Collectors (PSA) Acquired SGC

[brunswickreeves]

My grading priorities are: 1) Cost of service, 2) Look of the holder and card in it, then 3) Turn around time. I suspect if SGC isn’t able to retain its uniqueness in these areas, collectors will flock to an alternative and drive up business of others like Beckett and CGC.

[mrreality68]

normally I do not mind mergers or buy outs. But the 2 biggest graders owned by the same parent company even if kept separate (for now I am sure down the line it will not stay that way) does not seem good for the collectors or for the industry in general.

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

My grading priorities are: 1) Cost of service, 2) Look of the holder and card in it, then 3) Turn around time. I suspect if SGC isn’t able to retain its uniqueness in these areas, collectors will flock to an alternative and drive up business of Beckett.

Considering Beckett is ultimately owned by Greg Lindberg, I would hope people would take into account that he benefits from them using Beckett. If you're not aware of who Greg is, here is some light reading on his ongoing issues and the impact he has had on people:
https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ed-to-7-years/

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/cri...reg-e-lindberg

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com...me-437531.aspx

https://cblife.com/

[hcv123]

This is so bad for so many reasons! I hope those emergency lights on Jeff's post indicate he or someone in a position to challenge this from a monopolistic perspective (potentially hurts Beckett and CGC the most) are going to do so. How can a single company be allowed to own 85% of a given market?

[topcat61]

Originally Posted by hcv123

This is so bad for so many reasons! I hope those emergency lights on Jeff's post indicate he or someone in a position to challenge this from a monopolistic perspective (potentially hurts Beckett and CGC the most) are going to do so. How can a single company be allowed to own 85% of a given market?

The Federal Trade Commission would or could study to see if there's a potential impact on consumers through a formula they use to determine monopolization. Personally, I think the data is there to warrant an investigation by the FTC. According to the Gemerate numbers, PSA\Collector's Universe has 78% of the grading market while SGC has 10%. You can file an inquiry with the FTC at ant time but the problem the hobby may run into is getting the FTC to understand how this affects consumers. I don't think Lina Khan is a collector of Sports cards but the FTC has investigated the hobby's inner-workings on 3 seperate occasions.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by topcat61

The Federal Trade Commission would or could study to see if there's a potential impact on consumers through a formula they use to determine monopolization. Personally, I think the data is there to warrant an investigation by the FTC. According to the Gemerate numbers, PSA\Collector's Universe has 78% of the grading market while SGC has 10%. You can file an inquiry with the FTC at ant time but the problem the hobby may run into is getting the FTC to understand how this affects consumers. I don't think Lina Khan is a collector of Sports cards but the FTC has investigated the hobby's inner-workings on 3 seperate occasions.

As I posted on either this or the other thread, the increase in the HHI index (sum of the squares of market shares) certainly suggests a significant increase in market concentration in an already highly concentrated market. But being below reporting thresholds, and involving discretionary spending on sportscards, not sure the government would care.

[JimC]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

As I posted on either this or the other thread, the increase in the HHI index (sum of the squares of market shares) certainly suggests a significant increase in market concentration in an already highly concentrated market. But being below reporting thresholds, and involving discretionary spending on sportscards, not sure the government would care.

To piggyback on Peter's comments - - discretionary spending by an overwhelmingly white, middle aged and economically healthy (we hope) demographic. I'm not sure I see the folks at DOJ wringing their hands trying to figure out how to protect us from Big Grading!

[ullmandds]

ugh! I only hope that maybe SGC ditches their current crapass holder in favor of PSA's.

[The Nasty Nati]

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Fanatics acquires PSA.

[raulus]

On the bright side…maybe SGC is finally getting a registry now!

[The Nasty Nati]

Maybe SGC will shrink their comically large grade font now.

[clamendo]

Originally Posted by raulus

On the bright side…maybe SGC is finally getting a registry now!

Agreed.


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[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

ugh! I only hope that maybe SGC ditches their current crapass holder in favor of PSA's.

I had this thought as well. They could keep the black insert and the tux look, but IMO SGC is overdue for some slab changes like making them thinner, incorporating QR codes, etc.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

I had this thought as well. They could keep the black insert and the tux look, but IMO SGC is overdue for some slab changes like making them thinner, incorporating QR codes, etc.

i agree...the slabs are big, clunky...and not very protective...the come apart way too easily.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

i agree...the slabs are big, clunky...and not very protective...the come apart way too easily.

Yeah. It's not a huge deal to me. The SGC slabs aren't any thicker than Pro-Mold or UltraPro mag cases. I guess I just care about the cards more. I've never had an issue with them coming apart. If you are a slab aesthetics person, I would agree they don't get first place. Although God knows PSA and their inability to holder so many things properly is as big of if not a worse problem.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

Considering Beckett is ultimately owned by Greg Lindberg, I would hope people would take into account that he benefits from them using Beckett. If you're not aware of who Greg is, here is some light reading on his ongoing issues and the impact he has had on people:
https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ed-to-7-years/

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/cri...reg-e-lindberg

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com...me-437531.aspx

https://cblife.com/

There's a guy you can rely on for honest grading!