Any news on GAI?

Fletch1750

Seems like the have some very high profile cards coming up for auction. Will the market finally respond to the fact that the hobbies foremost experts own GAI?
Memory Lane has a 49 Bowman Snider GAI 9.5 and a Sports King Cobb GAI 9. Heritage has a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays GAI 9. I believe the Mays was the same copy that was sold in Superior 08/05.

1420sports

Will the market finally respond to the fact that the hobbies foremost experts own GAI?

huh

Fletch1750

S Rocchi/ M Baker.

jaxxr

Without an increase of the "questionable" half point, I believe a same numerical grade card, no qualifiers and fairly similar cantering, a GAI copy will usually sell for less, sometimes very much less, than a PSA copy. Not every single time, but in the vast majority of times. Check ebay or check dealers with fixed prices.

Fletch1750

Very observant collector, you are. Ever notice how you see the same GAI cards sold over and over in auctions? Check out the 40 Playball Joe Jackson GAI 8.5 in Mem Lane. It was in Robert Edward, Mastro and now Mem Lane.

ndleo

The GAI guys are regulars at the Gibralter show in MI. They do alot of grading for the local dealers. I do question their standards, I see a lot of "bumps".

mikeschmidt

News will be out on Monday, I hear

jackstraw

The news has been out for 2 years now!

packCollector

I think overall their grading is consistant in the NM/Mint range. In the 9 and 9.5 range it is somewhat suspect imo. I think what we are seeing as far as sales prices ,as was seen in there pack grading , is that when questionable sellers (moser et all) start pedalling more of there cards/packs smarter collectors lose some confidence that the items are unaltered. This may not be a fair conclusion as these sellers also sell cards graded by other companies and one would think not all the cards these guys sell are altered but since the sample size is much smaller with GAI the possibility is much higher. This happened with packs once a known resealer started selling their items , many regular buyers stopped buying graded packs sight unseen.

Also, the fact that they are churning out 9.5's on all the major vintage cards is definately hurting their sales prices as the 9.5 grade much like the 10 grade at psa should not be an everyday occurance on vintage cards. when there are gai 9.5's of every major rookie in 1 auction , the grade loses merritt and in turn trickles down the value of the lower grades.

1420sports

I was very interested in GAI when they first started. The registry never took place, many empty promises, lost packs in the mail, run arounds, etc.

And how bout those awful oversized holders?

Too bad, they had a great chance to become a firm solid #2 company. I see them as fourth rate, as I would rather own a Beckett card than GAI.

RonBurgundy

"I do question their standards, I see a lot of "bumps". "

On the basis of what?

ndleo

Personally watching dealers cracking cards that were PSA or BGS 8 come back GAI 8.5. The worst example I saw was a PSA 8 1994 Upper Deck A-Rod, with a spot on the back edge, coming back a GAI 9.

I'm not saying that GAI promised anything to these dealers, but why would you break out a PSA/BGS 8 just to get a GAI 8? As other Detroit collectors know, the Gibralter Show is the mecca for the shady weekend dealers. GAI associating with them is not a good thing.

stevek

I agree with 1420. GAI has become a low-rate company. I have no interest in buying cards in their slabs, unless the price is really low. Are they equivalent to a Pro-Grading? Of course not but I'm still not buying. I have stated here before that my belief based on looking at numerous scans on ebay that I feel too many of the cards in GAI slabs could be trimmed. I don't say that about PSA or SGC.

A761506

GAI will not be around much longer is my prediction. They do not have a sustainable long-term business plan. PSA's card grading business is peanuts compared to their coin grading. With nothing to fall back on aside from cards (pack grading is a extremely small portion of business), the affects of the dragging economy will soon, if not already, catch up with them. Since they are private, they are only as financially secure as the owners, and there is no chance they could get the company public unless they get bought out. But, it would not be logical for anyone to buy them out, their competitors would just assume they disappear so the cards in GAI holders become so devalued that it would force thousands of cross-overs.

RonBurgundy

Oh please. You can tell by looking at Ebay scans that GAI cards might be trimmed. Good grief, what a basis for your claim.

I have had several raw cards examined by them and rejected as trimmed, as well as cards in BVG holders. They are not PSA, but they have some credibility.

This is the weekly bash GAI thread. It makes me wonder whether these are generated by those with closer than normal ties to PSA.

