A New Grading Company

[Yoda]

If I were an ultra-rich venture capitalist, which I sadly am not, interested in the whole wild world of memorabilia and collecting and ruminating away, while thumbing through a stack of $10,000 bills, I might just have a thought: With all the hoopla going on about altered cards being graded and PSA under pressure maybe there might be room for a new grading company. But how? Here are a few thoughts:-(1) Hire 3 top graders, offering them obscene salaries and bonuses with 5 year contracts; one for prewar, one for '50s, '60s and early '70s and one for modern. Buy state of the art equipment, hire good looking girls to take submissions, advertise like Hell, go to shows and grade on site, and provide a well-developed card data base
In short, is there room for a new grading company in a turbulent marketplace?

[packs]

I would prefer there wasn't. I don't feel as though my collector grade cards pose any issues for future buyers and I'd rather not have to switch them all over to something else. I personally don't feel affected by this controversy and have no qualms with what I've got.

[perezfan]

I'm in...

Even with 3 mediocre graders, current-day technology and average-looking girls to take submissions... it's better than what we've got now!

In all seriousness, I know starting up any business is extremely difficult... especially when one competitor in particular has a foothold/near-monopoly within the market. But one of the things I'm hoping to result from all this is for a new kind of TPG to emerge (and succeed).

Perhaps one that disavows numerical grades in favor of simply deeming a card as altered or not. We collectors can (and should) determine the aesthetic value for ourselves.... no randomly assigned numbers needed.

[Ronnie73]

I'll hire the girls

Honestly, I do believe there's room for a new company. We already know what the SGC guys like and what the PSA guys like. It's easy to start from the beginning doing everything right that they both got wrong over the years. With the right team of people, skys the limit.

[rdwyer]

I would like to see Apple Computers grade cards, etc. They could write AI software that would get it right every time! The rest would be an automated assembly line. Take the men outta the loop! They would never fall behind or come up with lame excuses for delays, etc. Their customer service is top notch.

[swarmee]

I personally don't see a new market entrant getting enough traction to become profitable.

[Jcosta19]

CAC grading for coins is a good example of something that could work for less overhead too.
Since coin grading, much like cards is subjective, what they do is take already graded coins and they don't even take them out of the slab. They simple certify them with an additional small hologram sticker on the previously existing third party graded holder.

Obviously there would be differences, but it's an idea of how to get started.

https://www.caccoin.com/

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[RCMcKenzie]

I would spend the money on a team that tries to develop a longer battery life.

I think there could be a niche place for a company that only grades baseball cards older than say 1959.

I think current tpgs could just scrap vintage grading and focus on the Magic the Gathering, Mike Trout, and James Harden card customers.

[bnorth]

I don't think it would be that hard or expensive to start a new grading company. Damian Werner run GAI/Global Authority out of his garage for several years. A former member also run a small grading company out of Florida. I think they might have even teamed up towards the end.

There is also a company out there that will sell you slabs/sealer fairly cheap. Heck they will even do all the work for your and design you flip. All you have to do is give the cards a grade and they do the rest.

[steve B]

I think there's room for a new grading company.
I don't think it will work if it's at all similar to the current ones. That "service" is a market that's totally overloaded, and has a pretty sound near monopoly as part of it.

A company with a different approach though, might have a small chance.

The two routes I see as possibly working
1) A fairly high end service with a high minimum price for grading, tiered pricing, but related to value rather than value and turnaround time. In other words, the grading takes as long as it takes. The company takes the time to get it right very nearly every time. The minimum charge would be fairly high, so it would be almost exclusively for more expensive cards.

Full scans taken and archived
A new sort of holder with space inside for a sheet with a detailed report on the grade etc.
That new holder could be customizable. I'm picturing something with gaskets like SGC, but not thin enough to cause problems, and available in different colors. Like red for Reds or Red Sox cards, white or gray for black bordered cards like 71T or 50 Drakes.
A solid database that's publicly available.
Enough knowledge to not need a further 3rd party checklist to be published before adding something. (If you're an expert, you're an expert right? )

2)Something along the lines of the Philatelic foundation, which can be donated to, and has an extensive library and reference collection.
http://www.philatelicfoundation.org/...ic-foundation/

[Yoda]

I love the fact that you guys have devoted much thought to the subject already. You know, it just might be doable. With the right graders and ample capital, outsourcing the slabbing and marketing the company's mission, it just might be viable. Any venture capitalists out there?

[BigBeerGut]

Yoda!

Fail you will

[chalupacollects]

Wonder what happened to those Microsoft engineers who patented a computer based (no human involvement) grading system???

Would be perfect timing for them...