Grading Companies

[Ladder7]

Ive seen KSA's with paper loss get VG 3. Scary stuff

[JamesGallo]

Originally Posted by Ladder7

Ive seen KSA's with paper loss get VG 3. Scary stuff

This doesn't say much, I have seen PSA 4's and 5's with paper loss.

I have heard that they are ok, with maybe a half grade off either way, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Not sure I would take a chance unless it was really cheap or a no lose situation.

James G

[glynparson]

KSA has more support then most of the small time grading companies, but personally I would avoid their cards. Unless I had the card in hand and the holder allows me to see the edges.. PSA and SGC both have Canadian drop off locations, at least they did the last I heard. I believe Lem Pottie (SP?) does this for PSA and Larry Kerrigan does it for SGC. Again these arrangements may have changed but i know they were both in place a few years ago.

[Irwin Fletcher]

I agree that sticking with SGC, PSA, and BVG is the way to go. I very much prefer SGC, but I have had generally good experiences buying PSA and BVG as well.

I once purchased two cards on eBay that were in holders from Mint Grading Service - I took a chance because they were very inexpensive and were cards that I was having trouble locating. Both were graded 6 by MGS and I dropped them off at SGC for crossover. One dropped one grade to an SGC 60 and the other dropped three full grades to an SGC 40.

As everyone has said, though, the most important thing is how the actual card looks, not the holder. If you can examine it up close and in person, then buying an "off-brand" holder isn't too much of risk since you know what you're buying. For internet purchases, though, I stick with SGC, PSA, or BVG.

[terjung]

Agree with what has been posted above. To me, though, it is less about the number grade that an off-brand company puts on the flip and more about the question of authenticity and/or alterations to the card.

Granted, no card companies are perfect, but the 3 listed (SGC, PSA, and Beckett) have a lot better chance at getting it right than others. GAI would be the 4th to add to that list, but their grades are commonly assumed to be 1/2 grade too high when compared to the other 3. Each company has their strengths. SGC has the firmest handle on prewar, PSA seems to hold down the post war market, but has some credibility in prewar and modern as well. BGS is king of the modern, shiny stuff. Beckett's vintage grading (BVG) is making progress at breaking into older stuff, but they are not as prevelent as the others.

Again, the biggest fear that I would have with an off brand is slabbing a card that isn't even authentic. The second fear is that it is trimmed or altered in some way. The distant third concern would be that it is graded incorrectly.

...and there are times that I would even fear trimming or alterations on cards graded by the big 3 - depending on the card. Remember that there are instances where guys have started slabbing cards in their garage. The industry has largely accepted those 3 (or 4 with GAI) as the ones with credibility. For me, personally, I much prefer SGC - not only due to the appearance of the cards in their slabs, but due to my respect for their understanding of prewar (read: more scarcely seen) cards. I largely collect prewar, so SGC is my strong preference followed by PSA and then the other 2.

As Leon said though... it is important to know about the cards you are buying before blindly trusting anybody. Good luck!

[Bob Lemke]

. . . or one of his shadow companies. 'Nuff said.

[Robextend]

I agree in trusting the 3 major companies (SGC, PSA and Beckett) over the others. I also believe in terms of re-sale value that I would agree

Pre-War: SGC
Post-War: PSA
Modern: Beckett

However if you are grading cards more for collecting rather than worrying about re-sale, I would say I prefer SGC over PSA for post-war cards as well. I feel at times there is an unfair stigma attached to SGC's post-war grading. I've seen many PSA and SGC graded post-war cards and I still feel SGC is better in terms of fairly assessing a card's condition. Just my two cents...

Rob