PSA grading
Lundin_2000
Posts: 7 ✭
I have over 500 PSA graded cards and have decided to grade elsewhere. I am sensitive to customer service and when that goes, the rest is close behind. Now that PSA is backlogged and will be in an even bigger hurry, they will be making mistakes and cursory grades because customer service is not important to a monopoly company any longer. What is important is their image. And that is an illusion.
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CU now owns SGC which was the only semi-viable competition. You could not pay me to use BGS
Where are you going? I have only used PSA for grading. I am going to send about 20 cardsthis week to SGC and try them out - mix of new and Gretzky cards from 1981-86
Spoiler alert: They're not going to miss your business.
If you intend to grade modern cards, I would say that TAG is by far the best company for consistency, accuracy and turnaround. I just hope that eventually the market catches up and the resale value of their grading will reflect the aforementioned attributes.
Good luck
So is SGC even a thing anymore? I usually buy only PSA but have found a bunch of SGC of late that interests me. In my unprofessional opinion the grading of SGC is just as tough as PSAs. I have a few 6's that I really struggle to see why they are not 7's, or at best I notice the very tiny cause of it not being a 7.
Do people think SGC is on a par with PSA as far as grading? I know as far as speed anything is better than PSA.
Opinion of SGC depend on who you ask but from collector stand point I've always preferred them.
Nice holders, I’ve found certain things will cost you a grade at PSA but not at SGC. My only concern with SGC is they ruined some 1971 Topps of mine even when I provided pictures showing the damage to the card they denied it even with the damage in the same spot on each card like it was a machine issue. I now only send them cards now if it’s a benefit to me. They also for the most part sell much less than PSA graded
My opinion is if you are going to sell them one day stick with PSA. If they will remain in your collection forever than use what you like best. The main reason I buy PSA is because they are easy to sell and get close to current market value. If the card is worth $1000 you won't be stuck only getting 40-50 percent from a dealer. You can put it up on EBAY and get at least 85 percent of what its worth for most cards.
I think there is a question of where you should grade or should you grade at all. I know its fun to buy raw cards and have hope and get excited and see what you get. But I think there is a growing view by many that submitting vintage cards to PSA is like getting stabbed with a pair of dull rusty scissors. Its like hey I like going to the casino, if I leave with a lot less money than I walked in with its okay. I had fun. If you got robbed on the elevator every time before you walked in, the casino experience would be less fun.
I think if you go out buying Greg Morris cards thinking you have a sharp eye and a good head for business and you will make money getting them graded you will be very disappointed. Learned my lesson. And just using them as an extreme example. I think the majority of times you buy raw cards 1979 and older, unless you got a steal, if you choose to submit you will pay more than what your graded cards are worth after cost of card grading fees shipping, insurance. I dont think the game works any more from a business angle or an investment angle. If its just fun, then make your own rules and decide what works for you. But unless you have a stack of great raw cards maybe just buy graded cards, let someone else spend too much money.
In terms of the old stuff, I think both SGC and PSA are similarly strict. For modern, I think both are fair. I kind of feel like if you think its Mint borderline Gem Mint, SGC is fun because you can get the 9.5 Mint+ grade which I like a lot.
In terms of the customer experience, I'm going to back to the getting stabbed with dull rusty scissors as the PSA customer experience. Wait a ton of time. If there are issues tough to get a discussion going. Then sometimes strong disappointment after a long wait. Sometimes thrilled with the results on grades
but the whole experience did not tickle. SGC customer experience I would say is like going on a date with a nice pretty girl who likes you. It almost feels too good to be true. They said they received my cards last Thursday and late today the status is Post-Grading. I have always loved the results with their grading but holding my breath this time because there is some 80s stuff in there. I once traded three emails or so with them in a couple of hours. They will talk to you.
Actually just went to the web site to see if I could get results and they have two incredible specials. $12 a card for a lot of cool stuff. Feels as if they are competing with PSA and trying to take the business but they are PSA, kind of.
