Do PSA slabs *really* sell for more than SGC?

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

All things being equal I would argue PSA beats SGC. Yes a High end SGC 6 can beat a low end PSA 6, but apples to apples PSA wins.

[GregMitch34]

As I have stated elsewhere, PSA has ridiculously high standards when it comes to (down) grading the M101-2s, aka Sporting News Supplements. But I now have quite a few of them. Why? Few cared about them before PSA started grading them in the jumbo holders just a few short years ago. They looked so bad in the Beckett holders and some were found to be mis-sized. (Yes, some want to keep them raw in any case but I'd guess some also hated the holders.) Once PSA started grading--even harshly--interest and collectors picked up enormously. And buyers/sellers quickly adapted to the harsh grading, pegging the value of low-graded HOFers (usually no better than a PSA 1 or 2 or even Auth) at high level. Just adapting. Not many higher graded, by PSA, will likely come along.

Of course, no SGC grading for these specimens--will be interesting if they start....

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

All things being equal I would argue PSA beats SGC. Yes a High end SGC 6 can beat a low end PSA 6, but apples to apples PSA wins.

OK. But would you pay more for that 63 Mantle as a PSA 2 or SGC 4?

My problem with PSA now is how the standards are moving. If you have a PSA 6 in an old cert, with a 0 or 1 to start, it's probably over-rated and worth less than an SGC 6. But a PSA 6 in a new cert will be undergraded and worth more. You need a conversion chart to figure the value.

For me, right now I am selling PSA and buying raw.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

OK. But would you pay more for that 63 Mantle as a PSA 2 or SGC 4?

My problem with PSA now is how the standards are moving. If you have a PSA 6 in an old cert, with a 0 or 1 to start, it's probably over-rated and worth less than an SGC 6. But a PSA 6 in a new cert will be undergraded and worth more. You need a conversion chart to figure the value.

For me, right now I am selling PSA and buying raw.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

in your example I'm taking the SGC 4. Low grade vs mid grade should still favor SGC in that case. Couldn't agree more about the current grading situation and think that's a pretty good strategy when you are as knowledgeable as you are and aren't at very much risk of getting taken with an altered card.

[Johnny630]

I agree with the grading of late, past 3 years on vintage.


PSA in my opinion has two things SGC will never have and that is Pop and Registry to me that means total control of the Value of the Investors Premium Vintage Grail Slabbed Collections already graded thus keeping their value high and pops low.

[cgjackson222]

Great examples! Thanks for sharing.

Pretty crazy how harsh PSA has gotten on vintage.

The one thing I would say is that SGC can sometimes be harsh re: centering.

So if you have a centered vintage card, your best would be to go with SGC.

But if your card is not centered, it is more of a crapshoot between PSA and SGC.

[Peter_Spaeth]

It works both ways. I recently had an entire sub severely undergraded by SGC. I regraded the three cards I cared most about with PSA. +2, +2, and +.5.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It works both ways. I recently had an entire sub severely undergraded by SGC. I regraded the three cards I cared most about with PSA. +2, +2, and +.5.

Mu last submission was similar to this but with smaller bumps. I cracked out 3 freshly graded SGC cards and sent them to PSA. I got a full grade bump on one card and the other 2 went from 6.5s to 7s. It was awesome because it turned 2 of the 3 cards into the highest graded by PSA.

Great examples snowman. Using the same card is WAY more realistic that 2 completely different cards of the same grade.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It works both ways. I recently had an entire sub severely undergraded by SGC. I regraded the three cards I cared most about with PSA. +2, +2, and +.5.

This is an extremely rare circumstance in my experience. Unless your cards were heavily OC.

[Kco]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

Great examples! Thanks for sharing.

Pretty crazy how harsh PSA has gotten on vintage.

The one thing I would say is that SGC can sometimes be harsh re: centering.

So if you have a centered vintage card, your best would be to go with SGC.

But if your card is not centered, it is more of a crapshoot between PSA and SGC.

It's to artificially drive up the value on higher grades already in population. If they rarely issue high grades, high grade values will naturally rise due to supply relative to population, this has a compounded affect on lower grades as they will become more desirable due to price/supply.

This is also happening on vintage auto grading and has been for a few years. What was once a 10 is now an 8, etc. PSA 9 is about as good as you'll ever get on a grade now.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

Great examples! Thanks for sharing.

Pretty crazy how harsh PSA has gotten on vintage.

The one thing I would say is that SGC can sometimes be harsh re: centering.

So if you have a centered vintage card, your best would be to go with SGC.

But if your card is not centered, it is more of a crapshoot between PSA and SGC.

Yes, this is definitely true. SGC is more strict about centering (as they should be IMO). But they also reward good centering, which PSA does not do. I consistently get half grade bumps, and even sometimes full grade bumps, with SGC for perfectly centered cards. The majority of my collection is centered. I almost never get half grades from PSA. They don't even take it into consideration at all, other than as a mere qualifier for a grade, and even at that they're pretty lenient. The number of OC 10s in PSA slabs is embarrassing.