Notes from a former card Grader/Authenticator

[Fred]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

CSG/CGC is the company I came from. My references were to typical messages I would see in the community (message boards and social media). The only notes I would see in grading is if there was a min grade or auth only requested. Graders aren't opening and processing the mail, so unless it directly affects our grading of the card we wouldn't see it (like the submitter information).

I was hoping that "CSG" in the original post was at typo and that it was SGC instead. Please don't take this the wrong way but (IMHO) it would be more interesting if you worked for PSA or SGC because those are two biggest volume TPGs which means the business operations may be a little different because of the number of employees a larger TPG would have when compared to a smaller TPG. The biggest problem with TPGs is the consistency in how inconsistent the grading standards are applied to cards. Smaller TPGs probably do a better job than the larger TPGs (until they hit that point of no return and start acting like the larger TPGs).

So far, I've only purchased one card that is graded by CSG and it's graded correctly which helps build confidence in that TPG. I'm probably like most collectors and when I see any TPG slabbed card, I focus heavily on what I can actually see in scans/pictures (and many times, left shaking my head).

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Fred

I was hoping that "CSG" in the original post was at typo and that it was SGC instead. Please don't take this the wrong way but (IMHO) it would be more interesting if you worked for PSA or SGC because those are two biggest volume TPGs which means the business operations may be a little different because of the number of employees a larger TPG would have when compared to a smaller TPG. The biggest problem with TPGs is the consistency in how inconsistent the grading standards are applied to cards. Smaller TPGs probably do a better job than the larger TPGs (until they hit that point of no return and start acting like the larger TPGs).



So far, I've only purchased one card that is graded by CSG and it's graded correctly which helps build confidence in that TPG. I'm probably like most collectors and when I see any TPG slabbed card, I focus heavily on what I can actually see in scans/pictures (and many times, left shaking my head).

That is fine that you prefer those two companies. Again I no longer work in the industry, so it means nothing to me. SGC doesn't do eBay authentication.

[steve B]

Possibly not answerable, but was there pressure or expectations of you for quickness?

Like them wanting a certain number of cards per hour or day? (Obviously that number would be secret)

[Svabinsky78]

Always liked CSG. I was a bit bummed out when they went CGC route. I always thought CSG graders were fair and accurate. With the exception of one card (where I missed a surface issue), their grade was either spot on or 1/2 grade in one or the other direction with my prediction (and I am conservative). It was never the PSA Russian roulette. And the CSG slabs are lovely.

My CSG 61 Kaat. Really sharp and clean card. Those scratches in the upper right are on the case, not the card.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

That is fine that you prefer those two companies. Again I no longer work in the industry, so it means nothing to me. SGC doesn't do eBay authentication.

To say I prefer those companies is a bit inaccurate. I used to like SGC more than PSA, then SGC turned into PSA-Jr with all the inconsistent grading. At this point, I don't care for either PSA or SGC. However, I'm encouraged by what I've seen from CSG (from a grading standpoint). I won't pretend to say I understand the ebay authentication "thing".

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Fred

I was hoping that "CSG" in the original post was at typo and that it was SGC instead. Please don't take this the wrong way but (IMHO) it would be more interesting if you worked for PSA or SGC because those are two biggest volume TPGs which means the business operations may be a little different because of the number of employees a larger TPG would have when compared to a smaller TPG. The biggest problem with TPGs is the consistency in how inconsistent the grading standards are applied to cards. Smaller TPGs probably do a better job than the larger TPGs (until they hit that point of no return and start acting like the larger TPGs).

CSG (now CGC) grades more cards per month that SGC, just FYI. Here are the number of items graded by TPG for last month.

..

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Snowman

CSG (now CGC) grades more cards per month that SGC, just FYI. Here are the number of items graded by TPG for last month.

..

I wonder how many of those are Pokey-Man.

And for Andy: How incredbly tired are you of Pokemon? Do card graders get flooded with violent thoughts whenever they run into anything Pokeman-related in the course of their daily lives?

[parkplace33]

Great post! Thanks for starting the thread.

Question for you.. What is CSG's plan on grading more vintage? Is this a priority? or are they not concentrating on it? I haven't seen much CSG vintage at card shows or in auctions.

[JustinD]

Thanks for opening the secret door a tad Andy!

One question that you may or may not be able to answer, how much time do you feel is spent on average looking at a singular card? Is their a company standard for review time?

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by JustinD

Thanks for opening the secret door a tad Andy!

One question that you may or may not be able to answer, how much time do you feel is spent on average looking at a singular card? Is their a company standard for review time?

You can get a pretty good estimate of this by knowing that PSA employs ~125 full time graders (stated by Nate in a recent podcast) and they grade roughly 1.2M cards per month.

I don't know what a typical day looks like, but I assume they get breaks and have meetings, take vacations, and get sick like everyone else. Let's say they spend 6 hours per day actually grading cards on average, so that's about 120 hours per month. Multiply that by 125 graders, and you get 15,000 man hours. Take 1.2 million cards divided by 15,000 hours and you get 80 cards graded per hour. So that's 45 seconds per card.

[butchie_t]

Andy,

I commend you on your decision to talk about your previous employment. Please be careful and don't put yourself into a corner you may not be able to escape from.

Regards,

Butch.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Snowman

You can get a pretty good estimate of this by knowing that PSA employs ~125 full time graders (stated by Nate in a recent podcast) and they grade roughly 1.2M cards per month.

I don't know what a typical day looks like, but I assume they get breaks and have meetings, take vacations, and get sick like everyone else. Let's say they spend 6 hours per day actually grading cards on average, so that's about 120 hours per month. Multiply that by 125 graders, and you get 15,000 man hours. Take 1.2 million cards divided by 15,000 hours and you get 80 cards graded per hour. So that's 45 seconds per card.

That should be very easy to accomplish. Every time I have pre graded my cards I spend way less time than that per card. Then you have the ones that just look off and you need to spend more time on. I would guess 10-15 seconds of grading with 30-35 seconds of data entry per card to get that 45 second time.

To the OP who I have noticed on here before. Thanks Andy for sharing what you did.