What grading Co brings the most $$$'s

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Posted By: Robert

Of the major grading companies GAI, SGC, PSA and whatever else if you had a Vintage HOF graded a 7 which holder would bring the most $'s if sold on EBAY...in regards to auction houses I don't think that it really matters which one of the big 3 grades it because it is mostly experienced buyers in the loop. Even though I am not the biggest fan of PSA, I think being slabbed by them does bring in more. I am about to send out 100 cards to be graded for sale on EBAY and want to get some opinions on who I should use.

Thanks

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Posted By: PASJD

Haven't we had this discussion many times? Anyhow I think the premise of your question -- that all three companies will grade your cards the same way -- may be flawed. Also I think it depends on the issue -- my very general impression is that on early cards such as T and E cards SGC is very strong but on later stuff a PSA graded card will sell for more than the equivalent SGC or GAI graded card.

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

I have to admit that I prefer PSA over all others - their honesty and integrity is unsurpassed, and they have the most professional graders in the business. They use very advanced equipment and the odds of any trimmed or otherwise altered cards slipping by them are nil. And just to put my 2 cents in - the Gretzky Wagner is without a doubt completely original and has NOT been trimmed.

I'm sure that with the integrity PSA has displayed over the years in their business practices, especially the way they handled the WIWAG scandle/scam with complete honesty and timely reporting of information, they will be around for a long, long time, and will continue to drive SGC right into the ground.



What is today, anyway?

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Posted By: tbob

Touche' Scott

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Posted By: JimB

Think what you will about PSA, if you are selling cards on ebay, more times than not PSA graded cards will bring more $. It does depend a bit on the issue because 19th century collectors probably tend to favor SGC, but I doubt many who are interested in a high-grade 19th century card would shy away from PSA either.
JimB

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

If you buy and/or sell plastic slabs rather than cards, then you should strongly consider PSA.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

breakage; one flimsy PSA holder coming apart in the mail or one nice card reduced to a good condition one by a GAI rattler goes a long way to equalizing the disparity...

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Posted By: JimB

Scott,
What is up with the attitude? I was giving my opinion on the question the guy asked.
JimB

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Posted By: David Vargha

Jim -- Weren't you aware that Network 54 is the unofficial "Bash PSA" board? You ain't cool here unless you believe SGC is God and PSA and GAI are the antichrists.

To answer the original post, SGC brings the greates ROI for pre-30's cards. PSA more than holds their own on many pre-30's cards such as T201, T202, T205, T206, Fan Craze and Cracker Jacks. By the time you get to 1933 Goudey and beyond, PSA cards generally sell for more. GAI is gaining respect in the marketplace, but trails both PSA and SGC currently.

Regardless, evaluate the card by what you see. That should always be your first "line of defense".

DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

Sorry Jim - when I said "you" I meant anyone whose primary concern was the investment value of the slabbed item.

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Posted By: WP

I keep reading the post from PSA supporters claiming that post 1930 PSA cards realize higher prices than SGC. What evidence do you have? The problem with SGC cards is there are very few avaialable for sale post 1930, they seem to get quickly gobbled up. Some recent evidence I have found indicates SGC is selling higher than PSA. For example in the recent Superior auction there were 2 examples where there are PSA and SGC equivilants a 52 T Jackie Jensen NM-MT and 57 T Williams NM-MT the SGC copies performed significantly better than PSA. The Diamond Stars SGC graded in that auction performed at least on par with the psa counterparts and the half grades added significant value to the SGC cards. Recently on ebay SCGAYNOR sold a 48 Leaf Robinson SGC 84 that realized in excess $3500, I challange you to find a PSA copy that sold for that much in NM.

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Posted By: David Vargha

Wally -- 1948 Leaf is probably one of the few (if not only) sets that is post-WWII that sells on a par with PSA. Anybody who knows me knows that I am far from a PSA or Joe Orlando "supporter". I just don't get caught up in the six-year-old mentality of "my guy good - your guy bad".

I have cards from all three grading companies mentioned as well as raw. I take a very non-emotional approach to my collecting. Part of that is evaluating what I can get for my cards should I ever decide to sell them. Populations available play a huge part in ROI. People often like to have only one grading company's slabbed cards for a particular set. As such, PSA rules in post-war cards and SGC rules in pre-1930, and especially 19th century.

You may like one company's grades, grading methods, graders or holders better than another's, but the bottom line is that the market determines "value" every time a transaction takes place. You make think it is unfair or even foolish, but the market simply "is". That your SGC 86 may look nicer than Jim Collector's PSA 8 is irrelevant to the marketplace. Enjoy your cards, and know that grading companies are comprised of fallible people. To believe otherwise is naive. (Edited twice for bad typos)

DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

I think most of the rest of us are evaluating the grading companies based on merit and personal preference, and reaching our own conclusions - I don't consider this a "6 year old mentality", but you are welcome to your opinion.

