PSA vs SGC
 

I don't know a reason that I should send my cards to SGC? No reason at all from what I can see. I will explain. In August on the 21 almost four weeks ago I visited the National sports cards show in Long Island NY. I submitted cards to both PSA and SGC and I chose the lowest tier with both companies. PSA sent my cards back in two weeks. So I figured SGC can't be to far behind well so I thought. I called them on Monday and again today and all I get from them is that they have 20 business days to turn around and ship them back. So why would I send my cards to a company that doesn't really care about me? And also PSA brings in more money. You think after speaking to them that they would try and get them out by tomorrow NO they tell me they will go out on Monday God forbid a day early.

Just to be clear - you paid for 20 business day service and are disappointed you didn't get earlier returns?

If they gave everyone their cards back faster that what you paid for, why would you ever pay for anything faster? Seems like a bad business model to me.

Yes I think PSA brings better money . Neither of them are fast .

I really did not care how long it took I am just disappointed that when you call them the first thing they say is we have 20 days. PSA's lowest I got them in two weeks. What I am saying is if PSA can turn them around like that why can't SGC do the same.

If you chose the lowest tier with PSA and got them back in 2 weeks, you should send them a thank you card! You got lucky as it's generally 50 business days/nearly 3 months!

PSA has made it clear that their tier level turnaround days are estimates.

Wow three Months is crazy.

If PSA brings better money then why isn't there arbitrage in buying SGC 60s and then crossing them into PSA 5s? If the answer is because SGC 60s become PSA 4s, then isn't the real question whether PSA 4s bring better money that SGC 60s?

I think you could play this game selectively in some cases, but I doubt it's a business model to count on SGC -> PSA crossovers (and vice versa) as a reliable cash cow.

I would guess there are people on this board who play this game regularly. I've noticed some who routinely complain about SGC values seem to sell high grade SGC cards -- maybe PSA wouldn't cross them?

SGC had a really nice special last month, and even better this month. No doubt they are slammed. Both companies seem to get submissions processed as soon as they can. I've had PSA subs take the entire 50 business days, which seems like forever, and I've had them surprise me by only taking 2-3 weeks.

The OP didn't say if he submitted on a collector's club special cheapest (50 business days) or the cheapest submission he could select at the national, where they heavily inflate their submission prices, and probably have quicker returns dates because of it.
There are some reasons to submit to SGC over PSA, because the two grade cards differently. Off-centered cards that would get a qualifier at PSA may be better to grade through SGC. Their recent membership specials were cheaper than PSAs.

I had a bulk order to PSA pop last week, on business day 51. I was happy with the grades, and knew it could take that long, since it's what I paid for.

PSA sometimes will pop a bulk order quickly (like your 2 week order), especially if they are all similar types of cards. But I certainly wouldn't expect that, especially on the heels of a busy time like right after the National, when many additional orders are received.

Business with both SGC PSA
 

Pre war are best in SGC
1950's - 1980's PSA
1990's & up Beckett
Obviously some overlap.

I went to the National too. Got lunch at Burger King drive-thru. Paid for Whooper, fries, and Coke, Got Whopper, fries and Coke 2 minutes later.

On way home I went to McDonalds. Paid for Big Mac, fries, and Coke. Got 2 Big Macs, fries, apple pie, and Coke.

Whoa Nelly! Burger King you suck! McDonalds is awesome. Never going anywhere else!

I'm sticking with my decision even if it doesn't follow general consensus and even if I prefer flame-broiling.

I see what you did there. :D

I have only submitted to PSA, and have never had an order take shorter or longer than the estimate at any service level. The grades were posted on my account on the last business day and shipped out the next. Their clock starts running when they decide to open the package thought so it's not necessarily X business days from when they receive the order.

I too have only submitted PSA, I have had unbelievably quick turnaround as well as unbelievably slow. If turn around time is your issue I advise paying for a higher level of service. I submit almost entirely bulk.

I've submitted to both. As mentioned by others, SGC is best for pre-war, especially tobacco. The early cards simply look better in SGC holders. You'll get that trashy plastic bag look on the smaller sized cards with PSA. As far as turn-around time, both will take long if that's the service you pay for. Plus, PSA probably has many more employees since they are bigger, so getting cards back a little faster on average isn't surprising. I like SGC better overall.

+1.

It's been a full week since PSA received my cards that I paid for expedited service on for a couple of cards. Nothing. Theoretically, I should have received my cards back by now. PSA has service levels in part based on 'estimated' turnaround time, but they can start the clock whenever they feel like it. I'd rather have firm turnaround times based on when my items are received than phony service time frames. SGC has been more responsive with my 10 day submissions that I paid a fraction of the cost for.

You are missing the point. You see, there was this one time when this guy, we will call him "The OP", got his order back really fast.

+2 (Leon was the first +1)

One thing I can tell you about sgc vs psa
I bought some pre war cards from a guy not getting into names from his estate
He passed.... was a multimillionaire and didn't care about the cost.
He was probably the most popular card collector in the world at the time and had the best baseball card collection in the world.
I am not kidding.
He would buy PSA 8s pre war and try to cross to sgc 88s because he hated psa..He had a 40 percent success rate.
He hated psa for good reasons
Why would a millionaire do this?
I am not an sgc fan but a psa fan.
I have scans of these cards in psa 8 holders and tried to cross back to psa.
Sent 25 cards for cross and not one crossed.

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For PSA, the time that the card was graded matters, as PSA is stricter now with grading than they were when they first started. I never trust the grades for PSA cards that have a cert # that start with "0" as most of these are over-graded with today's standards. That's why I believe in the cases that you are mentioning, the cards won't cross back into PSA at those same original grades.

Psa screwed up the most important card in the hobby..it was trimmed
We all know what card that was...WAGNER

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I dont think psa is a bad company by any stretch
But if a card was in a psa holder as an 8 and crosses to an sgc 88 for a collector who likes sgc because he knows they are more legitimate graders, knowing his investments may get hurt but doesn't care because he is a true collector...not in it for the money and then when an impartial guy like me with proof of the cards in psa 8 holders wont cross for bull shit reasons isn't honest
A card should speak for itself
Thats why that guy hated PSA
They aren't honest.

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Would really like to see some high grade cards. We all Love eye candy if your willing to share.

But how many hours/days/months later did you get your food from macdonalds? Were you still hungry?

Having a picture of a card in a holder although historical data doesn't prove how the cards were crossed/cracked/etc and if any damage was done to the cards in the process. PSA has every right to review the card and if it doesn't meet the criteria to deny it. Do I think they can be biased? YES. If you want it to be unbiased, do not send pictures and crack them out yourself and let PSA grade them. My hope is that you turn some into 8s but be prepared when some are 7s or less also..

I disagree that an SGC 60 will always get a PSA 4. This may be closer to the truth with PSA's tightening of their standards. But I've seen superior SGC 50s over PSA 4s, with the exception of the latest flip design.

The latest flip is what you are going to get, so that is a pretty good comparison. I would like to have my t205 set in 5 or better. However, some of my cards came back 4 from PSA. I am not buying a SGC 60 that looks worse than my PSA 4 and I run into that more often than not.