I think we were all spoiled from the ROI of days long, long, long gone. It was a no-brainer, every submission was profitable, some with huge upside. Build a collection on proceeds (free $$), rinse & repeat. Nowadays, the margins are too slim to make it worthwhile. Just my 2 cents. Enjoy the hobby as you like.
Nice post. Fees are too high, costs to sell and postage is alot higher. But the card prices on some haven't kept up with the inflation. I had many PSA orders with 15-or 20 10's. atomic refractors always came back 10's. Now they are 8's or 7's. It seems that both companies give you a grade right below where you made a lot of money. Like an 8 when an 8.5 would be killer or an 8.5 when a 9 would be killer. I love grading but it's not quite like it used to be
On the whole it's bear market. Costs have increased but potential profit had decreased. IMHO if you need a 9 or 10 to not be in the red then don't bother to submit in the first place. If enough do the same perhaps things will change?
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
The only reason I grade cards might be for the Set Registry. It's a sickness.
The problem with that is if you graded half you set before and now you grade the 2nd half now you would have a set that looks out of whack / odd. I have that problem. I know if I graded the cards that I have now with the partial set I have on the Registry the set set will look very odd. Having grades of PSA 8,9 or 10 on the Registry and then grade my new cards that look the same grade as mine on the set Registry only getting grades of PSA 4- PSA7. I also have gotten cards to upgrade some of my cards on the Registry and I am now afraid that even though the look better they will not get the grade they deserve and will not be an upgrade to the Registry set.
I completely agree with you. I think it's worse than that too, because I crack a lot of new grades out from 7s, 8s, 9s, get them signed and get lower grades back pretty consistently.
But the registry is an absolute blast and I've met a lot of other collectors through the registry. Anyone who's in the business of sports cards, my heart goes out to you with regard to PSA, and grading in general. If TAG was the grading company with the registry instead of PSA... I probably would have mostly TAG slabs. I honestly don't respect PSA's opinions on the quality of a card, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way either... I don't ask my kids whether they think a card is a 7 or an 8 either.
Why does PSA grade O-Pee-Chee different than Topps but not grade Vintage different than modern.
Man, that is the question of the decade!
If you're grading to flip for a profit then that's becoming tougher and tougher. I don't see how folks make it work with the costs to grade (much less the grading scale) what they are. I used to be happy buying, opening/cracking, grading and holding.
Now, I won't touch any of it, because I'm vintage-only. I'd have to live to about 150 to make that work with a grade/hold.
Understand your reasoning. I used PSA from 2020 to 2022 and, like you, got tired of the long waits due to backlogs. If customer service and turnaround time weigh more for you, then SGC might be a fit. I switched to SGC and have been very pleased with the customer service. I've graded about 200 cards with them and have had only 2 issues. Both were resolved with a phone call or short email the next day and I was fairly compensated. Turnaround time is consistently about 2 weeks.
Other factors that swayed me were the look of the slabs (I prefer the black framing on vintage cards), cost ($15 per card and no membership fee), and grading (most of the time their grade matches my guess - not a lot of head scratchers...lol). I keep most cards, so resale value not a factor for me.
Good luck and I hope you find a good fit for your collecting style.
I may be in the minority, but here goes....
If you have experience sending cards in and you know what to look for.... Then grading and slabbing with any company is only worthwhile for 2 reasons and 2 reasons only - selling and set registry.
Knowing how to grade a card only comes with experience. If you have that experience, then you already know your opinion of the grade of the card. That is why my Cardinals collection and Topps set run is all raw.
Of course I have several graded cards. For instance, I am tied for first with the Topps Albert Pujols collection - 2001 - 2023 are all PSA 10. I also have several graded Jordan cards and misc cards. But in all reality, the only major reason to "get" more cards graded is for a quick turnaround for profit. I did it for years and it was fun to do. However, with such slow turnaround times, among other things, I have not had any cards graded in years,even though have a stack I would love to get graded.
My 2 cents.
Shane
Frank - I like the holder protection and the viewing of the card also. But I grade for Market Value of my collection, mainly. of course i really like collecting too.