Wow psa blowing away competitors

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

I would disagree on your notion of strictness. Were they an easier grader 20 years ago? Sure. But SGC is both tough and consistent on vintage these days. PSA from what I have seen is more inconsistent than anything recently, which I guess also means that they are sometimes tougher. Also just my view.


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I’m by no means an expert but it seems like psa is stricter in terms of 50s and 60s. Pre war probably closer to the same.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Carter08

I’m by no means an expert but it seems like psa is stricter in terms of 50s and 60s. Pre war probably closer to the same.

My wheelhouse is 50’s through the 70’s. I’m not going to say with conviction that I think SGC is tougher than PSA, but they certainly aren’t any easier right now.

Tomato / tomaato. I’ve seen older PSA slabbed vintage in a 5 that would be lucky to get a 3 today. It’s a slow pendulum that swings back and forth. I think we are a product of our experiences. And to your original point there are a lot of exceptions either way.

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[ClementeFanOh]

PSA is NOT stricter on vintage than SGC currently. I'm an SGC "acolyte"-
nice Dungeons and Dragons term!- but even I admit SGC is far, far too
harsh on vintage (not just baseball) as of October 2022. The main difference
is the SGC submitter knows this and also knows their card will return in the
same calendar year it was submitted. PSA submitters have no idea a) when
their cards will return and b) what grade they will receive. Anything is
possible with PSA grades, there is a lack of rhyme or reason. It's an
imperfect reality, but still reality. Trent King

PS- the best answer for hobbyists who prefer slabbed, is to deal with
previously slabbed cards. That way, you can avoid the current uncertainty
with submitting and judge slabbed cards on their merits.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

PSA is NOT stricter on vintage than SGC currently. I'm an SGC "acolyte"-
nice Dungeons and Dragons term!- but even I admit SGC is far, far too
harsh on vintage (not just baseball) as of October 2022. The main difference
is the SGC submitter knows this and also knows their card will return in the
same calendar year it was submitted. PSA submitters have no idea a) when
their cards will return and b) what grade they will receive. Anything is
possible with PSA grades, there is a lack of rhyme or reason. It's an
imperfect reality, but still reality. Trent King

PS- the best answer for hobbyists who prefer slabbed, is to deal with
previously slabbed cards. That way, you can avoid the current uncertainty
with submitting and judge slabbed cards on their merits.

I disagree. I'v crossed far too many recently graded PSA slabs into higher grade SGC slabs recently for me to believe that is the case. Yes, there is variance among graders, but right now, in my experience, PSA is grading ridiculously harsh. I've seen so many EX cards in PSA VG holders recently. It's absolutely mind-blowing.

[cammb]

Originally Posted by Carter08

SGC seems to do a fine job and all but psa is king of the market, no doubt about it. Some people have varying degrees of feeling about this but I also think overall sgc is an easier grader to the point where a new label psa 3 equals a new label sgc 4 or higher. Just my view and plenty of exceptions.

What???a.

[cammb]

Originally Posted by Carter08

SGC seems to do a fine job and all but psa is king of the market, no doubt about it. Some people have varying degrees of feeling about this but I also think overall sgc is an easier grader to the point where a new label psa 3 equals a new label sgc 4 or higher. Just my view and plenty of exceptions.

What???

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Snowman

I disagree. I'v crossed far too many recently graded PSA slabs into higher grade SGC slabs recently for me to believe that is the case. Yes, there is variance among graders, but right now, in my experience, PSA is grading ridiculously harsh. I've seen so many EX cards in PSA VG holders recently. It's absolutely mind-blowing.

Lol, just watched a YT video in which some experienced vintage collectors were saying pretty much just the opposite. They had cracked some PSA 8's, perhaps with the notion of them getting 8.5's or 9's with SGC. And SGC sent one card back a 7, and the other a 7.5.

I think it's probably fairest to say right now that the two graders are very close in their standards, and on any given day it probably could go either way as to who is the toughest.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Kind of surprised some private equity people haven't swooped in and bought SGC, poured money into it, and turned it into a real company. Where someone actually does normal things you'd expect from a business, like, you know, answer the fukkin phone.

I can only imagine trying to explain a finer point of something about cards to a guy in a call center somewhere....

I haven't had an acceptable call to a large company in years, between the outright lies and willful lack of understanding anything.

I've told a couple they should rename it to the "customer disservice" department.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by steve B

I can only imagine trying to explain a finer point of something about cards to a guy in a call center somewhere....

I haven't had an acceptable call to a large company in years, between the outright lies and willful lack of understanding anything.

