Thoughts on Third Party Graders?

[oldjudge]

PSA gets the highest prices
PSA has the best registry
PSA is extremely consistent
PSA has great customer service

It's not that SGC does a bad job, but given the above why would anyone not use PSA?

[sycks22]

It always baffles me how they can charge $5k to grade a high end card. I wish my opinion was worth $5k for a minute of work.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

PSA gets the highest prices
PSA has the best registry
PSA is extremely consistent
PSA has great customer service

It's not that SGC does a bad job, but given the above why would anyone not use PSA?

I TRUST SGC much more than PSA, especially on very old cards and very rare cards. PSA beats in most things, but when it comes to cards before 1930, I trust SGC’s opinion of authenticity - PSA screws up too often on these in my opinion

[Goudey77]

Being a new guy around here I’d like someone to elaborate on this claim. Do you have examples? I’d love to read about it.

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I TRUST SGC much more than PSA, especially on very old cards and very rare cards. PSA beats in most things, but when it comes to cards before 1930, I trust SGC’s opinion of authenticity - PSA screws up too often on these in my opinion

[Rhotchkiss]

[QUOTE=Goudey77;1860759]Being a new guy around here I’d like someone to elaborate on this claim. Do you have examples? I’d love to read about it.[/QUOTE

Badgers game us on and I am not going into it, but somewhere here is a thread about a PSA 4, T206 Brown Old Mill that was for sale on eBay - first, it was not a brown old mill, it was mislabeled (a $15k+ mistake), plus if it was a brown OM it should not have gotten a numerical grade. That is one of many examples

[Yastrzemski Sports]

PSA is the best for old cards. But you do see a lot of auction companies using SGC now because the turn around times are so much better.

PSA or BGS is good for newer cards. In some cases BGS is preferred.

[Dpeck100]

My primary goal when I submit a card for grading is to increase its value. If you are going to invest additional funds into a collectible you own you certainly want to try and recoup your investment and then have some return on it. I do send in a few cards where I know I probably will lose but not many.

PSA dominates in general but there are obviously loads of cards in BGS and SGC holders that go for big money so you need to make the decision that best suites your interests. With vintage card collectors, virtually no one considers BVG as their first choice but they might choose SGC and on a modern card SGC would be their last choice.

I made a conscious decision early on to build my collection in PSA slabs as they are the third party grader with the strongest brand and you can generally assume that if you start collecting a certain set that additional submissions will occur and you now have a more active chance to build your sets or fill spots in your collection.

There are very few industries that exist where one participant has so much market share. In the card grading world it does and PSA is the dominating force. There is no getting around that point. People can debate all kinds of factors in regards to the companies but market share is just a real world stat that can't be disputed.

The public has truly embraced graded collectibles so I would choose the route that best works for you and go with it.

[Rhotchkiss]

Case in point (no pun intended) - check out the two e90-2 Wagners in REA. They are both graded 4 - one by PSA, one by SGC. In my opinion, the SGC is the superior card, yet it is currently sitting at $1,000 less than it’s PSA counterpart.

People will pay more for the PSA flip (case), even if the card is inferior to one in an SGC case. I will take the superior card for less in an SGC case all day long on vintage (pre 1920 cards), especially if it’s rare. If I collected “new” cards (i.e., 1930 and newer), I would want the card in s PSA flip just bc the cards are commodities and the market values these commodities more in a PSA flip.

Also, I just trust SGC’s authentication skills more on the really old stuff.

BTW- I own neither Wagner.

[xplainer]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

PSA gets the highest prices
PSA has the best registry
PSA is extremely consistent
PSA has great customer service

It's not that SGC does a bad job, but given the above why would anyone not use PSA?

There are so many post I agree with. But I chose this one to comment on.

PSA is almost always late on their projected turn arounfd times. SGC almost always meets theirs. You get what you pay for with them. Research and see what the first card graded by PSA was, and then question why was this their first card?

Personally, I go with SGC because I do not trust PSA. However, that is submitting.

I will buy PSA graded, I will not submit to them. Everyone thinks PSA is infallible. But I don’t.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidse.../#2ea759da7854

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

PSA gets the highest prices
PSA has the best registry
PSA is extremely consistent
PSA has great customer service

It's not that SGC does a bad job, but given the above why would anyone not use PSA?

Jay, I give you a grade of 75% - 3 out of 4 correct. "PSA is extremely consistent" - Say what?!!

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

Jay, I give you a grade of 75% - 3 out of 4 correct. "PSA is extremely consistent" - Say what?!!

Perhaps he meant to say consistently inconsistent.

You cannot sell a card before you buy it.

If you pay $10 for a GHI card and sell it for $20, you have doubled your money.
If you pay $20 for an LMNOP card and sell it for $40, you have doubled your money.
If you pay $40 for an XYZ card and sell it for $80, you have doubled your money.

If you buy the card and not the holder, the alphabet is irrelevant.

To say XYZ is the "only way to go" because they sell for more ignores ROI.

I buy all three if the price is right, and in time sell all three for a comparable ROI.

I've said this before and am either ignored or represent a minority of one, but it works for me and I can prove it.

If PSA were to become a monopoly, don't expect turn around times to improve, don't expect a more consistent product, and furthermore don't expect their prices to drop.

Competition should improve service, improve quality and should result in lower cost as well.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

Jay, I give you a grade of 75% - 3 out of 4 correct. "PSA is extremely consistent" - Say what?!!

Perhaps he meant to say consistently inconsistent.

You cannot sell a card before you buy it.

If you pay $10 for a GHI card and sell it for $20, you have doubled your money.
If you pay $20 for an LMNOP card and sell it for $40, you have doubled your money.
If you pay $40 for an XYZ card and sell it for $80, you have doubled your money.

If you buy the card and not the holder, the alphabet is irrelevant.

To say XYZ is the "only way to go" because they sell for more ignores ROI.

I buy all three if the price is right, and in time sell all three for a comparable ROI.

I've said this before and am either ignored or represent a minority of one, but it works for me and I can prove it.

If PSA were to become a monopoly, don't expect turn around times to improve, don't expect a more consistent product, and furthermore don't expect their prices to drop.

Competition should improve service, should improve quality and should result in lower cost as well. It may not seem that way, but the alternative could be very disappointing.