Knuckles

bobbybakeriv

I don't think it started as a "bash GAI" thread. The first post insinuated that those "in the know" or "real experts" choose GAI. Of course, others are going to respond as this is simply a grand overstatement. PSA is the superior product to most. GAI is decent but PSA is better (especially to most on this board...duh).

stevek

<<< This is the weekly bash GAI thread. >>>

Well you sure don't see the "weekly bash" SGC threads so maybe there is a good reason heh? SGC has their drawbacks - I prefer PSA's qualification system with cards, especially since centering is very important to me. PSA isn't perfect either but there is no such thing as a "perfect" company. However there are inferior companies and I feel that GAI has become an inferior company. They will not get my business and I will not buy their slabs.

Fletch1750

MS what news? PM ?

onlychild

My personal take:

I live in the LA area and meet with Steve and Mike Baker at the GAI HQ on a regular basis, I consider them friends. They, along with the Global employees, are a great group of people. They extended an invite some time ago to visit and tour, so I took them up on it. I also communicate with Joe O. regularly and have a deep admiration for the PSA group...just haven't been invited down yet.

True, they seem to procrastinate on several projects but they are not going anywhere anytime soon. They even poke fun at the "It will be done on Monday" thing. Card grading is just a small part of their business and their grading is very consistent with PSA. I can tell you from personal experience, they will not bump without just cause...Mike even downgraded a couple of mine. They are not looking to beat PSA but are there as just another source.

The majority of my cards are PSA graded. I turn to GAI if I think a specific cards look better in their holder, it's an off-sized card that needs protection (as in a 1989 head's up test card) or if PSA does not / cannot grade or encapsulate it.

PSA graded cards do hold their value better. If you just collect and don't plan on selling in the near future, GAI has solutions for some collectors specific needs.

I've shown this before but for the benefit of those that may be new. This is a PSA graded Garvey Rookie card signed on the "outside of the slab." It's by no means a knock against PSA. It is just something I wanted protected and GAI had the solution.

IJustLoveCards

My take is that until PSA begins to grade packs (and I still question who will run that department in 2006) GAI has a segment of the market nobody else has. I have several vintage sets 100% psa graded, and when it comes to my card buying and selling PSA is the only one for me. With that said, I must admit my other passion is the unopened material, I have been lucky enough to purchase some very nice older packs and cellos and feel very comfortable with the GAI slab around them. I wont say GAI doesnt have a number of isses with customer service, and other areas, but since everyone here seems to want to compare slab vs. slab in determining price, while nobody else grades unopened you material we can look at a box of unopened material (rememeber the 1952 unopened box fiasco in the mastro auction no GAI grade there) vs a box of unopened material that has been graded authentic by GAI. I am not going to sit here and pretend that GAI and PSA and SGC dont have thier issues, and we all know that BGS has been handing out 9.5's and 10's like there is a blue light special going on. however, the unopened material segment of the market was not something PSA saw as an area they wanted to service, leaving it up to us to determine the honest dealers form the scammers, at least GAI had the forsight to fill that niche. Now PSA says they will begin in 2006 grading unopened material. If PSA was the true industry leader in Grading they would have been in this segment a long time ago seeing the need for their services. maybe the higher ups didnt feel that this segment of the market was profitable enough. Sometimes in business, you need a lost leader to pull others in and then they buy your cash cow.
All I know is I for one am glad GAI does grade unopened stuff, I for one wont buy unopened (older packs, cello) unless its graded, and maybe one of the packs was tampered with and got by GAI, but I'll take that chance vs. some 1965 unopened pack on ebay unslabbed being sold by johnny smith with some story about how it came from a box his dad left him and he forgot about.

1960toppsguy

will not suvive through the first 2 months of next year.

dakota

who????

FYS

<< <i>My take is that until PSA begins to grade packs (and I still question who will run that department in 2006) >>



Mark Murphy

IJustLoveCards

<< <i>who???? >>




my guess is that he is talking about GAI.

Griffins

<< <i>will not suvive through the first 2 months of next year. >>



this could've been a cut and paste from the last 2 years. Sorta like hearing how Apple is going Chap 7 any day now. Obviously you haven't been to Globals office lately.

Whether you use other grading companies or not, competition makes them all better, and we (collectors) are the beneficiaries.

julen23

Comparing Apple to GAI is a little over the top IMHO, but I like competition and I do agree w/ your statement.

Mark Murphy, is that guy even still alive?

Julen