News From SGC

[sox1903wschamp]

This thread has gone off in as many different directions as the Boston T Green Line

So I will comment on Registry collecting. I will never participate and that is a personal choice but I like to buy graded when the registry competition dries up, the price falls and then crack them out to put nice looking cards in my sets. Not 9's but nice looking 6, 7 and 8's on 50's and 60's. I think because of the number, some people will take a worse looking 8 over a 7 etc and I am there to pick up the scraps. Just a general observation.

The registry is a passion and that is always good for our hobby if used in a positive way and I agree with prior posters in this thread that it can be used in other ways besides the number on the plastic.

[Al C.risafulli]

Barry, that's such a coincidence - I know a professor who collects in very much the same way.

Can't be the same guy, though, because I understand the professor I know is quite ugly.

-Al

[ethicsprof]

when you get a chance, do put me in touch with him.
i'll make sure the two get together so they can enjoy those great pieces of
cardboard and fabulous discussions of heideggerean epistemology.
all the best, ole friend.
always great hearing from you.

barry

[Griffins]

Originally Posted by ethicsprof

when you get a chance, do put me in touch with him.
i'll make sure the two get together so they can enjoy those great pieces of
cardboard and fabulous discussions of heideggerean epistemology.
all the best, ole friend.
always great hearing from you.

barry

And here we have the birth of The Arnold Group.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by ethicsprof

fabulous discussions of heideggerean epistemology.

Who'll be in charge of the sheep dip?

[mintacular]

so I'd imagine that if they see an SGC package, it will be placed with street deliveries regardless of how it is addressed.--now that sounds reassuring....

[ethicsprof]

i'll bring them Herbridean once, but after that they're strictly on their own!
all the best,

barry

[steve B]

Originally Posted by mintacular

so I'd imagine that if they see an SGC package, it will be placed with street deliveries regardless of how it is addressed.--now that sounds reassuring....

That's how forwarding orders are handled. The letter/package is machine sorted to the proper branch, then manually sorted into the route order by the carrier. Except for junk mail which is usually already in route order.

Any vacation hold mail or mail to be forwarded gets removed there. If the forward is in the same branch it would be handed off to the carrier for that route. Forwards outside the same branch get a label and are sent back to the regional processing center. The boxes are a "route" so the person handling the po boxes would make a bin of SGC mail and give it to the carrier. I'm not sure if it would get relabeled, probably not.

Steve B

[barrysloate]

Hi Joe- I know what you are saying and TPG does take some of that power away that less scrupulous dealers had over collectors. And I don't doubt that certain high value cards should be graded. But now that power has shifted to the graders and authenticators, and the balance is a little skewed again. I would like to see more collectors learning the nuances of grading themselves, and I would like to see more raw vintage sets, such as a T206 in Good to Very Good condition.

I for one think the graders wield an awful lot of power.

[calvindog]

I agree 100% with what Al said. I've got some Registry sets that help me to keep track of the cards, to know what my average condition of the cards in a set are, etc. And it allows me to be in touch with others who collect the cards I do. I also have the great majority of my cards not in any Registry set -- but they are slabbed for a variety of reasons. And I love my lower graded rare cards at least as much as my high graded Registry cards.

As for the argument that the guys who are looking to buy high end graded cards are not true lovers of the cards, I'd ask them if they've spoken to Don Spence about baseball. You can actually love the game, love the cards and, at the same time, want the highest graded cards possible. Really.

[glchen]

As for TPG's and the plastic, I think they'll always be necessary especially for prewar. I think I have a fairly good idea about grading, but I have a hard time authenticating cards (see my posts asking if various cards are authentic). I know the general rules for authentication, but if it's a higher value card, I sleep a lot better at night if I know a reputable TPG has authenticated the card. This is the same with altered and trimmed (and rebacked) cards, I am not good at seeing this unless it is really obvious.

Regarding registries, I think they are a really good checklist function as others have mentioned. This is really useful if you are a master player set collector, as the registry can help you figure out the wacky cards for the player you are missing.

[aro13]

I have quite a few sets on the registry and find it beneficial for the reason most have mentioned. I have been offered and made some great trades because of people contacting me through the registry. I have also found out information from those collectors that I would not have found out anywhere else.

In my experience, even the "good" dealers and auction houses tended to overgrade their cards at least that was what I found when I submitted most of my raw pre-war purchases to SGC and PSA for grading.