Cross Registry

[Mark17]

Could some entrepreneur who wanted to make some decent money with very low investment and risk set up a "hybrid" registry?

Set up a LLC, launch a website, come up with a "cross-grade" table that determines equivalent grades across TPGs, such as:

SGC 10 = BVG 10 = PSA 9
SGC 9 = BVG 9 = CSG 10 = PSA 8

And so on.... whatever comparative valuation makes sense.

Then, each card in a given set is given a relative value weight. For instance, common low numbers are 1, high numbers might be 5, HOFers 20-50, and super HOFers like Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Clemente and so on, even higher relative values. Make that table easily viewable on the website too. This is done for each individual set.

And then accept submissions where collectors can provide evidence of the graded cards in their set, that info can be loaded into a database, calculations can be run, and the set then given an overall score which can then be ranked against other sets in the registry.

Advantages to collectors:
1. Have your high-end set recognized in a public registry for a relatively small fee.
2. Do so without being 100% tied to PSA
3. Be able to have your registry cards graded by one or several recognized grading companies - don't have to all be PSA graded cards.
4. Point 3 means, no need to cross over cards graded by BVG and SGC.

Advantage to the guy who establishes such a registry:
1. Put a little thought into it, set up the website and database, do some basic advertising - starting here - and sit back and watch the cash roll in.
2. Never have to grade a card or get caught up in grading./altered/counterfeit issues because your service makes no guarantees or judgement calls in that regard - if a card has been graded by a TPG, then as far as your registry goes, that's the grade, period.
3. Enjoy the satisfaction and undying love from the collecting community for freeing everyone from the clutches of PSAs exclusive registry.
4. Point 3 means, free ticket into heaven, eventually.

[DanP]

I had almost the exact same idea, except why wouldn’t SGC, BGS, HGA and/or CSG do it?

The PSA registry is what really sets them apart from everyone else.

However, I guess they would have to admit that an SGC 10 = PSA 9 and that will never happen.

Great idea. I guess it would need to be an outside party as you noted.

[hcv123]

Really best executed by one of the existing grading companies and a 10 is a 10 is a 10.

I am perplexed that one of them hasn't realized the primary reason PSA is the market leader is solely due to the registry (imho).

I have more amazing ideas as to how one of the existing grading companies could actually use this to significantly enhance their own business.

[Republicaninmass]

I think it's a great idea. Does psa allow, but just for tracking not competition, add raw or other graders?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

I think it's a great idea. Does psa allow, but just for tracking not competition, add raw or other graders?

Yes, you can add cards to your account that are in other holders or raw, in order to keep track of what you have.

[JollyElm]

I would assess it this way, regarding any effort to whittle away PSA's registry 'hold'...

If an elephant sees the grass moving, he will stomp it.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by hcv123

Really best executed by one of the existing grading companies and a 10 is a 10 is a 10.

I am perplexed that one of them hasn't realized the primary reason PSA is the market leader is solely due to the registry (imho).

I have more amazing ideas as to how one of the existing grading companies could actually use this to significantly enhance their own business.

And then all the cards in a given set would need to be crossed over to that specific TPG, and THEY would thus have the collector by the kahunas.

I'm pro-collector and would love to see a bunch of guys on this site, with someone like Leon in the lead, launch a TPG-independent registry, with the collector in mind - not just another method for a TPG to grab a stranglehold and additional revenue stream.

If some guys from this site banded together, formed an LLC, launched a new, multi-TPG graded registry, it would exist as a free-floating (i.e. independent) entity from the TPG companies. There would be a symbionic relationship with net54 of course, to the benefit of all, with this site promoting the registry and the registry promoting this site, and advertisers on both benefiting similarly.

When you suggest another registry owned by a different TPG company, you're suggesting the collecting community bow down to another dominating master.

I'm suggesting liberation from that paradigm.

[steve B]

To work well, it would probably require access to each included companies database. I can't imagine PSA allowing it since a big piece of what keeps them at the top is the prices driven by the registry.

Many databases are probably either unavailable, or no longer exist. GAI? Plus how many other defunct companies.

