New SGC grading fees

[oldjudge]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe SGC guarantees the grade on their card. The potential liability from grading a very valuable card is much higher than the potential liability from grading a $25 card. That, and the cost of insuring the card while in their possession is also higher. I'm sure this explains at least part of SGCs cost structure.

[glchen]

Right, the rationale between charging more for a higher declared value is that the TPG's guarantee the authenticity of the card and the grade. (I know folks will argue about the WWG Dimaggio since it looks like PSA isn't backing off the 7, but let's not get into that here.) Therefore, if the TPG is incorrect, they have to pay for the difference in the value of the card between the correct and incorrect grades or entire value if the card were not authentic. You can think of this as a kind of "insurance," so if the TPG has a higher liability on the card, it would only be fair that they would charge more for that. For example, I believe SGC may have had to pay out due to incorrectly authenticating a few D350-3 cards a couple of years ago including a Ruth (Link) which could have cost them tens of thousands of dollars. (As a result of this, I believe SGC is now no longer putting many stamped back variations on the flip.) Therefore, it seems justified to me that a TPG take higher fees for a 10K card than a $10 card due to these liability issues. In addition for higher dollar cards, I believe that the TPG does spend more time with the card. I remember on the PSA forum, in one thread (Link), SGC did not certify the grade for the card because it would be very valuable with that grade, so they wanted another grader to confirm the grade on that card before they allowed the grade to pop. And that grader was on vacation for that week, so the submitter would need to wait a little longer to receive the their card back even though they paid for a 2 day service level. So it is both greater liability and greater attention to the more valuable cards that factors into the higher service fees.

I just wanted to add that Beckett actually does not charge a different service fee for the declared value of the card. They only charge different fees based upon turnaround time. Only PSA and SGC charge different fees based upon declared values. So you can say it can be a business decision by the TPG also.

[botn]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe SGC guarantees the grade on their card. The potential liability from grading a very valuable card is much higher than the potential liability from grading a $25 card. That, and the cost of insuring the card while in their possession is also higher. I'm sure this explains at least part of SGCs cost structure.

Both PSA and SGC have a guarantee on their grades however neither company buys back as many cards as they should however SGC is probably better at honoring their guarantee. I know they cannot possibly be worse than PSA in this regard. Anyway, if the graders are doing their job then there should be no reason to have to offer a guarantee on their opinions.

[1952boyntoncollector]

has anyone on this board ever enacted the PSA guarantee and was compensated?

[Dpeck100]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

has anyone on this board ever enacted the PSA guarantee and was compensated?

I purchased a card from a collector/seller that had a wrinkle that was either missed or happened during the sealing process. I worked with him and PSA and he was compensated fairly. It stunk for me because it was a Pop 1 PSA 9 and I sold my other highest copy as it was being mailed to me. A real bummer.

[buymycards]

Originally Posted by botn

Both PSA and SGC have a guarantee on their grades however neither company buys back as many cards as they should however SGC is probably better at honoring their guarantee. I know they cannot possibly be worse than PSA in this regard. Anyway, if the graders are doing their job then there should be no reason to have to offer a guarantee on their opinions.

1st question - If these companies guarantee their grades, what happens if I send in a card and it grades a 2, and later on I sell the card and someone else sends it in and it grades a 7, shouldn't I be compensated for the difference in value because it was graded too low to begin with? I am pretty much just joking, but it is an interesting concept.

2nd question - PSA's Collectors Club requires an annual fee. Is SGC's Gold Club fee an annual fee or just a one time fee? I can't find the info on their website.

Rick

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by buymycards

2nd question - Is SGC's Gold Club fee an annual fee or just a one time fee? I can't find the info on their website.

Rick

It is a yearly subscription.