Haven't argued.....I mean discussed in a while PSA vs SGC

Mickey71 · April 19, 2013 1:43AM

My collecting focus is somewhat narrow and defined. Those who know me, know that I collect Aaron, Mantle and Mays in mostly NM and above. At one time I would regularly buy those players in SGC 84 and above. Now I find myself viewing cards on Ebay and in other auctions thinking that most would not be the PSA equivalent if broken out or crossed over.

1st off.....SGC has a fundamental difference in regards to centering. I don't care what the written standards say. When I look at SGC 92's, I almost always say "No freakin way" on the 3 players I named. I generally think the same thing when I see 88's of the named players. I just rarely see high end examples in those holders and I'm checking regularly. At this point in time....PSA seems to be light years ahead of them in grading 50's and 60's cards. I believe this gap used to be much smaller.

In closing....I'm not bashing SGC or hyping PSA, because like I said.....I used to enjoy seeing and buying more nice SGC cards than I do now. It's kind of frustrating in a way. The 50's and 60's market is dominated by PSA and there is no one in 2nd place.

Thanks for your time. Argue away...........I mean let's have a constructive discussion.

Mickey71

Baez578 · April 19, 2013 2:41AM

No argument here... I agree with you 100%

I don't know how many times I've looked at a Clemente card on Ebay and have said the same thing. It's not even close!

Now...if we can only get PSA grading quality in SGC holders, that would be something special

Sethro · April 19, 2013 2:49AM

<< Now...if we can only get PSA grading quality in SGC holders, that would be something special

>>

This!

digicat · April 19, 2013 3:08AM

SGC holders are not special.

PSA grading in BGS holders (and subgrades) would be perfect.

Baez578 · April 19, 2013 3:30AM

<< SGC holders are not special.

PSA grading in BGS holders (and subgrades) would be perfect. >>

BGS holders are nice....but VERY easy to break open and swap cards (from what I've seen on forums, youtube, etc) . Still...I'd take even a BGS holder over PSA.

Cakes · April 19, 2013 3:38AM

<< SGC holders are not special.

PSA grading in BGS holders (and subgrades) would be perfect. >>

If PSA added sub grades it would drive up some nice revenue for them from all the people sending in for re grades.

digicat · April 19, 2013 3:48AM

<< BGS holders are nice....but VERY easy to break open and swap cards (from what I've seen on forums, youtube, etc) . Still...I'd take even a BGS holder over PSA. >>

Wait, where have you seen that BGS holders are "VERY easy to break open and swap cards"?

Dpeck100 · April 19, 2013 3:50AM

They are easy to break open but I am not aware of them being easy to swap cards out of.

To crack one open you essentially have to ruin the slab.

digicat · April 19, 2013 4:04AM

<< They are easy to break open but I am not aware of them being easy to swap cards out of. To crack one open you essentially have to ruin the slab. >>

well, yeah. BGS slabs will open easily with wire cutters, tin snips, etc. Ultimately, you end up with a pile of chopped up plastic that you won't be putting back together in any convincing fashion.

lawnmowerman · April 19, 2013 4:18AM

<< 

<< SGC holders are not special.

PSA grading in BGS holders (and subgrades) would be perfect. >>

BGS holders are nice....but VERY easy to break open and swap cards (from what I've seen on forums, youtube, etc) . Still...I'd take even a BGS holder over PSA. >>

Nope. Bgs slabs have to be destroyed in order for you to crack one open.

You may be thinking of BCCG slabs.

Albertdidit · April 19, 2013 4:21AM

I have some cards in SGC holders that just look so great in them that i dont mind if they are worth somewhat less

CubsKiller99 · April 19, 2013 4:26AM

<< I have some cards in SGC holders that just look so great in them that i dont mind if they are worth somewhat less >>

Agree with you 100%. SGC are by far my favorite to look at of the big three.
I don't buy expensive cards for resale so having them in SGC holder is not a problem
and you can get some really good deals sometimes for SGC cards.

So I buy SGC and sell PSA.

mcolney1 · April 19, 2013 4:53AM

I'm always in the market for SGC cards that present well and can be had for a bargain. I crack them out for my raw sets. There are many SGC cards that look great, have the same grade as PSA, but can be had for are less $.

Investing, I'd stay with PSA, seems you'll retain your value or possibly increase it over time.

handyman · April 19, 2013 5:01AM

I think it has to do with the fact that people are bargin hunting when looking to buy SGC graded cards. Its a known fact that they sell for less. So if someone can buy a SGC 88 at the normal SGC prices and the card looks equal to a PSA 8. You save some money or stand to make some money after they get crossed or cracked out and sent to PSA. With that in mind all the good SGC cards have been picked though, bought up or get bought up leaving all the over graded ugly cards left in the pool.

Yankees001 · April 19, 2013 5:17AM

Both are great companies, with great followings. I like both.