I've told a couple they should rename it to the "customer disservice" department.

I wanted to contact Toyota customer service the other day and they've shut down the email option, you literally cannot email them. And the phone option is a menu tree cluster fork that you can't bypass by saying representative or customer service.

You know who is actually good now IMO is ebay, very easy to reach on the phone.

[painthistorian]

Any company that refuses to answer a phone call for customer service, I will not transact with that company anymore no matter how much I liked them in the past. It does not matter the product or service, whether is autos or cable service
, baseball cards or anything else, dont support companies that do not even allow you to speak to them.
SGC made a huge mistake not allowing phone inquiries, no calls after Covid became a lame excuse.

[icurnmedic]

Originally Posted by painthistorian

Any company that refuses to answer a phone call for customer service, I will not transact with that company anymore no matter how much I liked them in the past. It does not matter the product or service, whether is autos or cable service
, baseball cards or anything else, dont support companies that do not even allow you to speak to them.
SGC made a huge mistake not allowing phone inquiries, no calls after Covid became a lame excuse.

Yep , pretty much sums it up for me as well.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by painthistorian

Any company that refuses to answer a phone call for customer service, I will not transact with that company anymore no matter how much I liked them in the past. It does not matter the product or service, whether is autos or cable service
, baseball cards or anything else, dont support companies that do not even allow you to speak to them.
SGC made a huge mistake not allowing phone inquiries, no calls after Covid became a lame excuse.

And at PSA you will be #43 in the queue by 7:30AM PST M-F and by 8 you can try your call tomorrow. Both companies blow on so many different levels. Hasn't SGC handed out their email addresses? I thought they had at one time and were always great with replying.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

And the phone option is a menu tree cluster fork

I haven't seen it before, and I salute you if you are the person to have come up with ' menu tree cluster fork'...so very appropriate for the looping hell that can be an automated customer service phone situation.

I can almost see a graphic of a phone in the shape of a fork with tines all twisting in knots and curving back on themselves.

Brian

[BCauley]

I see these posts comparing number of cards graded over the previous month frequently enough on social media. It just reminds me of McDonald's and their "billions and billions served" slogan, assuming they still do it.

Sure, they serve a lot more burgers but they're far from the best burgers around.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by BCauley

I see these posts comparing number of cards graded over the previous month frequently enough on social media. It just reminds me of McDonald's and their "billions and billions served" slogan, assuming they still do it.

Sure, they serve a lot more burgers but they're far from the best burgers around.

That is a great comparison.

They also both regularly get your order wrong.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I wanted to contact Toyota customer service the other day and they've shut down the email option, you literally cannot email them. And the phone option is a menu tree cluster fork that you can't bypass by saying representative or customer service.

You know who is actually good now IMO is ebay, very easy to reach on the phone.

They've been chasing me about the airbag on my POS Sienna for a while.
They even came out and left a note on the car!
Like WTF, just bring the d*** airbag if you're making the trip.
And while they're at it, some rims that don't leak air down to flat in 2 days because unlike real car companies they haven't figured out that uncoated aluminum and salt water from wintry roads don't mix.

Odd about Ebay, they used to be in the "wait a couple hours if you can even find the secret phone number" club.

[JohnP0621]

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

PSA is NOT stricter on vintage than SGC currently. I'm an SGC "acolyte"-
nice Dungeons and Dragons term!- but even I admit SGC is far, far too
harsh on vintage (not just baseball) as of October 2022. The main difference
is the SGC submitter knows this and also knows their card will return in the
same calendar year it was submitted. PSA submitters have no idea a) when
their cards will return and b) what grade they will receive. Anything is
possible with PSA grades, there is a lack of rhyme or reason. It's an
imperfect reality, but still reality. Trent King

PS- the best answer for hobbyists who prefer slabbed, is to deal with
previously slabbed cards. That way, you can avoid the current uncertainty
with submitting and judge slabbed cards on their merits.

I agree.
I used to submit many cards to both PSA and SGC.
I will now only buy cards that are already graded.
I know the grade when I buy it and get the card right away.
No mystery or disappointment.

Regards
John P

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

And at PSA you will be #43 in the queue by 7:30AM PST M-F and by 8 you can try your call tomorrow. Both companies blow on so many different levels. Hasn't SGC handed out their email addresses? I thought they had at one time and were always great with replying.

A human being for customer service would be nice. What happened to Earl??

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

A human being for customer service would be nice. What happened to Earl??

So email is not good enough? You demand someone pick up the phone?

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

So email is not good enough? You demand someone pick up the phone?

I mean, as long as we're asking for stuff, we might as well get greedy.