PSA 9 vs. SGC 96 Huge Price Disparity

[steve B]

I really think it's more about the registry and the competition to have the "best" set.

Yes, everyone likes to think the company they prefer has tighter standards and is more consistent etc. And everyone can find scans supporting the argument either way.

for what it's worth I sent a handful of modern cards to SGC on one of the specials since I was sending some old stuff as well. And despite being chosen for really good centering and corners and checked for flaws they didn't do as well as I'd hoped. Only 2 nines out of eight 81 Topps, and the 81 Donruss I thought was pretty much perfect only got an 84 The 91T Jones and 93 UD Jeters were all 88s.

Steve B

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by steve B

I really think it's more about the registry and the competition to have the "best" set.

Yes, everyone likes to think the company they prefer has tighter standards and is more consistent etc. And everyone can find scans supporting the argument either way.

for what it's worth I sent a handful of modern cards to SGC on one of the specials since I was sending some old stuff as well. And despite being chosen for really good centering and corners and checked for flaws they didn't do as well as I'd hoped. Only 2 nines out of eight 81 Topps, and the 81 Donruss I thought was pretty much perfect only got an 84 The 91T Jones and 93 UD Jeters were all 88s.

Steve B

SGC has a registry , so there are SGC registry guys..and in auction houses now you see them talk about SGC registries a lot.......I think whats important is how many set collectors are out there to grab commons and LOW Pop cards to give value to guys not named Mantle/mays/cobb etc...registry guys paying sick prices is overrated at least for post war....they know what they want to pay for cards because they are in it for the long haul...when I had 700 1952 topps PSA 8 cards to sell I knew of the main set collectors...contacted them before ebay to try direct deals and I know their ebay ids....maybe 10% of the time on ebay somebody from the top finished/unfinished sets would win the card.....its not all about the registry guys....it was funny though that I would be turned down in a direct deal and that same guy ends up winning the card on PWCC a few weeks later paying more than I asked...

[steve B]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

SGC has a registry , so there are SGC registry guys..and in auction houses now you see them talk about SGC registries a lot.......I think whats important is how many set collectors are out there to grab commons and LOW Pop cards to give value to guys not named Mantle/mays/cobb etc...registry guys paying sick prices is overrated at least for post war....they know what they want to pay for cards because they are in it for the long haul...when I had 700 1952 topps PSA 8 cards to sell I knew of the main set collectors...contacted them before ebay to try direct deals and I know their ebay ids....maybe 10% of the time on ebay somebody from the top finished/unfinished sets would win the card.....its not all about the registry guys....it was funny though that I would be turned down in a direct deal and that same guy ends up winning the card on PWCC a few weeks later paying more than I asked...

Yep, I'm on the SGC registry with the few old cards I graded. I thought I ended up putting the modern stuff on too, but didn't find it. Maybe the next time I have them out. All the 81 Topps were chosen by looking at what ones were tough in high grades at PSA. So the nines are low pop cards for sure. They're all low pop with SGC, I think at the time they were the only ones graded. More a function of hardly any 81T being done through SGC than anything else.

I do think PSA has far more competition on their registry, perhaps because they were earlier by a few years. And maybe because it works a bit better.

Passing on a private sale then paying more at auction.....I may never really understand the serious registry guys.

I will say that while I don't totally get the competition, I had a few pangs when adding my blank backs to my T206 set brought the average grade down a bunch. Not like I'm anywhere near the top, or ever will be, but I liked seeing my handful of cards average out so well. - Now I f I added all the others I have the average would be far lower.

[pkaufman]

I love SGC, but their Set Registry needs to be more user friendly to spur competition.

[familytoad]

Originally Posted by pkaufman

I love SGC, but their Set Registry needs to be more user friendly to spur competition.

Agreed, although I don't care about the competition as much as the difficult user interface for searching (amplified by using iPad) the SGC registry.

Despite the obvious inherent flaws in population reports, they are important to registry users and for the hobby overall.
That portion of SGC's service could use another big overhaul. If done better, that tool might be a differentiator for the company.

I see the SGC registry more as a tool for checklisting , since there appears to be less entire prewar sets collected than the Topps Bowman era.

Anyone who completes a prewar set at all has accomplished a big thing.
Completing a Topps set is exponentially easier , so the competition isn't about finishing the set, it's about getting high grade sets.

So, as many have said, there are 3 big TPG players, each of whom the collectors have settled them into their niche. ( I don't think the companies did that, their customers did...they wouldn't purposefully pigeon-hole themselves)

I am not surprised when a card that fits better with one of these companies' niche sells better when it stays *within the niche* and sells for less when it drifts from that perceived niche. That Topps SGC 96 and PSA 9 disparity doesn't surprise me. The cards aren't sealed permantly, so collectors can always use a different TPG if they want.