SGC grading standards

[rats60]

Since when? I graded a bunch of t205s at the 2015 National. I thought the grades were strict but fair and even a few of the HOFers I thought were under graded. I sent the cards that didn't meet my minimum grade of 5 to PSA. Most came back 4 or 4.5, but I got a few 5/5.5 and 1 6.

[Throttlesteer]

Overall, SGC and PSA seem to be getting stricter. But, it will always be one person's opinion.

[MichelaiTorres83]

The green cobb sgc 4 in pwcc
The cobb bat sgc 5.5 in pwcc
The bat on sov 150 sgc 4 in pwcc
The evers portrait sgc 4 in heritage
The red cobb old mill sgc 4.5 in pwcc
The red cobb sgc 4 piedmont 460 in pwcc

The list goes on. Those are just examples.

[Throttlesteer]

Originally Posted by MichelaiTorres83

The green cobb sgc 4 in pwcc
The cobb bat sgc 5.5 in pwcc
The bat on sov 150 sgc 4 in pwcc
The evers portrait sgc 4 in heritage
The red cobb old mill sgc 4.5 in pwcc
The red cobb sgc 4 piedmont 460 in pwcc

The list goes on. Those are just examples.

PWCC and Heritage may not be the best yardstick for the rest of the hobby. I realize higher grade green Cobbs are getting rarer outside of AHs. But, both mentioned always seem to command premiums, regardless of TPG. They also get examples that are superior for the grade.

[MichelaiTorres83]

My post was not about the prices. The auction house is irrelevant. There is simply a large percentage of cards that would appear to be under graded compared to hundreds of other examples, maybe even a thousand.

They are all of a sudden showing up in bulk?

[Throttlesteer]

Sorry if I misinterpreted your post. The AHs are relevant because all of the examples you identified came from either PWCC or Heritage. They are both known for selling "undergraded" or superior examples for their respective grade (hence why they fetch bigger $$$$). I think the jury is still out on SGC as a whole. But, the common thought is both SGC and PSA are becoming tougher regardless of grading tier. In another thread, I mentioned that many cards with the recent SGC and latest-generation PSA holders seem to be .5-1.0 grades lower than older generation holders. Many new VG cards would easily have fetched a 4 a few years back. Check out the T206 Johnson Portrait PSA 3 on Ebay right now. Tell me if you think that has a shot-in-hell chance of getting that grade today.

Both PSA and SGC can cherry pick a specific auction result to try and boost their individual market reputations. But, I haven't seen any evidence that SGC is consistently outselling PSA. It's undoubtedly what they're trying to portray (per your second point).

I will also note that there are a large number of re-holders (identified by their cert #) showing up, banking on your observation.

[MichelaiTorres83]

Yes. There was a shift to harder grades from PSA a while back and no matching shift from SGC. That is why their prices plummeted in comparison.

You don’t think there has now been a shift in SGC to tougher grades based on everything listed in one of their new holders? You only think PWCC got these under graded items in bulk and didn’t high end sticker them?

Again, price and auction has no part in my question, just holder, grade and card quality.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by MichelaiTorres83

My post was not about the prices. The auction house is irrelevant. There is simply a large percentage of cards that would appear to be under graded compared to hundreds of other examples, maybe even a thousand.

They are all of a sudden showing up in bulk?

Under graded or look under graded compared to previously over graded cards? I think it is the later. I see very few cards that are under graded, but lots of over graded cards (in old holders?).

[MichelaiTorres83]

The black label cards appear to have harder grading standards when compared to SGC grading standards during their green label phase, excluding reholdered cards, prices and auction house.

Does that clear it up?