Which slab do you think is the most visually attractive?

lawnmowerman

Taking the whole thing, flip and all into consideration.

I scanned four slabs. I would have done the same card in each slab but I only have three out of four.

Looking at them in person I prefer the look and feel of the SGC slab.

However, looking at the scans, the PSA slab beats them all in clarity with GAI second.

BGS uses the "baggy" which is great for protection but really cuts down on the visual.

I wonder if SGC uses a plastic that isn't the same quality as PSA or GAI? It just doesn't seem as clear.

fattymacs

The material is virtually the same for all slabs. The clarity difference come from the thickness of the slab, the polish of the mold cavity, and the temperature and cycle-time at which the slabs are molded.

BigDaddyBowman

Ask Perkdog which I prefer.....


I like the eye appeal of the SGC black slab..I think the contrast of the black with the whiteness of the cards really makes them attractive and most visually appealing.

I do like the lightness and compactness of the PSA slab...SGC are slightly larger and heavier.

fattymacs

Oh yeah, I prefer SGC for my Bowmans and 50's-60's Topps, PSA on the Goudeys and my Cincy Reds Players.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>The material is virtually the same for all slabs. The clarity difference come from the thickness of the slab, the polish of the mold cavity, and the temperature and cycle-time at which the slabs are molded. >>



Good to know. That makes sense.

dizzle

I don't care for the "black insert" SGC and GAI uses BUT it's kinda nice how the old GAI case has writing on top of the slab for finding cards quicker when you have a large amount in a box..

I think the reason the BGS slab tends to not be as crystal clear as the others is due to "UV protection" the slabs have, which others don't..

The PSA slab is nice in size as it don't take as much room also they scan nicely..but sometimes when you get a "swimmer" I don't like how the card rattles.

They have all the their positives and negatives..

thehallmark

I like the green/white/black combo of the SGC slab but I HATE their label for some reason.
I really like that BGS cards don't move at all and I don't mind the baggy at all.
It's easiest to make the money back with PSA, though...so they get my $$.

lawnmowerman, I love that Pro Set Emmitt Card so much. I search for it every now and then in PSA 10 but it never shows up. If you ever bump your head and feel like selling, PM me!! I have the Barry Sanders #1 from that set in PSA 10 and I consider it one of my favorites, despite the fact that they printed a hundred billion of them and it is essentially worthless. The Emmitt is equally great.

bobsbbcards

PSA. Flip is uncluttered and easy to read, BGS and SGC are too cluttered and the print is too small. SGC slabs are too large and BGS are too thick. GAI? Puh-lease....

lawnmowerman

<< <i>

lawnmowerman, I love that Pro Set Emmitt Card so much. I search for it every now and then in PSA 10 but it never shows up. If you ever bump your head and feel like selling, PM me!! I have the Barry Sanders #1 from that set in PSA 10 and I consider it one of my favorites, despite the fact that they printed a hundred billion of them and it is essentially worthless. The Emmitt is equally great. >>



I gotta agree. I love that card as well. The 1990 card is #800. There is also a 1991 #1 card that is the same exact card. Emmitt was Pro Set's poster boy

perkdog

Although I give Ryan a hard time about SGC from time to time ( Always joking ofcourse ) Hands down I like the Look of the SGC holder the best as far as eye appeal goes, secondly I like the BVG holder's thick slab which offers the best protection.

But I am a PSA guy at the end of the day, Im not sure if its because PSA was what I got broken into with and edjucated with when I got back into the hobby but I liked the idea from the start and continue to.

Blackborder

The PSA slab is by far the best (and no, I'm not just saying that because I'm in their house). The SGC "gasket" slab is an engineering disaster. An SGC 88 1914 (might have been 1915) Cracker Jack Ty Cobb slipped and was pinched between the gasket and slab. Plus, green on black? Please.

One thing that PSA could improve is the insert color. I think the blue PSA/DNA inserts are more visually appealing. They should also try a more professional font.

Beckett isn't bad either and they have a more professional looking insert than PSA.

The GAI slab looks homemade. Blah.

rube26105

i like psa and scg, i wouldnt buiy axtell a gaicard,w ell maybe just for him i would a 1985 baseball common for his set- chubbims

thenavarro

As far as pure visuals, I like the SGC slabs the best on all non-black bordered cards. I think their black insert really makes a nice presentation and helps make the card stand out.

I don't like the GAI slabs because I think their flips look cheap, unattractive and difficult to read.

Mike

KOBEcollector

GEM hands down

Brian48

With me, it's a toss up between the SGC and BGS. PSA is a bit plain.

leadoff4

SGC

dizzle

Here is what the black insert can do in a SGC slab.

goraiders

For me,there's nothing like looking at some 65 tallboys in a SGC holder,
even though 95% of my cards are psa.

