KSA Grading

[Joan P]

I'm just taking my first steps into graded hockey cards and purchased an 1985 Gretzky graded by KSA. My first KSA card and I was fairly impressed . I'd like to know what others familiar with the company thinks of them . Overall accuracy being most important to me, I've lost faith in PSA and am looking for an alternative . MNT graded cards look great but they're a little too pricey for me to use at this point. Thanks for any advice you may have

[Rraincock]

I think the only real players in the graded game are PSA and BGS.... but both have their flaws:

- the PSA holder is terrible. The card rattles around in it. The BGS holder has the card in a plastic pocket, but is quite a bit thicker than the PSA holder.

- older PSA labels were less secure; the new ones have holofoil and all sorts of anti-counterfeiting tech. BGS labels are pretty much the same, although you can get subgrades on the front, back (old), or not at all.

- both PSA and BGS have had moments of inconsistent grading.

- both PSA and BGS graded cards have been faked

- BGS will grade cards cut from sheets by modern cutters, but PSA will not

- PSA seems to sell for more in the pre-1989 sets where BGS sells for more 1990 and newer.

- BGS has the “black label” and gold label 10 pristine category, a notch above the PSA 10.



In the end, it is all about what you want. Do you want to pay an extra $80k-150k for a BGS 9.5 Gretzky RC because Beckett thinks it is gem mint? Are you worried that the grader for PSA was having a bad day when your card came through? Can BGS detect a cleaned or trimmed card better than PSA? Can either detect a replaced patch piece in a card? What about the softening of the grading market due to PWCC’s shenanigans?

In the end, you are buying the card and not the holder. Yes, I would run a kilometre in hot glass covered in acid to own a Gretzky BGS 9.5 or PSA 10 OPC RC.... but I won’t pay a 1/3 of a mortgage for it.


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[cheevers]

I find that KSA will slap a high rating on anything that BGS & PSA would scrutinize lower. I use BGS but need to check into MINT. I can only afford to get 4-5 done at a time.

[camsue]

Only personal experience my oldest brother bought a hockey collection that they were mostly graded by KSA he had no issues with the grades

[sparty07]

What you should do, if you choose to pursue grading you should find a reputable bulk submission person/shop/group. The pricing for bulk is better (and rumor is that repeat/big graders sometimes get more favorable grades).

I personally don't like the whole concept of grading as it is still the perspective of the person doing it and that person can have any number of reasons why they think A when someone thinks B. One of the best hockey cards that truly reduced my thoughts on grading is the McDavid High Gloss that was graded, cracked, trimmed, re-submitted and graded better without an altered notation. It seems like any low numbered cards (especially graded in the last few years) should be in a database and reviewed if previously submitted. I have 1 graded card, and it was cheaper than any raw I had seen, so picked it up.