PSA vs SGC

[Mrvintage]

I have been on the PSA message boards alot and they all swear by PSA and SGC for vintage cards and BGS for modern cards. I asked this question on this forum because I thought I would probably get a more unbiased opinion. So far it seems like SGC is really popular among vintage collectors. Have you had bad experiences with PSA or is your opinion based more on positive experiences with SGC. I've done alot of research on past sales of George C Millers and the prices realized are very similiar for PSA and SGC graded cards from this set. Keep the opinions coming guys. Thanks

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by Mrvintage

I have been on the PSA message boards alot and they all swear by PSA and SGC for vintage cards and BGS for modern cards. I asked this question on this forum because I thought I would probably get a more unbiased opinion. So far it seems like SGC is really popular among vintage collectors. Have you had bad experiences with PSA or is your opinion based more on positive experiences with SGC. I've done alot of research on past sales of George C Millers and the prices realized are very similiar for PSA and SGC graded cards from this set. Keep the opinions coming guys. Thanks

I wouldn't say I buy a large volume of cards, but the percentage of times I've been burned buying a prewar card in a PSA holder is astounding (to me, at least). Two times the cards (a T3 and a postcard) had writing erased on the fronts, which was easy to see with the naked eye after an SGC grader pointed it out (I bought both cards on eBay, so it wasn't possible to see the alterations before buying the cards).

Three times cards were trimmed (two R306 Butter Creams and a T card). Again, when shown what to look for, a "non-professional grader" like myself could see the trims easily.

If these obvious problems weren't flagged by PSA, the question I have is how in the world are they catching the more sophisticated alterations?

I've reached the point where, if I'm thinking of buying a prewar card in a PSA holder, I ask myself if I'm OK if it ends up being in an "Authentic" holder, because my thinking is there's a decent chance that will happen if I try to cross it to SGC.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Mrvintage

Have you had bad experiences with PSA or is your opinion based more on positive experiences with SGC.

As Phil said, "more accurate and consistent grading."