As far as the centering issue goes, I always looked at the card not the holder.

I would recommend both SGC and PSA to anyone starting a collection.

Dave

Scottiec2288 · April 19, 2013 5:24AM

I agree 100% with cubskiller. I have both in my pc. There are way more psa in 50-60s for the set registry. I believe many Sgc cards stay in personal collections.

gtrwzz · April 19, 2013 5:39AM

<< My collecting focus is somewhat narrow and defined. Those who know me, know that I collect Aaron, Mantle and Mays in mostly NM and above. At one time I would regularly buy those players in SGC 84 and above. Now I find myself viewing cards on Ebay and in other auctions thinking that most would not be the PSA equivalent if broken out or crossed over.

1st off.....SGC has a fundamental difference in regards to centering. I don't care what the written standards say. When I look at SGC 92's, I almost always say "No freakin way" on the 3 players I named. I generally think the same thing when I see 88's of the named players. I just rarely see high end examples in those holders and I'm checking regularly. At this point in time....PSA seems to be light years ahead of them in grading 50's and 60's cards. I believe this gap used to be much smaller.

In closing....I'm not bashing SGC or hyping PSA, because like I said.....I used to enjoy seeing and buying more nice SGC cards than I do now. It's kind of frustrating in a way. The 50's and 60's market is dominated by PSA and there is no one in 2nd place.

Thanks for your time. Argue away...........I mean let's have a constructive discussion.

I see PSA and BGS as the leaders today, with SGC running third. I know you didn't mention BGS, but I do like the company. Anyway, the age, experience, and reputation of each company lets collectors know that he/she will receive an accurate evaluation of his/her cards. In my opinion, if you deal with just vintage cards, the best company is PSA. From experience, if you have a PSA 10 card, PSA will carry the best resale value, so I see PSA as the most popular of the two.
With the SGC grading system, I'm really not a BIG fan of their 1-100 grading system. I like the 1-10 system! As a seller, it really comes down to what the consumer wants to buy. Consumers lean more towards PSA and BGS. As a collector, I like PSA because the cards are easy to store and the company is accurate with their grading. I haven't been disappointed.
Could you imagine trying to store 5,000 or more SGC graded cards??

Bosox1976 · April 19, 2013 5:48AM

<< When I look at SGC 92's, I almost always say "No freakin way" >>

I generally think of SGC 92's as badly centered 9's, and SGC 86's as badly centered 8's. I know that is not the technical definition, but seems like the half-grade is generally a deduction to SGC. Conversely, PSA seems to use the 8.5 as a nice 8, rather than a weak 9.

Old timers will remember when CSA used to use the PQ (premium qualities) qualifier for nice cards with an exceptionally nice feature within a given grade. That seems closer to what PSA does, than the deduction methodology SGC seems to employ. I know that this is probably over-generalizing it, but it limits the "no freakin' way" thoughts when thinking of it in this perspective (vs. PSA's).

soundgard · April 19, 2013 6:32AM

SGC all the way for me. Tough on grades and they have the most attractive holders.

Mapleleaf · April 19, 2013 7:08AM

<< SGC all the way for me. Tough on grades and they have the most attractive holders. >>

I used to like the SGC holders better but now I find them dark and heavy. The clear PSA holders let you display the card with any background you want behind them as different colour backgrounds highlight different series cards. Yes, black does look good on a lot of cards but not all of them.

As a set collector, I appreciate the thinner PSA holders.
It's hard to build an SGC set since so many have been cracked out and all that is left is the lower examples of the grade that won't cross over.

bobbybakeriv · April 19, 2013 7:13AM

I don't have anything against SGC but they are fading.... visit their board.

hyperchipper09 · April 19, 2013 7:17AM

I buy both PSA and SGC. Each have their pluses and minuses.

Mickey71 · April 19, 2013 7:26AM

Bosox1976,
You said that very well. One is a plus and the other a negative in regards to half grades. Also, yes I do believe alot of the nice SGC stuff has already been gone through, leaving the leftovers.

Mickey71

soundgard · April 19, 2013 8:55AM

<< 

<< SGC all the way for me. Tough on grades and they have the most attractive holders. >>

I used to like the SGC holders better but now I find them dark and heavy. The clear PSA holders let you display the card with any background you want behind them as different colour backgrounds highlight different series cards. Yes, black does look good on a lot of cards but not all of them.

As a set collector, I appreciate the thinner PSA holders.
It's hard to build an SGC set since so many have been cracked out and all that is left is the lower examples of the grade that won't cross over. >>

Disagree. PSA holders are the cheapest in the biz. Pure crapola.

japhi · April 19, 2013 9:11AM

Would love to collect SGC, most cards in their holder look awesome. PSA seems to market better and from an investment standpoint PSA seems to make more sense today.

