Future of Grading - CSG and HGA

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

I think vintage cards in CGS holders look lousy. HGA I've never seen a vintage card graded in a HGA holder.

CSG hires the top vintage grader then designs a slab exclusively for modern. Never made a lot of sense to me.

[53toppscollector]

CSG's flip is terrible, it distracts from the actual card so much. They are a reputable name in the collecting industry, so there is opportunity there, but they really need to fix their label/slab

HGA has had really poor quality control, numerous amateur errors, and their slabs have pretty poor resale value so far.

I think a lot of people are just waiting to see what happens with PSA and sitting on lots of raw cards for now.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

CGS hires the top vintage grader then designs a slab exclusively for modern. Never made a lot of sense to me.

Nailed it. These graders CAN NOT continue down this path. As far as I am concerned, they have priced themselves out of business. I'm gonna do my part to bring raw back in style.

[sportscardpete]

the CSG slab really hurts the cause. It is also tough for a new entrant to do well when there are not a lot of sales of its card. Many flippers will not use them because there is no "comp" for its grade, unlike PSA and even BGS/SGC.

I am really rooting for SGC because I love the slab, and have slowly gotten over its 2020 issues. I did my most recent submission at SGC, which included some modern cards, and was quite pleased.

[53toppscollector]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

the CSG slab really hurts the cause. It is also tough for a new entrant to do well when there are not a lot of sales of its card. Many flippers will not use them because there is no "comp" for its grade, unlike PSA and even BGS/SGC.

I am really rooting for SGC because I love the slab, and have slowly gotten over its 2020 issues. I did my most recent submission at SGC, which included some modern cards, and was quite pleased.

I think SGC's slab looks amazing for cards with white borders, but it looks less amazing for borderless cards or cards without a white/light border.

T206 cards look incredible in SGC slabs, but like, 2018 Topps? Less amazing, imo

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by 53toppscollector

I think SGC's slab looks amazing for cards with white borders, but it looks less amazing for borderless cards or cards without a white/light border.

T206 cards look incredible in SGC slabs, but like, 2018 Topps? Less amazing, imo

Did they ever fix their issue with cards moving around in the slab? Seems like that gasket could really do a number on cards if they slid around.

[25801wv]

How about a TPG company that only encases the card with an Authentic, not graded slab? Would be safe to purchase online if you trust the TPG and quicker to review cards.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by 53toppscollector

I think SGC's slab looks amazing for cards with white borders, but it looks less amazing for borderless cards or cards without a white/light border.

T206 cards look incredible in SGC slabs, but like, 2018 Topps? Less amazing, imo

Totally agree. That being said, definitely better than CSG.

I guess that is why PSA does so well. Vintage and modern look OK in its slabs.

[Pre War Starter]

For Vintage and PreWar guys like me, it seems CSG, even thought they brag about stealing Andy Broome, they are TERRIBLE say grading vintage and pre war.

I recently saw a T206 in a slab with no gasket, just penny sleeve. Are you telling me that card won’t slide and be crooked in the slab in 5-6 years?

Wouldn’t you be able to know this if you had years and years and years of combined grading knowledge?

HGA, at least makes no bones about being a modern card grader.

Hell, HGA even has a Pop Report!!!
CSG doesn’t.

[Beansballcardblog]

As mentioned earlier, CSG is behind. Being over capacity, they are "doing well," at least compared to where they think they should be (unless they just can't get as many graders as they want).

HGA limits how many items can be submitted. I didn't pay attention to the specifics, but at x time, they open up x amount of submissions. I believe this is a weekly event. From what I have seen others post on Twitter, these fill up within minutes.

Can't really expect either one to flood the market with 400 trillion PSA slabs out there.

I have noticed at the last couple of shows in Dallas (the last three-day and a smaller two-day this weekend) that it feels like I'm seeing more and more CSG graded cards. I don't recall seeing any HGA graded cards.

[Exhibitman]

That's interesting. I did an order with CSG early on and was impressed with the slabs and the service.

The slabs are the same size as PSA's, within a millimeter of thickness. I use Superior Fit Innovations sleeves for my slabs and the CSG slabs just fit into the PSA sleeves, which means they are nearly identically sized.

The cards I got back that were odd-sized were securely sealed at four points in the sleeve, like a Beckett slab, not rattling around.



I don't find the flip distracting at all.

[Beansballcardblog]

I don't have any CSG graded cards, but I've seen them in person and like them. My only gripe is the dead white space on the label. It's not as noticeable if the submitter paid for subgrades, but if the card description is short, it still can be noticeable.

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

That's interesting. I did an order with CSG early on and was impressed with the slabs and the service.

The slabs are the same size as PSA's, within a millimeter of thickness. I use Superior Fit Innovations sleeves for my slabs and the CSG slabs just fit into the PSA sleeves, which means they are nearly identically sized.

The cards I got back that were odd-sized were securely sealed at four points in the sleeve, like a Beckett slab, not rattling around.



I don't find the flip distracting at all.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

That's interesting. I did an order with CSG early on and was impressed with the slabs and the service.

The slabs are the same size as PSA's, within a millimeter of thickness. I use Superior Fit Innovations sleeves for my slabs and the CSG slabs just fit into the PSA sleeves, which means they are nearly identically sized.

The cards I got back that were odd-sized were securely sealed at four points in the sleeve, like a Beckett slab, not rattling around.



I don't find the flip distracting at all.

Same here. I had a bunch of modernish oddball sized cards done including some 1979 Venorlandus, 1982 Football stickers and various QOS cards, and they all seem pretty secure in the holders.

I also don't mind the old man, big font flips. They are certainly more aesthetically pleasing then the flips that SGC had up until very recently (I like their new flips very much), and the PSA flips, which get the job done, but let's face it........are generic as hell.