Yet, about once every six months or so, someone complains that they do.

Interesting.

They sure do hide that fact. Not a surprise since the club membership must be a good money maker.

I was just looking at the site, and it's a bit hard to find stuff. Kinda cluttered. Finally found the specials and they're not all that great this month. Nice price, but 25 card minimum and they need to be under $100 value . I think I've maybe done 30 -40 cards over several years. So while I can send in, it would be at the $17 rate which is a lot more than the $10 regular fee at SGC (whose specials this month are more than PSAs specials but with more value allowed and no minimum quantity. )

If I had a loads of modernish cards where the price difference would be worth it, I might join.
But for what I do SGC makes it really easy.

Steve B

[glchen]

Originally Posted by steve B

Interesting.

They sure do hide that fact. Not a surprise since the club membership must be a good money maker.

I was just looking at the site, and it's a bit hard to find stuff. Kinda cluttered. Finally found the specials and they're not all that great this month. Nice price, but 25 card minimum and they need to be under $100 value . I think I've maybe done 30 -40 cards over several years. So while I can send in, it would be at the $17 rate which is a lot more than the $10 regular fee at SGC (whose specials this month are more than PSAs specials but with more value allowed and no minimum quantity. )

If I had a loads of modernish cards where the price difference would be worth it, I might join.
But for what I do SGC makes it really easy.

Steve B

That's right. You don't need a PSA membership to submit to PSA. However, if you want to use their specials, then you do need the membership. I've always found the membership worthwhile because for the Platinum membership, it averages out to ~$17 per card which is about the same for that declared value when there is a special on it. And you also receive a year's subscription to the SMR magazine and the free gift. The current free gift is just a t-shirt, which isn't anything special, but in the past, I've gotten the Cracker Jack and T206 books, which are nice coffee table items.

I do admit this month's SGC $10 special for cards under $500 is especially good. However, PSA's special for cards under $100 are pretty decent also. It's pretty rare for the specials to break $6 these days, and 25 cards minimum isn't bad. (In comparison, this month's Beckett special is $7 per card, and you need to submit 100 cards minimum. Of course, Beckett does not have a declared value maximum for their specials. That's still a lot of cards, however.)

I thought that the ST qualifier for PSA was only for wax stains and not for other types of stains. I could be wrong, however.