How Consistent Are the Grading Companies/Mini Rant.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this video, I evaluate inconsistencies in grading. I look into whether or not companies have started grading more strictly, comparing different generations of PSA slabs as well as comparing SGC, PSA, and BVG. I also discuss how savvy collectors can save money by taking advantage of these perceived differences. I further the discussion by suggesting collectors educate themselves on the grading standards and suggest. This is followed by a mini rant on how collectors should make informed decisions and collect how they want.
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Loved seeing the comparisons Billy. Well done. 👊🤙🤙
Thanks, Dylan! You're the man! Double Shaka!
Great video!! Now I have to go back and finish watching your video with Adam and Graig!
Thanks a lot. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for watching.
New subscriber here Billy, I’ve really been enjoying your content! Within the last month I’ve gotten back into collecting after being out of the hobby since 1990. I sold virtually my entire collection after getting married in 1999.
In the last couple of weeks I bought a BVG 8.5 1974 Topps Hank Aaron #1 because it was well-centered and didn’t have any of the print dots (or fish eyes) on the headshot photo or on the card border like so many of these have. I’m considering cracking it out and sending it to PSA.
Like you mentioned on one your other videos, one day when I pass away I want my family to be able to sell it and get the most out of it. This makes me lean towards PSA but I admit I’d be a little disappointed if it came back as a 6 or 7.
At some point I’m going to pickup one in a SGC holder (I like the look). This particular card holds sentimental value to me because it was the first card I purchased from a dealer after saving my chores money up when I was 12 years old in 1982.
Again, great video and enjoy your perspectives!
I'm glad you enjoy the channel, and thanks for subscribing. I love that card and have also found that some of the vintage cards I had as a kid were some of the first ones I wanted when I got back into it as well. I still have quite a few to get, though. The biggest thing for me is being happy with the card you have. You may not like it in a BVG holder, but you really liked the card. If you trust your eye and would like consistency in your collection, send it to PSA. If you don't think it would stay the same grade, and that would bother you or you don't mind having cards in different holders, keep it BVG. This is just my opinion, though. It's your card and your collection. Do what you think is right with it. Thanks again.
Interesting and informative conversation. Well said. Cheers
Thanks. I'm glad you got something out of it. Thanks for watching and commenting.
It’s why I grade my own cards and use my slabs from mag pro …I feel I’m as good as a grader at those places …I don’t do any business with PSA and I won’t even buy PSA slabs I use CGC or SGC if I need to slab a card but for most of my collection now I do what a lot of guys are turning to and that’s Mag Pro slabs and my own labels they look better and I get to design how my labels look…I’m so tired of getting wrong grades I’ve had to many and I’m tired of spending 15-20 bucks to have the card come back a lower grade than it deserves for 4 bucks I get to slab my own cards and my own label I’m taking the hobby back just like many out there are doing and saving a ton of money
Hey Adam! I love that, and there are a lot of inconsistencies in grading without a doubt. My biggest concern with that personally is that my wife or kids are going to have to decide what to do with these cards after I'm gone and when they go to sell them they are going to get raked over the coals because they are basically selling raw cards. If it weren't for that, I would absolutely grade and slab my own cards because I've proven to be pretty accurate with my pregrades on cards. Thanks for watching and commenting, my friend.
Ya Adam !!! 👊👊
To make it more simple, just buy limited edition sets/cards and be done with it. Value on truly rare items isnt dictated in value by a numerical grade on a slab. If you know its a limited print run, then you wont feel the need for a numerical grade anyhow. At that point, grading is strictly only for authentication purposes.
Well done 👍 🎉
Thank you 👍
Aligned with what you are saying Bill. I enjoy grading with SGC as you know and a lot of my cards come back mid-range, some would say I am crazy but it is my collection and I should spend my money how I feel fit. Do you think that BVG just missed that hairline crease on the Kaline? That card presents so well! Enjoy the rest of your week!
Thanks, Steve! I appreciate the comment. I grade with SGC also and am usually happy with midgrade cards as well. I'm not sure if BVG missed the crease, but I know I sure as heck did! You have a good rest of your week as well, my friend.