J.R.

qtisco

psa is my choice, the t-206 and the 33/34 goudy look great in a sgc holder with the black frame around it.

thenavarro

<< <i>Here is what the black insert can do in a SGC slab.

>>



Dizzle,

Is that a 48 Bowman Berra? If so, are you selling it?

Mike

dizzle

Mike, It's a 48 bowman but not mine..

It's a SGC 7 that was damaged while in the holder, A fellow from the Net54 boards posted it awhile back.

Blackborder

<< <i>Here is what the black insert can do in a SGC slab.

>>




Another engineering disaster. "gaskets" and cards don't mix.

thenavarro

<< <i>Mike, It's a 48 bowman but not mine..

It's a SGC 7 that was damaged while in the holder, A fellow from the Net54 boards posted it awhile back. >>



Wow, I wonder if they compensated him for the damage?

Mike

dizzle

<< <i>

<< <i>Mike, It's a 48 bowman but not mine..

It's a SGC 7 that was damaged while in the holder, A fellow from the Net54 boards posted it awhile back. >>



Wow, I wonder if they compensated him for the damage?

Mike >>



Not sure?
But I have a few cards that have the same damage from the gasket too, although low value cards (1988 fleer basketball stickers) it still doesn't give me much confidence in their slabs..

I recently picked up a 1961 fleer willie naulls graded a SGC 7 that has strange marks along the bottom boarder where the insert and card meet, It looks like a bunch of tiny slices.. Not sure if it was graded this way or not since I'm not the original submitter.

dfr52

I prefer the BGS slab even though the UV protection does affect the visibility some what. The Black insert does look good when there is a sharp contrast between the card border and the insert. The PSA slab is simple and doesn't add or take anything away from the card.

lawnmowerman

Just for fun, I added the scans of my BGS and SGC versions of the Pro Set card to my PSA registry

bigreddog

SGC

StopYurWhining

SGC is purty.

MBMiller25

WOW, Thats a nice Unitas. Although I own about 4 cards graded by BGS, I really like the slabs the best of the big three!

bman90278

The signed card in the SGC slab looks very sexy!

Brian

StanTheManMusial

I love the look of the SGC holder, but the black gasket scares the heck out of me(potential to damage card). I'm not a fan of the rattlesnake holders PSA puts out, plus they are pretty easily tampered with. Overall, I like the BGS holder the best, because I know it will provide the ultimate protection for the card, as well as the best defense of any card grading company's holder against card tampering.

cooper1927

I would like to see a holder with the info showing at the top, thus allowing you to store cards in boxes, but still find them easily. It seems to me there was a company that did that some years ago.

Blackborder

<< <i>I love the look of the SGC holder, but the black gasket scares the heck out of me(potential to damage card). I'm not a fan of the rattlesnake holders PSA puts out, plus they are pretty easily tampered with. Overall, I like the BGS holder the best, because I know it will provide the ultimate protection for the card, as well as the best defense of any card grading company's holder against card tampering. >>



The card in the BGS holder looks like it would rattle even more than the PSA holder.

StanTheManMusial

<< <i>

<< <i>I love the look of the SGC holder, but the black gasket scares the heck out of me(potential to damage card). I'm not a fan of the rattlesnake holders PSA puts out, plus they are pretty easily tampered with. Overall, I like the BGS holder the best, because I know it will provide the ultimate protection for the card, as well as the best defense of any card grading company's holder against card tampering. >>



The card in the BGS holder looks like it would rattle even more than the PSA holder. >>



Nope, they do not rattle around in the BGS holder, unlike cards that do, in the PSA holder. The only exception for PSA would be the cards that they use the occasional baggy for. While I have seen some with the baggy rattle around, it's not as common with the baggy as without the baggy.

TheHun

As a collector of Kellogg's cards I am disgusted with the way the cards swim around in the PSA holders. (I refuse to reholder and pay for their lack of quality)

I wish there were more quality choices. But PSA is defeinately not one of them.

nightcrawler

I have lots of cards with holder damage to the edge from PSA slabs.


But I like the PSA slab the best for looks. And they will stay my choice until they delete another Rose.

dfr52

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I love the look of the SGC holder, but the black gasket scares the heck out of me(potential to damage card). I'm not a fan of the rattlesnake holders PSA puts out, plus they are pretty easily tampered with. Overall, I like the BGS holder the best, because I know it will provide the ultimate protection for the card, as well as the best defense of any card grading company's holder against card tampering. >>



The card in the BGS holder looks like it would rattle even more than the PSA holder. >>



Nope, they do not rattle around in the BGS holder, unlike cards that do, in the PSA holder. The only exception for PSA would be the cards that they use the occasional baggy for. While I have seen some with the baggy rattle around, it's not as common with the baggy as without the baggy. >>



That's the nice thing about the BGS holder and inner sleeve. Occasionally you'll get a BGS card where the inner sleeve will slide from L side to R side and back. The card is not affected though and stays safe in the inner sleeve w/out movement.

fkw

About SGC black inserts...

