I think the registry plays little role in rare sets or superstar cards in low or mid grade, but it has entirely created the market for high grade commons and stars. Registry or having the best single is the only reason a 10 outsells a 9; I've yet to meet a single collector that can reliably separate 8/9/10 slabbed cards without seeing the slip. A mint Mantle was worth more than an EX Mantle before PSA, but the multiplier has skyrocketed and half the high grades are effectively imaginary.
Adding a registry wouldn't suddenly make SGC competitive; but it's one of the things you need to be competitive. Somebody will need to do something innovative to take over PSA, but they will also need 'the basics' and the infrastructure that PSA has to take over significant market share.
SGC has never seemed to have much interest in competing, or is a poorly run business. I'm not sure which.
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