Results 1 to 10 of 12
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05-15-2006, 01:09 PM #1
Grading company thoughts....
I've sent a lot of cards to grading companies in my day, and here's my thoughts:
PSA-Very good resell, but I've never received a 10, unless I send the cards in at $50 a pop. Almost Mafia like.....
BGS-Very strick graders, but fair. I've received several 9.5's with every order.
SGC-In my opinion, the fairest of all the grading companies, but the resell isn't there.
BCCG-I think that due to the amount of cards that they grade, they overlook some of the defects. For the money ($5/card), this is the collector's best value. I recently sent in 55 cards that I wouldn't have sent to BGS, and received 51 Mint or Better grades(10's).
My only advice to any potential consumers of grading companies is Look at the card before you sent it!
If the centering's perfect or close, and the corners are sharp with no chipping of the edges, you're probably gonna get at least a 9. Watch out for scratches on the surface, as this is the most overlooked aspect!
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08-13-2006, 09:31 PM #2
I will never use PSA again. They accused me of cutting cards, something I would never do and have never done.
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08-13-2006, 11:29 PM #3
johnny-If you had cards returned to you "Not Holdered - Evidence of Trimming" it doesn't mean they thought you did it, only that the cards had been trimmed. If you bought them all from the same seller, which would be by guess, then I would return them to that seller.
additcted-If you aren't getting 9.5 or 10's, then the cards don't deserve it, plain and simple. You are still best served (for resale purposes) to send your modern stuff to beckett, any vintage to PSA and any pre-war to SGC or PSA. The collectors in those eras, tend to focus on those companies in those eras.
Each company has their flaws, but the biggest flaw is that people who submit their cards aren't objective or experienced enough to objectively evaluate their own cards. I can tell you that after sending thousands of cards to PSA I am now able to nail the grade I'll received on over 80% of the cards I submit. On the ones I'm wrong on, I'm probably equally split between being a grade high and a grade low. I would bet that a large percentage of the people submitting thier cards are 90% high vs the grade they received. When I first started, I know I was.
The two best investments you can make are a halogen desk lamp which will cost you $10 at the local Target, and a dual magnifiying glass with 4x and 10x magnification or better.
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08-14-2006, 12:48 AM #4johnny-If you had cards returned to you "Not Holdered - Evidence of Trimming" it doesn't mean they thought you did it, only that the cards had been trimmed. If you bought them all from the same seller, which would be by guess, then I would return them to that seller.
It was quite a few years ago, so I don't recall how PSA phrased it, but I do remember being furious. The card, a 96-97 UD Kobe rookie, was pulled from a factory sealed box.
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08-14-2006, 11:12 AM #5
I would have resubmitted it. If you personally pulled it then you know it's not trimmed, so a resubmit is the proper course of action. I've had a few cards come back Min Siz requirements and miscut before only to have them later holdered. Sometimes it seems like it's a game...
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08-22-2006, 04:48 PM #6
Originally Posted by envoy98
Absolute waste of money. Why resubmit when you paid for the grading service already? PSA makes too many mistakes which is one of the multiple reasons I would never submit anything to them. The mandatory collector's club is another one.
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08-22-2006, 05:06 PM #7
Whatever your opinions on PSA are, is fine with me. I disagree, but that's irrelevent. The collectors club is a bit annoying but quite honestly, you get online SMR access, the SMR mailed to you and 6 free grades, plus a nice bag or book, which more than covers the $99 membership fee. I use PSA exclusively and wouldn't touch a thing in a BGS holder, but there are plenty who feel exactly the opposite... To each his own.
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08-22-2006, 05:37 PM #8
Originally Posted by envoy98
online SMR is like owning Beckett OPG. Waste of money. I prefer to see what stuff actually sell for on Ebay to get an idea of what stuff really sell for. I've compared a bunch of PSA 5's on vintage that is worse than SGC 3's. PSA has a tendency to overgrade cards. I don't mess with BGS either. Submitted a few cards to them also. They do a decent job, but for vintage, the cards slide around. I'm strictly SGC now.
Example of what I mean about BGS/BVG sliding:
Scan 1:
Scan 2:
As you can see the space in the holder.
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08-22-2006, 06:45 PM #9
The SMR is far closer to sell value than Beckett is, so I would argue that it is a much better gauge of value than the Beckett OPG. The Beckett OPG is also only useful if you are dealing in modern cards, which the SMR is completely useless for. They did finally get closer with Pujols, but they're still way off.
As for BVG, I don't think there are any serious collectors, or at least very few compared to those who collect in SGC or PSA, that think BVG is a viable option. BGS has far too many flaws from the top down for me to even consider them. Nevermind the fact that they price their own cards in their holders.
As for SGC, fantastic grading company, probably the most popular for pre-war. Only thing I dislike about them is the lax on centering as compared to PSA. I do dislike PSA's "eye appeal" argument on many instances as I don't think it trule reflects the collectors opinion in many instances.
Bottom line is, every company is fallable, I tend to belive in PSA, and SGC for that matter, far more than I do in Beckett. (BVG or BGS or BCCG, pick your poison)
I don't know if you've ever seen or heard of it, but if you want an online price guide that actually reflects market values, check out vintagecardprices.com They actually keep track of vintage cards in every companies holders from ebay as well as major auction houses such as Lelands, Mastro, Mile High and the like.
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08-22-2006, 06:49 PM #10
..by the way, I'm a little confused as to why that '62 Fleer is so small in that holder. Is that a larger case they use for larger issues? I have a Bird/Magic rc in a BVG 8 holder that does not sit in the case like that.
I don't have a scan of any 62's, but here is a 61 Fleer I have in a PSA holder and it fits fine in the 2-1/2 x 3-1/2.
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