Crossing over/upgrading T206 cards. Input from collectors would be appreciated!

[the 'stache]

Hey everybody, I just have a few quick questions about things I'll encounter while collecting "the Monster", and would really appreciate some input.

I have decided to go with SGC graded for my white borders set. In my opinion, SGC's slab is the most attractive presentation of tobacco cards, and everything I've read about their customer service (which is highly important to me) has been outstanding. I don't know yet if I am going to stick exclusively with one particular grade as t206hound (Erick) does with his SGC 40 collection, but I do know I'll be staying within the 30 to 50 grade range for now. For me, eye appeal is the most important factor in buying a card, and I can get some very attractive examples in that range without paying a premium the higher grades demand.

I know there are more PSA graded T206 cards than SGC graded, and I've read SGC's information on doing crossovers. From what I can tell, if I send a PSA graded card in to SGC to be graded and slabbed by them, if the card value is under $250, it will cost me $10 per card. Less than $500 will cost me $15, and less than $1,000 will be $25. How do they make a card value determination, though? They won't use SMR, which is a PSA publication. What if I send in multiple cards for crossover, and they fall within different tiers. Can I ask them to hold on to the more expensive cards, and then ship them all at once? Or, would I be wise to stick within one tier to ship at a time?

I'd also like to know about the accuracy of grading between companies. Let's say I make the decision to work on a SGC 40 set, and a few of the cards I need just aren't showing up as available. So, I buy them as PSA 3s. I know that sometimes cards are under or over graded. But in your experiences, are crossover grades pretty predictable? If I send in 10 commons PSA 3s, can I expect to get 8 or 9 of them as SGC 40s?

Lastly, for higher value cards, how easy is it to upgrade? I just bought my first Hall of Famer, a SGC 30 Walter Johnson portrait (thanks again, Rob!). If I decided to do a SGC 40 set for the registry, and needed to upgrade the Johnson to a SGC 40, is it going to be easier for me to sell the card outright and buy a 40, or are other collectors readily willing to exchange a 30 for a 40 (with cash making up the difference)? Again, please answer based on your experiences.

If you guys have any other pointers you feel would help me out as I start going seriously at the monster, I'd appreciate it. I'm in no rush. I plan on enjoying the ride over many years, as I still want to buy other pre-war, vintage and even modern cards, too! But if I can add at least a few cards to the set every month, then I'll be happy. I'm a fairly young guy (42), so God willing, I'll have many years ahead of me. For me, the hunt is almost as fun as getting a card in. I look at the BST and Ebay pretty much every day. Sometimes I buy, more often than not, at least to this point, I don't. And when I don't buy, I love seeing what everybody else is getting. I enjoy rooting other forum members on, too.

Thanks for reading, everybody. I'm sorry if I was a tad long-winded.