Bang the heck out of any slab and you will get dents a rub marks on the card. Its the owner who damaged the card not the slab. I have hundreds of high grade cards in SGC slabs and not a single card that was damaged post-slabbing.


Use common sense and store all your cards flat not upright and dont slam the boxes around.

To answer the question

SGC #1
Beckett #2 (I guess)
PSA a distant #3 (slab needs a makeover, floating cards = no quality control! IMO they really dont give a cr@p about your cards by slabbing them this way)

dizzle

fuj

While I agree that the black background of the SGC slab makes the card stand out more, upon closer inspection everything about the slab seems cheap to me. From the black cardboard insert to the perforations on the flip (reminds me of the perforated paper that used to be fed through the old dot matrix printers), nothing screams out quality to me. Please understand that I am not saying SGC is not a quality grading company - I just don't like their slabs.

BGS has the most professional looking flip but the font is too small. As others have mentioned, the BGS slab is the most sturdy but I think it's a little on the bulky side.

Overall, I prefer the PSA slab for the simplicity and easy to read flip. I think the fact that the first graded cards I owned were all PSA might have something to do with my bias as well.

dfr52

<< <i>About SGC black inserts...

Bang the heck out of any slab and you will get dents a rub marks on the card. Its the owner who damaged the card not the slab. I have hundreds of high grade cards in SGC slabs and not a single card that was damaged post-slabbing.


Use common sense and store all your cards flat not upright and dont slam the boxes around.

To answer the question

SGC #1
Beckett #2 (I guess)
PSA a distant #3 (slab needs a makeover, floating cards = no quality control! IMO they really dont give a cr@p about your cards by slabbing them this way)

>>



Great point on storing cards flat if possible. I try to do this w/ my graded cards so that the edge of the case isn't pressed against the card's edge.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>About SGC black inserts...

Bang the heck out of any slab and you will get dents a rub marks on the card. Its the owner who damaged the card not the slab. I have hundreds of high grade cards in SGC slabs and not a single card that was damaged post-slabbing. >>




True and false at the same time.

Simple handing, even rough handling will not damage a card in a BGS slab. You would have to sledge them to cause any damage and the card will still most likely not be hurt because of the insert. They are the absolute best as far as protection goes. So, saying any slab is false. PSA slabs, just one drop and your card is ruined.

Also remember most of us have our cards shipped back to us. Just one drop of the box by the mailman or a po worker, your gonna have a bunch of dented cards as well. It's not only the owner that can ruin PSA graded cards.

jcdcubs

Which ones if thicker? BGS or BCCG?

lawnmowerman

<< <i>Which ones if thicker? BGS or BCCG? >>




BGS


BCCG is more like PSA. The cards move inside a BCCG slab.

perkdog

It is absolutely disturbing looking at a few of these scans with cards "Floating" around in them! One thing I will say is for normal sized cards I do feel comfortable with high dollar cards in all slabs however Im not sure after looking at that Berra card getting damaged in the SGC holder- that has to be a rare occurence as I have not heard much-if anything about that happening on a regular basis.

Again PSA is my choice but I cannot stand when they put the plastic covering inside the slab, is this something they did away with? I havnt submitted a Raw card in years but recently had a few cards get reholdered with .5 bumps and thanki god the plastic baggy thing was not used.

IchiroDeported

sgc looks better, but beckett is far more sturdy.

sagard

Cards impress me, not holders.

I like PSA the best.

SGC's are too wide.
Becketts are too thick and tend to chip and crack more frequently than any I've seen.
GAI are too irrelevant.

Blackborder

<< <i>Cards impress me, not holders.

I like PSA the best.

SGC's are too wide.
Becketts are too thick and tend to chip and crack more frequently than any I've seen.
GAI are too irrelevant. >>




For some reason, I was expecting 3 bears to walk in just now.

StanTheManMusial

<< <i>Cards impress me, not holders.

I like PSA the best.

SGC's are too wide.
Becketts are too thick and tend to chip and crack more frequently than any I've seen.
GAI are too irrelevant. >>



I find this comment interesting, considering that the BGS holder is made with much better quality than the PSA holder, and it's way more durable/strong. Smack a BGS holder with a hammer, and do the same with a PSA holder, and tell me which one will tend to crack more frequently(on cheap throw away cards as an experiment of course). I can guarantee you that a PSA holder will crack far easier than a BGS holder The BGS holder may be too thick for some folks, but I'll take the BGS holder over every other, when it comes to solely protecting the card. I understand this is a pro PSA site, but my gosh, let's at least be real about this stuff.

P.S. I am not talking about the quality control with the grading criteria of the companies, just the strength and overall protection of their individual holders.