Need your opinions....

Downtown1974

Collecting graded cards is relatively new to me. All of the graded cards I buy or submit are PSAs. Lately there have been alot of cards on ebay that I wanted but havent bid on because I am not familiar with the reputation of the grading Co. ie, SGC, GAI, PRO etc. Could I get some feedback on who the most reliable graders are. Also keep in mind, dealing with pre-60s baseball, and graders that dont allow trimmed or altered cards to slip through the cracks. Thanks in advance.

mmoin

Cards graded by PSA, SGC, GAI, and BVG/BGS tend to fetch the highest prices because it is perceived that these companies are the most reputable and perceptive in sorting out genuine cards from the trimmed/doctored/fakes. With essentially any other company (with a few exceptions, such as MAYBE KSA, and even then it's a bit iffy) you are taking a major gamble at best.

For pre-1948, I would rank the graders:
#1 PSA
#2 SGC (and it's pretty close too, as SGC actually has a decent reputation for pre-war stuff)
decent gap
#3 GAI

For post-war vintage:
#1 PSA
decent gap
#2 SGC
#3 GAI
#4 BVG

For modern PSA and BGS usually fight it out, with PSA being more popular (and generally more adept at ferreting out the fakes) but BGS having a very strong reputation for some stuff. Both PSA and BGS are very safe bets for modern cards.

Andrew

baseballfanatic

Stick with PSA, SGC and GAI. If you purchase any other grading you might as well set fire to your money.....

Downtown1974

It looks like you guys have the same opinion. Thanks for your input guys! Thanks for the rank list Andrew. Thats exactly the info I was looking for!!!

zef204

I don't care to rank the companies, but if you stick with PSA, SGC, GIA, BGS/BVG and even SCD I think you are cool. I don't think that any of these companies would knowingly encapsulate an altered or fake card. I also think that they all are very good at spotting alterations and fakes.

Companies I would stay away from: PRO (Experiment posted a while ago, but a good read)

I would also stay away from GEM, PGS, FGS and Stone's company PSG(pogo stick grading)

As far as most reliable in the top 4, most people would tell you PSA here, duh. But I think you couldn't go wrong with SGC either.

baseballfanatic

SCD is good if you go with the original SCD labels which would be a red and black holder. I would NOT recommend the new SCD Sport Card Direct which is trying to slide by using the SCD name............

Knuckles

Trust PSA and SGC only.

Downtown1974

Thanks for the input everybody!!! I wish I had asked sooner. Ive let some cards I was bidding on go for less than I would have, had they been PSAs. Good PRO link Zef!!

HoofHearted

DT'74,

Looks like you got the answer you were looking for. That was interesting seeing mm's breakdown pre-1948 and post-war stuff....

hh