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Why are slabs so drab in presentation?
ringer
Posts: 342 ✭✭✭
Sports cards are valued as aesthetic pieces and the artwork and presentation of cards remains an important part of value and desirability. So why are slabs from pretty much every grading company so boring and drab in appearance? I guess the plastic part is what it is, but the labels are so boring and nothing more than functional. Like there was no thought at all from a graphic design perspective to make them look anything other than industrial and efficient. I think a company that did something to make their slabs more visually appealing could see a nice market share increase.
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Actually, I like the PSA labels because of their simplicity. The SGC labels to me are ugly and draw attention away from the card itself. BGS holders are no doubt the sturdiest and the labeling is OK. I think the emphasis should be on the presentation of the card and the label should be informative by providing the necessary data. The PSA label and holder have gone through many changes over the years and I believe their current emphasis is on card security and labels that prevent duplication by the bad guys.
PSA labels are still the best around IMO. I also like the simplicity.
Plus, I am OCD about slabbed cards. Any cards I have graded are PSA graded so no way I would buy any other slabs.
Simple is fine. But it looks like something they just punched out on a typewriter. Any graphic designer would seem to be able to come up with something more appealing.
It does get more appealing
when it says Gem Mt 10
I like the labels. I am buying authenticity and security.
The art is inside the case.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
Well said. And, if you like $ it is the slab/label to have.
Its like putting a Mona Lisa in a $5 target picture frame.
I personally like the PSA labels. I like the simplicity of them and also the red goes with most cards. I absolutely hate the SGC labels with the huge number grade. Also, too much black with SGC, the label is black and the holders are black, it's all just very dark. Beckett's aren't nearly as awful as SGC, they're just "ok."
With all due respect, if you feel this way why post on this board?
Because it is still the best available service and nobody else’s slab is any better. With all due respect, people post things on here all the time suggesting improvements to PSA. Why the beef with this one?
I don't like scuffed up cases. PSA, SGC, BGS they're all fine to me
Well, I can see I’m the oddball. 😳
What would you prefer ? Color coding ? Graphics ? Just curious
Well, i’m no designer but inrecognize good design. So take that FWIW.
First, i think color coordinating the label with the card would be nice. So different color labels for different cards.
Second, some kind of font and design other than what looks like something than a tool manual. Seriously, any graphic designer could come up with something better, i can almost guarantee. We have beautiful cards in mundane slabs.
No beef at all. Just asking a fair question.
I'll be the oddball with you. I think you're very much onto something here with the color coordination. People often talk about how good certain cards look in the SGC slab and in "the tux". There's definitely an aesthetic to explore further here. Personally, I'd LOVE it if PSA had option holder colors/styles. More customization/personalization is coming eventually. Maybe sooner rather than later.
"Oft to make better , we mar what is well". Billy Shakesphere
And sometimes we complacently settle for mediocrity because that’s the way we've always done it.
I actually think the BGS holder used to look the best by a wide margin when a card was a 9.5. The gold-tone plate was a nice look for me and the fonts were cool. Black and gold worked. I could appreciate the subs. But it was a problem for a number of reasons. First yeah, you don't want your card to be valued like 30 to 50% less. It's silly but yeah that's how it works. You can see the same gem mint card in there but the price for the holder is huge. If you have one great card the BGS holder works just for aesthetics but they are so thick you don't want 500 of them or you need a bigger house. You get a bad grade BGS card and it feels like a huge waste of plastic and you feel like you are hurting the environment. I feel PSA has improved with including the logo which has a nice shimmer. But agree with the the original post that the label is pretty bland. But I will accept it to increase the value of my collection. I think the look of the SGC holder has fallen off a cliff. Used to feel some older stuff looked nice in their holder. Now it completely doesn't work for me.
America is proud of having a society with differing opinions.
I'm just getting around to joining this discussion.
First.
My expectation of a holder is that it's the safest archival container both in terms of protection and inability to open/switch a card, i.e., tamper proof.
On the flip.
I have to say, the Beckett flip might be a bit more attractive but I'm not really caring about that.
What do I mean.
Let's start with Neil's latest gem.
The frame and mat are really nice.
The frame: the border and not the show.
The mat: the border of the show which will assist the eye to go where the framer intends but the mat is not the "focus."
So, based on that - let's look at a PSA holder:
The flip: just there for information (card/grade/plus added info sometimes) and "not" the show.
The Card: The "Show" - where you want the eye to go and no where else.
Conclusion: flip may be boring but not critical - a safe/tamper proof holder? Critical.
Card inside? Everything.
I guess go to HGA for coordinated splashes of color in the header. To me it seems too "busy".
I prefer the BGS flip, but I also like PSA's. too many graphics/images would be distracting.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I forget the name but there is already a company doing this.
And that question was "why don't you just love it or leave it?"
I think PSA slab design is fine as it is and I wouldn't change a thing. But responses like yours in any medium are passive/aggressively stifling at best.
I'm a newer collector and I don't like the slabs. I think they're ugly, unwieldy and a terrible way to present a baseball card.
I get that a lot of collectors have thousands of dollars slabbed and will therefore disagree, but to me a baseball card is a tactile thing. Encasing em in a thick plastic case with what looks like a generic hanger tag feels like the antithesis of what a baseball card is.
I have to ask, what is a baseball card to you? Is it something you need to physically touch and handle? Put in bike spokes? Or do you see value in them? If it's the latter isn't it in your best interest to keep your hands off of it, protect it and assign a value to it? I can't think of any better way to do that than to have it graded and holdered by a reputable 3rd party grading company...
PSA is the best but the four category subgrades of BGS a pretty cool feature. Black label BGS, not so much. It's like in Spinal Tap when they make note that their amp went up to 11! LOL
Some different slabs pictured…
I also think the card can look nicer in a slab rather than raw…
or
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A Gem Mint 10 is like looking at beautiful women.
All others are like looking at Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Reno, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, e.t c.
I've always liked the more refined slab as I believe the card itself should be the object that draws your attention.
CGC has introduced custom labels containing character artwork. I think they look way too busy and compete with the comic itself.