Well, hey, it gives us a chance to find those gems in the old slabs everyone else gave up on. Your breakdown during the conversation with Graig and Adam nailed it. The card is the card, and the grade is in the eye of the beholder (buyer). I think your reasoning is the same for me on so many cards. If I have it in hand and it's the grade I want but I still feel like I need an upgrade? I'll probably wait to find a copy that doesn't rub me that way. Bro, that Murray RC looks like a 9, even with the back o/c. I just mentioned this the other day to someone, actually. The upper border on the 1978's is thicker on top and bottom than the sides. Whoever graded yours didn't know that and treated it as o/c top to bottom. A PSA 9 MINT can have 90/10 centering on the back on their grading scale, so that's arguably a 9. It's possible BVG missed the crease on the Kaline - but SGC could have creased it. I've had damaged cards in my last 3 SGC orders and I'm starting to wonder if something mechanical is chipping and creasing cards here and there. I haven't heard back with answers yet on my issue. Excellent examples and breakdown, my friend! Preach!
Thanks a lot. Graig and Adam are great guys. I really enjoyed the conversation. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and I'm glad that my point came across. Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@billyballgamesportscards Always a pleasure, Billy...
I totally understand about complaints people have with problems with consistent grading by the main big 3 companies. PSA, BGS? and SGC. I know a guy who brought a BGS graded Tom Glavine 1988 Topps RC. The card was given a BGS grade of 9.0. Now what was surprising about the card was that you could tell by looking at the front of the card that it was off center left to right. It wasn;t way off buy clearly you could see it was. But turn the slab over on the back where it had the BGS grades for corners/edges so forth so on. This card was given a 10 on its centering. Even though it was clearly off center. The entire reason he brought in into the shop to show me was he got it in a collection buy and he couldnt believe someone had sent the card in with the centering it had and someone at BGS gave the centering a 10 and the card overall a 9. When compared online to other BGS cards that had similar centering, other cards were usually given a 8.5 to a 9 on centering. Not a 10. So that was pretty much insane. As for PSA, I have lost all faith in them. They have in my opinion been so historically inconsistent that I stopped using them a few years ago at all when it became obvious that they only cared about the money and not the customer service or the accuracy in their grades. I honestly lost respect for PSA when Probstein became famous for selling tons of trimmed cards that had been graded by PSA, on ebay. These cards were not obvious online but clearly obvious when they arrived as the card inside the slab would move around and was clearly smaller than a normal sized card. Probstein sold thousands of these over the years and it made no sense as they showed to clearly be graded by PSA when you checked the authentication number. However anyone else that sent these cards in would have got them sent back with the dreaded trimmed envelope sticker. This was talked about on tons of different youtube channels including my old one that I used to do videos on regular years ago. It was denied by PSA that anyone at the company was grading these cards specifically for Probstein. But how else could these trimmed cards be explained and how else could Probstein suddenly be in possesion of so many high end examples of star cards from the 50's and 60's during a 2 year time range. I dont care if you sale consignments. No one is gonna have as many perfect corner, perfect edge 1950's Mantle's as they were auctioning off for a few years. Much less other superstars of the same era. All of which were clearly trimmed and loose in the holders which caused more and more buyers to complain. Of course both Probstein denied everything and so did PSA but it was obviosu and I stopped using PSA not long after. I now use SGC for everything 1980's and older. I use BGS for anything 90's and newer and Both by the way are much cheaper than PSA. I also like both their slabs better than PSA for different reasons though I prefer SGC over them all, just my preference. I will actually when buying be willing to pay more for an SGC graded card if its a vintage card than I would ever pay for the same vintage card graded by PSA or BGS. Again that is just me.
Thanks for watching and commenting, Matt. I'm with you. There have been enough grading shenanigans over the years to make me question the whole thing. I will buy PSA graded cards, but I only grade with SGC. They aren't perfect by any means, I just feel they are more consistent, and at least when there are issues you hear back from their customer service.
I think it was 2017 when PSA switched to the Lighthouse label. That's when I noticed them getting tougher. Then when SGC switched to their tuxedo label, they got a bit rougher. Since the last couple years, SGC has gotten even tougher. But the grading definitions haven't changed. It's very frustrating. I feel the companies have screwed the guys who graded and bought the older slabs. I don't collect anything less than a 5. I built my sets like that. Now I feel screwed because what I bought then, is looked at a grade or two lower. They aren't standing behind their old grades.