There are some collectors who will evaluate a slab based entirely on the amount of money they can get for it - what's inside the slab is somewhat irrelevant to them. Most of the knowledgeable collectors I know who buy PSA slabs, are also able to tell if PSA got the job done right, and buy accordingly - Hal, for instance. I also don't mind owning PSA cards if I feel certain they aren't altered; however, I rarely buy from them because I don't want to support them - I don't like their ethics or the fact that so many trimmed cards "slip by them". In all honesty, since it's obvious they aren't going to change, I sincerely hope they fail - this will give card alterers one less place to try and add legitimacy to their wares. 6 year old mentality? It's your right to think so.

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Posted By: David Vargha

But I thought the original post was pretty straightforward. The guy wants to know what grading company will bring him the best ROI if he submits his cards to then turn around and sell them at some undetermined later date. As such, opinions about grading qualifications are ancillary to the issue. It is a question about the marketplace. It is not a question about whether or not the marketplace is knowledgeable or even logical in its approach. Gotta go now. The kids have a track meet.

DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: JimB

David,
That was exactly my point as well when I simply said that I stated my opinion about the question which began this thread - a question which had nothing to do with which grading company we preferred or thought did a better job.
JimB

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Posted By: JimB

Scott,
To answer your question, when you disagree with me, you have a different opinion. That is what makes the world go around. Good people disagree all the time. When you respond to my opinions with snide remarks that do not find basis in what I said, that is attitude, in my opinion.
JimB

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Posted By: leon

and I know that Mr. "we all love Dave"..(that's a joke, you are ok Dave ) Dave has done the research but I think PSA for post war and SGC for Pre-War will bring the best money (GAI gets and usually deserves no respect, imo). It's really not a "gray area" question either. What they bring is what they bring. You can't argue that fact. If I remember correctly PSA actually brought more money in all areas from the last research done....(and I don't like PSA either and almost never use them). regards

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

You are right about the original topic. My response was more to your inferring that if someone doesn't like PSA that it's a "6 year old mentality" and not a well-thought out decision.

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Posted By: runscott

I thought my original post was clearly in keeping with the spirit of "April Fool's" day, not a violation of "thread response".

If it offends the PSA'ers so much, say so and I'll gladly go back and remove it.

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Posted By: David Vargha

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Posted By: barrysloate

If I had a high grade card that I thought would end up with an investor or a set registry builder, I'd probably go PSA. If I had a medium grade card that might end up with a collector, I'd go SGC. As far as public relations, both have been helpful but I'd give the edge to SGC. With regard to which sell for more money, I've seen SGC cards set world records too, so it's not entirely clear to me that only PSA cards get the highest prices. Maybe more than half the time, but certainly not all the time. They are a little more of a name brand, and that's a plus; SGC is a little more precise in their grading, but not as well known as PSA.

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Posted By: WP

David,
Where is your evidence? With the exception of some low population psa cards in MINT 9 and possibly some very low pop 8s, I do not see any appreciable difference.
Barry you had one of the best examples of an SGC card outperfoming a PSA counterpart. The T206 Plank sgc 4, the 68000 you realized dwarfs what Mastro realized on a PSA 5.

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Posted By: barrysloate

The Plank was what I was referring to. In that case, the winning bidder had a chance to view the card in person and saw that it was very conservatively graded, more in the 4.5-5.0 range. I think SGC is extremely conservative and that alone will sometimes get them the edge over PSA.

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Posted By: WP

Even so, the 68000 dwarfs any PSA number for an EX 5.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I know, but it was really just two people fighting who did not want to give up. If I remember correctly, the third high bidder was around 20K. The callbacks for the final two bidders lasted nearly an hour.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

PSA cards sell for more on average. Post-war, it's not really that close. Pre-war, in my opinion, it's a push at best, with the slight advantage still to PSA. For 19th century cards, SGC offers the best return.

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Posted By: WP

Barry,
That is interesting, however if you follow most high grade psa auctions a similar scenario is present. Look at 1951 Bowman for example if you have followed ebay you will notice that typically 2 or 3 bidders will fight on some psa MINT 9 examples driving prices to absurd levels. If those bidders do not paricipate the card generraly sells for 25-30% of what it would sell for. One of the unfortunate realites of the card market, is that it is very thin. It is typically 2 or 3 bidders that are keeping the psa low pop market as absurd as it is.

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Posted By: barrysloate

That's why extreme auction prices do not accurately reflect the market, and ebay offers an excellent way in which to determine this. A card that goes crazy in a major hobby auction is impossible to track, and because one sells for a wild price, doesn't mean that everyone else who owns the same card should expect to get the same for theirs.