The idea is a really good one, but I'm not seeing it operating easily like a grading companies own registry.

Rather than make a straight grade translation what I think would work better would be weighting the grade based on both the card and the grading company, with a little flexibility for stuff the company would have most likely gotten right.

Like my Delong graded by Acu-Card. It says it's a 7, but it's trimmed. My impression of Acu-Card is that they could get the authenticity right, but couldn't tell about alterations. So I might weight all Acu-Card grades at the bottom while giving PSA, SGC Beckett etc the top of the weighting scale.

A way to track cards known to be altered or clear mistakes would be good too. Like all the stuff outed as trimmed on blowout being automatically considered an "A" and noted as such.

A good feature would be including ungraded cards as well.

Lots of work to make it a real working thing, and I'm not really seeing how to even make it pay for itself unless you get enough traction to charge grading companies a fee to integrate their database. And that brings up a bunch of conflict questions, like a new sketchy grading company paying for inclusion to buy some legitimacy.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by steve B

To work well, it would probably require access to each included companies database. I can't imagine PSA allowing it since a big piece of what keeps them at the top is the prices driven by the registry.

Many databases are probably either unavailable, or no longer exist. GAI? Plus how many other defunct companies.

The idea is a really good one, but I'm not seeing it operating easily like a grading companies own registry.

Rather than make a straight grade translation what I think would work better would be weighting the grade based on both the card and the grading company, with a little flexibility for stuff the company would have most likely gotten right.

Like my Delong graded by Acu-Card. It says it's a 7, but it's trimmed. My impression of Acu-Card is that they could get the authenticity right, but couldn't tell about alterations. So I might weight all Acu-Card grades at the bottom while giving PSA, SGC Beckett etc the top of the weighting scale.

A way to track cards known to be altered or clear mistakes would be good too. Like all the stuff outed as trimmed on blowout being automatically considered an "A" and noted as such.

A good feature would be including ungraded cards as well.

Lots of work to make it a real working thing, and I'm not really seeing how to even make it pay for itself unless you get enough traction to charge grading companies a fee to integrate their database. And that brings up a bunch of conflict questions, like a new sketchy grading company paying for inclusion to buy some legitimacy.

I wasn't thinking about population reports, because in my opinion they are highly problematic, considering all the cards cracked out for resubmitting, and cards cracked out because collectors prefer them that way.

I'm talking about collectors who have completed sets and want to have their accomplishment recognized and compared to other similar completed sets. So they pay some fee, submit proof of the cards they own (maybe something simple like video of their cards on top of a current dated newspaper,) and then their cards are entered into the registry database for that set.

So, you wouldn't need any data from any TPG company - the only data you'd be dealing with would be what was voluntarily submitted by collectors who wished to have their cards and set recorded in the registry.

Yes, minds better than mine would need to figure out the weighted formulas to standardize grades of the different TPG companies, whether some TPG companies are even reliable enough to include, and weighing how much more the Mantle counts vs. a common... stuff like that would all need to be decided.

As to cost and profitability, look at it this way. Suppose someone has a set that is 90% graded PSA, but the rest are BVG or SGC, including a few high dollar cards. Currently, if this guy wants his set in the PSA registry he has to get all those non-PSA cards re-graded.

1. How much will that cost?
2. Will those cards cross at the same grade or be assigned lower grades?
3. How long will the wait time be?

That adds up to a ton of money, time, and some risk. With the Cross Registry, no re-grading is necessary, unless they are in slabs of unreliable TPG, in which case they can be re-submitted to any legit TPG for grading.

A new LLC setting up such a registry could charge a few hundred dollars to register a set and still save the collector thousands. After awhile, with general acceptance, AHs would be listing complete sets with references such as being #12 on the Net54 Cross Registry (or whatever it's called.)

It would involve some work no doubt, but the benefits would be huge, and zero cooperation or data would be required or even wanted from any TPG or anyone else, besides the collectors who chose to pay the fee and register their sets.

[hcv123]

I would think PSA, SGC and Becket are in for sure, other companies would need to be vetted.