how did PSA, BGS and grading cards come about?

[podstock]

Does anyone know how BGS, PSA, etc and the card grading system came about?

As a child, I was a huge collector of cards (baseball, basketball, football, garbage pail kids).

I went to college and post graduate in 1990s.

Now, I am back to the collecting game; one of the first things i noticed were graded cards became in vogue.

How did it get so popular? Did Beckett have something to do with it?

Who the heck pays $8 or more to get each card graded?

Sure, if I had an 1986 Fleer Jordan, I'd get it graded; but all the 1990s baseball cards are so commonplace.

Thanks for any answers anyone can post.

[Garycolemanx]

yeah whats with that, I have no idea whats going on with that. It confuses me to the core.

[j.e.lew]

I few a-holes that thought there cards should be worth more than they were.

[podstock]

what amazes me is how graded cards became so popular.

someone with a lot of money and connection had to "popularize" this so that the public would fall in line for it.

I mean, a PSA 10 Sage Lebron James (just out) goes for $1,999

but a PSA 9 goes for $499?

wow!!!

[thekingpin]

The pricing of graded cards is market demand and corporate price fixing. It all depends on what the card is and where it was graded.

As for how it all came about... some companies saw a demand for grading evaluations of collectibles. It actually was in coin & stamp collecting before sports cards or comics for quite some time. As the opportunity presented itself, the companies appeared. First PSA, then BGS & SGC... followed by many others. In this instance, 1st company to the industry made the big impression (PSA). It was then a combination of marketing, trade show appearances, and on site information sessions that really sold it. Collectors picked it up... and here we are.

Honestly, it makes sense, and the pricing will come down as demand increases. Expect it to become more prevalent and common for high end cards as time goes on.

Just my 3 cents... knowledge... whatever... :D
thekingpin

[plunge]

Originally posted by podstock

Who the heck pays $8 or more to get each card graded?

I did through BGS and got back a lot of 8.5s

Call it stupidity. I thought they would all come back 9.5 but what did I know. Lesson: get a second opinion from someone with a trained eye

[podstock]

Plunge --- yep. hey, did ya try to sell it on Ebay to see what you would get?

[plunge]

Haven't yet. What I see with completed items, I'll be lucky to make $8 for all the cards I got graded COMBINED.

[thekingpin]

it's not just the quality of the card that should determine what you send in. It's also the book value. I wouldn't think of sending in any card valued at under $15 and that also had sharp corners, edges, clean surface, etc.

[plunge]

Touche, kingpin.