It's frustrating for sure. I feel there is no rhyme or reason to how PSA is grading anymore. Thanks for watching and commenting.
The original concept of grading was to just authenticate your cards. Popularity picked up with grading, because too much fraud began happening. Grading exploded, but somehow, everyone got lost in the numerical grades and helped create the artificial scarcity we have today in grading. This is why I only collect very rare original photos and rare limited edition cards. No grading company is going to dictate value of an item of mine based on a numerical grade. However, I'll gladly let them authenticate my items for the peace of mind to help liquidate it later if needed.
I completely understand that perspective. I like graded cards to protect them. They are easy to display, and they will be easier for my family to sell after I'm gone. Graded cards are much easier to sell. Since grading started (with coins, I think), there have been numerical grades to identify condition. This may not be the best way, but I'm fine with it. I just think that as smart collectors, we should educate ourselves on the condition and not rely on the 3rd party graders' opinion. I appreciate you watching and commenting. There are many different ways we can all enjoy the hobby.
@@billyballgamesportscards Education is crucial. You have to know what you're doing, especially to help avoid scams and score bargains. For example, you might chase a rare card that might have very few (if any) cards graded by PSA. You might have to settle for an ungraded copy. Thats where it pays to know what youre doing. I've obtained many original photos of rookies like Willie Mays, just for the simple fact that they werent graded. Not many are educated in that space, so I have the upperhand with that. Education can pay dividends.
@@vintagecollector5340 I absolutely agree. Photos are amazing. I definitely don't see them often. They look great.
@@billyballgamesportscards Agreed. The stuff is like art. I'm surprised prices haven't exploded, but I think its just because most people still aren't looking at them.
@@billyballgamesportscards Agreed. The stuff is like art. I think the only reason prices haven't exploded, is because theres still too many that don't understand it.
I’ve got more than that I’m a huge expos collector with Raines and Dawson but I collect them in the expos uniforms once they were traded I still followed them
But do t collect those cards
Lol, yeah, no doubt. I do, too. I was just using that as an example because it's insane I have that many.
PSA grades an “absolute“ numerical grade. If they’re not accurate, then the jig is up…
How much variability are you comfortable with? Maybe 10% of the autos are also bad? 😮 the company was started with a trimmed Honus? No? 😅
Good point. I don't grade with PSA, but the overwhelming majority of the does. There are a lot of people in the hobby that the number grade on the slab very literally
I understand that most of my so called valuable cards I get graded but also I collect for fun and really when I die I won’t care my son knows what to do but I slab a lot of cards that don’t carry enough value to get slabbed and I couldn’t pay to slab all the cards I wanted in my life time so do t care I care about enjoy collecting and looking at my cards so it’s all good
Agreed. We collect for the same reasons. Maybe I'll start grading and stabbing some of my 10 87 Topps Tim Raines. 😂
I’m another “one of those guys” that has never graded a card. A lot of the comments here echo the stuff I say every time when a grading rant video appears.😂😬👌
That's why I'll buy SGV and PSA cards, but I evaluate whether or not I think the card was graded accurately.
@@billyballgamesportscards I’m the same, in a way. I do buy graded cards, to fill a set, or because it’s a cool card that matches the grade.
Harder to do online with just a few photos, but sometimes I just need the card, I’m so frugal, I find it hard to buy a graded card that I don’t think I can liquidate if needed, for close to what I paid. 🤣😎👍🤪
I haven't been back in the hobby a little over a year, so my opinion might be off centered.. lol.. The thought you grade a card with a company, who is supposed to be reputable and a authority years ago.. Then fast forward many years later their work not being uniform or consistent to now is laughable.. Why even give it merit if it doesn't maintain consistency? Then folks actually sends a card graded years ago, by the same company again? Thinking this time you could trust it? The whole grading monopoly is way too chaotic for me..
It is definitely not what it used to be, in my opinion. I find SGC to be far more consistent, and that's why I stick with them. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Stop the grading, it is ruining the art of the hobby. Card collecting is about gathering all the cards of your favorite players, not about trying to get rich
I completely understand that sentiment. It's not about getting rich for me. It's about preserving the card, displaying it, and most importantly, making it easier for my wife or kids to sell after I'm gone.