CSG Card Grading Comp - 1st card on Ebay???

[D. Bergin]

Lots of talk on the CSG boards of cards getting returned ungraded for being "Oversized". Particularly the 89UD Griffey Rookie, which seems really odd to me.

[Usc1]

Anyone get a T206 in the CSG holder yet? Curious what it looks like.

[Exhibitman]

My order should arrive at my office tomorrow, so I will get my first in-person look at their product. Looking forward to it! I will scan and post side by side by sides of CSG, PSA and SGC holders so we can compare them in perspective.

[packs]

Are they hard plastic holders like PSA / SGC or more bendy like the old GAI holders?

[Exhibitman]

My order from CSG came in today.

Packing: CSG has a nifty molded foam insert that firmly holds each card separated by about 1/2". No tape or bubble wrap to surgically remove, no holder-on-holder contact. It is nice enough and effective enough that I am going to save it for when I send slabbed cards to auction. A definite bonus.

Holders: The CSG holder is almost exactly the same size as the PSA holder, maybe a fraction of a millimeter larger. I use Superior Fit Innovations sleeves for my graded cards; they fit precisely with virtually no tolerances. The PSA sleeves fit the CSG holders almost perfectly; over half were tight squeezes but all did fit into the sleeves. The larger labels on the CSG holders is accomplished by minimizing the margins between the edge of the holder and the card rails. The CSG holders are polished and smooth all around. No sharp seams or edges. In hand, they look great. The smooth, polished surface does require more care; dusting them off with a nylon cloth is a must before you put them into sleeves because with the 100% clear background every speck of dust shows.

Card Condoms: CSG follows the BVG model of a four-point heat seal to prevent the cards from rattling around. A definite improvement over PSA, and for thin cards (like the Susini Speaker I sent in) over SGC's gasket. The only exception was the 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Robinson, which is in an unsealed sleeve because it was too large for a safe margin for the welds.

My verdict: I like the product. The holders have a blend of the better features of BVG and PSA.

[perezfan]

Thank you Adam, for the great overview and analysis. Very helpful... I initially thought the CSG slab would be too big, but sounds like it's right in line with the others.

Here's a link to an article that many here might find to be of interest. Sounds like they already may have a leg up on a couple of major competitors...

https://www.csgcards.com/news/articl...e-color-added/


Given the current TPG ethics issues, backlog situation and crazy price increases, I am now a lot less hesitant to give this company a try.

[Zact]

I will personally pass on csg until I see a larger sample size. I have seen a few post war vintage items that looked inaccurately graded vs psa

[GoldenAge50s]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Lots of talk on the CSG boards of cards getting returned ungraded for being "Oversized". Particularly the 89UD Griffey Rookie, which seems really odd to me.

I had a '55 Bowman Mantle returned ungraded for that very reason--I don't agree as many cards from the '50's will vary by a mili-fraction when piled together. I think any other grading Co would have OK'd it.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

I had a '55 Bowman Mantle returned ungraded for that very reason--I don't agree as many cards from the '50's will vary by a mili-fraction when piled together. I think any other grading Co would have OK'd it.

The 55 Bowman seem to be all over the place in width. For me the Willie Mays was the hardest to find raw that wasn't extremely short.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

I had a '55 Bowman Mantle returned ungraded for that very reason--I don't agree as many cards from the '50's will vary by a mili-fraction when piled together. I think any other grading Co would have OK'd it.

Yeah, a lot of people seem to think it's a gasket issue, and CSG will resume grading those type cards when they start to further customize their slabs in the near future.

Unless they think these are all sheet cut cards............in which case they should say so.

[Exhibitman]

I thought the grading was fair.

I will post more scans shortly. In the meantime, here's one:

[RayBShotz]

Adam - Thanks for the analysis of your experience and the scans of the product. Very insightful.
RayB

[D. Bergin]

Well, it looks like CSG is flooded, LOL! They just updated their two lowest tiers to 75-80 "WORKING" days (16 weeks), plus it's taking them weeks or longer just to get cards into the acceptance/arrived stage once it hits their Post Office.

Oh well.

[perezfan]

Just revisiting this thread to see if anyone has seen a Tobacco/Caramel Card in a CSG slab yet? Eager to see how these smaller cards look, as PSA, SGC and Beckett are no longer viable alternatives for me.

If someone has access to an image and can post it, that would be great.... Thanks!

[JK]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Lots of talk on the CSG boards of cards getting returned ungraded for being "Oversized". Particularly the 89UD Griffey Rookie, which seems really odd to me.

I believe that CSG would prefer that you trim those cards up and resubmit at a higher value tier