Peter Steinberg leaves SGC

[ValKehl]

I seldon got my vintage cards graded over the years, but when I did I used SGC. More recently, due to my age and a health issue, I decided I'd better get lots more of my raw cards slabbed to facilitate their eventual disposal. I was going to give SGC 200-300 cards (at the quantity discount prices SGC quoted me) at the April Chantilly Show, but I procrastinated and didn't get to it. I then intended to do this at the June Chantilly Show, but SGC was a surprising (to me) no show, followed by the recent Collectors' announcement re the future of SGC.

Here's my guess as to what will happen to SGC going forward. I'm going to hold off subbing my 200-300 cards to SGC for the near term future. I suspect that several/many regular SGC submitters will do likewise. This volume decline will prompt Collectors to fold SGC into PSA as the "Vintage Card Division of PSA" and eliminate the SGC brand soon thereafter. A bit later, PSA will offer holders of cards in SGC slabs a special deal to cross over their cards to PSA slabs at the SAME grades, if appropriate. Where PSA deems it not appropriate, the collector will be given the choice of having their card put in a PSA slab with a lower grade OR having their card returned in its SGC slab along with a full or partial refund of the re-slabbing fee paid. I see all this happening within the next 12 to 18 months.

If I were CGC management, I would be thinking that this might be our best opportunity to snag a sizeable share of SGC's future vintage card business. I see this being successful only if CGC is able to legally pirate SGC's best vintage graders and then promotes the heck out of their increased vintage focus with special promotions for vintage-card submitters and via other promotional methods.

As always, just my 2 cents worth!