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Is there anyone here with a good knowledge on sports card grading?

Started by thirdgreenham,

42 posts in this topic

thirdgreenham

thirdgreenham

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I'm hoping someone can PM me, if they have any thoughts or suggestions. Posting here is fine too.

 

From a dealer's or seller's viewpoint, I would like to know if PSA is generally better than Beckett grading, or visa versa. Is one better for vintage hockey and another for vintage baseball?

 

Is there a recommended auction house for baseball cards and another for hockey, or just eBay?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Andy

goodwinauctions.com

1. PSA

2. SGC

 

I've sold through Goodwin before. Decent results on very early Maple Crispettes ball cards.

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AGGIEZ

AGGIEZ

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seems I got out of that hobby little too early- older cards have skyrocketed last few years. but generally PSA and BGS are the best 2 but at the highest end of the grade spectrum, if you feel you have a shot at a 10, BGS 10 would return more than a PSA 10 from what I've seen. A 9.5 with a couple 10 subgrades could be on par too.

 

What 'older cards' have skyrocketed? I need to sell 95% of my collection...but it's daunting

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halbert

halbert

Posted
Posted
seems I got out of that hobby little too early- older cards have skyrocketed last few years. but generally PSA and BGS are the best 2 but at the highest end of the grade spectrum, if you feel you have a shot at a 10, BGS 10 would return more than a PSA 10 from what I've seen. A 9.5 with a couple 10 subgrades could be on par too.

 

What 'older cards' have skyrocketed? I need to sell 95% of my collection...but it's daunting

 

Not sure about skyrocket, but superstar rookie cards (graded) should sell well. Guys like Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, of course Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson. Go older and its guys like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson ect

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elove

elove

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I wish the Collectors Society would get back into cards. I remember getting the grading certificates for SGC when you paid for the membership. The registry here would be awesome for cards.

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AKA Rick

AKA Rick

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Beckett Grading Services to me is the best, since they give insight to the secrets behind the curtain, to a degree.

 

Where, PSA just assigns a grade and often cites (OC) for Off Center as a qualified grade, and getting a perfect "10" with PSA can be rather easy.

 

BGS has seemingly stricter grading standards. A PSA 10 is equal to a BGS 9.5.

 

BGS has 2 tiers above a BGS 9.5, which is the BGS 10, and then the BGS 10 Black Label.

 

BGS will show you how they arrived at the grade, by assigning sub-grades to the aspects and elements of the card they're evaluating, the Corners, Edges, Surface and Centering.

 

PSA doesn't do that.

 

BGS also grades autographs for the quality of the signature based on completeness and ink density, where PSA does not grade the autograph.

 

The BGS cases are thicker and more durable than the more slender PSA cases, so I like the substantially higher quality feeling BGS cases better.

 

PSA has a better reputation for sellers at times because sellers are fixated on the label and the number. At the end of the day, it's easy to inspect a card and grading is subjective of course.

 

I'd say SGC is a distant 3rd but still legitimate in the world of card grading.

 

I'd refrain from other graders mainly because they have no hobby clout and lack that business integrity reputation, pretty much throwing out high grades to appease submitters to make them feel like they have something better than reality.

 

 

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AKA Rick

AKA Rick

Posted
Posted

Beckett Grading Services to me is the best, since they give insight to the secrets behind the curtain, to a degree.

 

Where, PSA just assigns a grade and often cites (OC) for Off Center as a qualified grade, and getting a perfect "10" with PSA can be rather easy.

 

BGS has seemingly stricter grading standards. A PSA 10 is equal to a BGS 9.5.

 

BGS has 2 tiers above a BGS 9.5, which is the BGS 10, and then the BGS 10 Black Label.

 

BGS will show you how they arrived at the grade, by assigning sub-grades to the aspects and elements of the card they're evaluating, the Corners, Edges, Surface and Centering.

 

PSA doesn't do that.

 

BGS also grades autographs for the quality of the signature based on completeness and ink density, where PSA does not grade the autograph.

 

The BGS cases are thicker and more durable than the more slender PSA cases, so I like the substantially higher quality feeling BGS cases better.

 

PSA has a better reputation for sellers at times because sellers are fixated on the label and the number. At the end of the day, it's easy to inspect a card and grading is subjective of course.

 

I'd say SGC is a distant 3rd but still legitimate in the world of card grading.

 

I'd refrain from other graders mainly because they have no hobby clout and lack that business integrity reputation, pretty much throwing out high grades to appease submitters to make them feel like they have something better than reality.

 

 

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halbert

halbert

Posted
Posted
Beckett Grading Services to me is the best, since they give insight to the secrets behind the curtain, to a degree.

 

Where, PSA just assigns a grade and often cites (OC) for Off Center as a qualified grade, and getting a perfect "10" with PSA can be rather easy.

 

BGS has seemingly stricter grading standards. A PSA 10 is equal to a BGS 9.5.

 

BGS has 2 tiers above a BGS 9.5, which is the BGS 10, and then the BGS 10 Black Label.

 

BGS will show you how they arrived at the grade, by assigning sub-grades to the aspects and elements of the card they're evaluating, the Corners, Edges, Surface and Centering.

 

PSA doesn't do that.

 

BGS also grades autographs for the quality of the signature based on completeness and ink density, where PSA does not grade the autograph.

 

The BGS cases are thicker and more durable than the more slender PSA cases, so I like the substantially higher quality feeling BGS cases better.

 

PSA has a better reputation for sellers at times because sellers are fixated on the label and the number. At the end of the day, it's easy to inspect a card and grading is subjective of course.

 

I'd say SGC is a distant 3rd but still legitimate in the world of card grading.

 

I'd refrain from other graders mainly because they have no hobby clout and lack that business integrity reputation, pretty much throwing out high grades to appease submitters to make them feel like they have something better than reality.

 

 

Nice in depth analysis, but this is mostly for modern cards. Expecting to get a BGS 10 or black label is not a smart idea for vintage cards

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Brian48

Brian48

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I would say that BGS "used to be" the choice for modern cards, but I've found of late, that's not entirely the case. PSA slabs of the same modern card still seems to sell much more than their BGS counterpart (do a search for 2000 SP Authentic Tom Brady as an example).

 

Beckett's policy also accepts and grades sheet cut cards. This makes it very easy for them to grade and encapsulate cards that have been trimmed. I've PSA to be much more strict about this and they do not accept cards that have been sheet cut, albeit samples do slip by on occasion.

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Bill C

Bill C

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Slight thread hijack with random hockey card questions- can anyone tell me what are the main card companies for hockey cards? Want to pick up a case or two of current year cards for a child for X-Mas. Not sure what to go for.

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kinzebac

kinzebac

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Posted
For modern cards, BGS is what you want to use for grading.

 

For vintage, PSA is what you want to use for grading. SGC is also perfectly acceptable, but PSA yields higher returns on average.

 

This holds true across all the sports

 

Edit: Someone mentioned KSA? Don't use them. Never heard of them and they are not around and no one will be interested in anything in a KSA holder.

 

BVG is Beckett for Vintage. Personally, I'd rank this 3rd behind PSA and SGC

 

^^

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