SGC, and Becketts grading..............

[theseeker]

...ramification of not going with PSA in my grading needs.

I have found PSA to be arrogant, slow, and sloppy when it comes to service. I feel their status in the industry is undeserved and will not allow them to take advantage of it any longer. So the question is-- how much will it cost me?

What is the approximate percentage drop on the resale value in having my cards graded by SGC and Becketts instead of PSA?

Is there any resale value advantage between SGC and Becketts?

[OldSchoolBaseball]

I'd say 15% dollar loss going away from PSA. Advantage Beckett on modern stuff.

[hcv123]

PSA has a stranglehold for sure on the 1950's-1980's market at least. I am less familiar with the pre 50's and post 80's. Their biggest driver is their set registry. At the end of the day many collectors (myself included) love the competition. PSA owns it! I agree their service leaves much to be desired. Their lack of knowledge of many of the issues is at times laughable. I just don't know how that changes. A 3rd party set registry? - allowing cards from beckett, SGC and PSA - how does it become a profitable venture? Who will do it?

Depending on the specific card(s) - there can be HUGE price discrepancies - the biggest I've seen is the 1968 Topps Plak Checklist - The single highest PSA graded - a 7 sold for 22k at auction - The highest SGC a 96! - sold for a little over 3k.

I like SGC a lot and the few times I've used them I have been happy with their service. They just came to the game very late and unless there is a PSA mutiny, I don't know how they catch up. Perhaps offering a short window of time to cross cards from some of the top sets for free (or very nominal charge) and guaranteeing no lower grade excepting for trimmed/altered discrepancies. For example - offering the top 3 set holders from ech set some incentive to cross?

-my 2 cents.

[k-dog]

Sometimes SGC holdered cards sell for more than PSA! I pointed out 2 post-war examples of this on the SGC forum with recent Ebay sales. You can view the thread if you'd like to see how much more the SGC cards went for. And in case anyone is wondering....NO, I did not win either of the auctions!

http://www.sgccard.com/boards/ubbthr...=1#Post1999385

[glynparson]

sell for comparable prices. It is the tougher commons and stars as well as most commons in general where PSA usually crushes SGC in price. BGS does not have the vast lead on modern like it used to as more and more people become aware of their willingness to grade recently sheet cut cards.

[bobbyw8469]

PSA totally OWNS high grade commons. I had some 1960's Topps SGC 9's...for auction I got $30 each for them. Their PSA counterparts in PSA 9? $150+.....to me that is sickening and that is my personal example. I can come up with many others if need be.....

[smtjoy]

If your talking PSA type 9-10's that are stars and lop pops then PSA is the only way to go, if you are only talking about HOFers in 5-8 range then it does not matter a ton, more value will be based on how the card looks ie centering, corners and such vs. who graded it imo.

If you only getting them graded to protect and keep in your collection then use the one you prefer best.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by smtjoy

...if you are only talking about HOFers in 5-8 range then it does not matter a ton...

I agree. I am in the market for a 1954 Topps Hank Aaon rookie. It is the last card I need to finish my set. The set is all raw, with the exception of the star cards which are all graded SGC 60-70 (5 to 5.5). On this particular card, an SGC 5 actually has a higher VCP than the PSA 5 and, as K-dog pointed out, there are many times when and SGC card will outsell it's PSA counterpart.