Albertdidit · April 19, 2013 2:14PM

here are two that i own. hard to pass up on certain cards in black

bobbybakeriv · April 19, 2013 2:18PM

<< 

<< 

<< SGC all the way for me. Tough on grades and they have the most attractive holders. >>

I used to like the SGC holders better but now I find them dark and heavy. The clear PSA holders let you display the card with any background you want behind them as different colour backgrounds highlight different series cards. Yes, black does look good on a lot of cards but not all of them.

As a set collector, I appreciate the thinner PSA holders.
It's hard to build an SGC set since so many have been cracked out and all that is left is the lower examples of the grade that won't cross over. >>

Disagree. PSA holders are the cheapest in the biz. Pure crapola. >>

Winner winner dumbass dinner...that's a purely ignorant statement.

ClockworkAngel · April 19, 2013 2:55PM

<< I don't have anything against SGC but they are fading.... visit their board. >>

This. They are a distant 3rd in the race of the big 3. SGC is becoming less and less relevant. They are credible and at least will be accurate in authentication and not grading everything in sight, but there just doesn't seem to be much of a market. Then again, I look at things more from an investment potential perspective. I am sure you can get some great cards on the cheap from SGC

That being said, it's ironic that by far the leader in the industry also has by far the cheapest holder and the worst looking sticker. The red and white sticker just can't touch the other 2....BGS by far has the coolest display with the 4 subgrades

digicat · April 19, 2013 4:19PM

<< Disagree. PSA holders are the cheapest in the biz. Pure crapola. >>

Does anyone remember a few years ago when PSA submissions were coming back in warped slabs for a period of 2 or 3 months? Fun times.

<< That being said, it's ironic that by far the leader in the industry also has by far the cheapest holder and the worst looking sticker. The red and white sticker just can't touch the other 2....BGS by far has the coolest display with the 4 subgrades >>

That's the sad truth. Blame the Registry for putting this all backwards.

escopa · April 19, 2013 5:24PM

This is probably the most pleasant discussion on graders I've ever seen. Personal likes and dislikes. Hardly any picking on. Very nice. For myself personally, since most of my gradable cards value between $5 and $40, I prefer to go with SGC. For 5 bucks, I get a grading and a very nice case and it's returned in 20 days. As opposed to PSA, which would cost $119 membership and $11 a grade. Economically, SGC is the best bet for me and I do like their slabs. As for the centering issue, I think PSA can be just as bad, at times, especially with pre-1950 BB. When it comes to web sites, SGC is absolutely the worst by far, but so much easier to talk to when calling about issues. Beckett's lost me with the whole BCCG and BVG grades. It's like a BMW dealership selling KIAs

bobbyw8469 · April 19, 2013 9:08PM

<< Does anyone remember a few years ago when PSA submissions were coming back in warped slabs for a period of 2 or 3 months? Fun times >>

Yessssss!! They must have tried to cheap them out and go with a different vendor. There is one auction house, that if you go through their catalog, you can still see the "wavy" plastic slabs pop up from time to time. They did not stack well, they did not scan well.......very shoddy.

digicat · April 21, 2013 1:41AM

<< Yessssss!! They must have tried to cheap them out and go with a different vendor. There is one auction house, that if you go through their catalog, you can still see the "wavy" plastic slabs pop up from time to time. They did not stack well, they did not scan well.......very shoddy. >>

I had a whole sub pop with those wretched things.

royalbrett · April 21, 2013 2:28AM

Measuring a TPG by recent message board activity is not a good way to determine if they are accurate or not.

emar · April 21, 2013 2:34AM

I'm a PSA, BVG, SGC collector.
Some of my faves are in SGC holders and IMO they've been graded correctly.

CubsKiller99 · April 21, 2013 10:21PM

The two posters that showed their SGC-graded cards: just confirms my own opinion of my aesthetic
preference for the SGC slab. And they look even better holding 'em at arms length.

PSA for investment potential and resale as ClockWork said, but I'm definitely one of the guys
mentioned that has a lot of SGC in their own PC, especially when they're less than $150 SMR.

emar · April 21, 2013 11:19PM

<< The two posters that showed their SGC-graded cards: just confirms my own opinion of my aesthetic
preference for the SGC slab. And they look even better holding 'em at arms length.

PSA for investment potential and resale as ClockWork said, but I'm definitely one of the guys
mentioned that has a lot of SGC in their own PC, especially when they're less than $150 SMR. >>

I agree...the B&W looks awesome with the black border.

Investment: Most TPG'ed low pop high quality vintage could potentially be a good investment.

My opinion, we're experiencing a PSA bubble with the p*ssing match thats going on at the registry.

A nice alternate for me has been beckett & SGC and their discounted prices.

As usual, Buy the card not the holder.

Haven't argued.....I mean discussed in a while PSA vs SGC

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