I’ll just start out being honest, I’m not the biggest fan of card grading. It certainly has it’s place in the hobby, but I feel a high percentage of graded cards shouldn’t have been graded. That’s just one collector’s opinion and I’m sure many others disagree. Leading with that has a purpose, explaining something I “learned” today.
Going back a few days, I was in a Twitter conversation with Anson (of prewarcards.com) and another collector. The question was asked why it seems that the amount of recent cards graded was moving to Beckett Grading (BGS) and away from PSA. We never came up with a reason and all I could think of was that maybe it had something to do with the PSA Membership. That wasn’t right, as a membership isn’t necessary to have items graded.
I’ve only had a handful of cards graded. I have my card grading expert, Nate, take a look at cards first and have had him submit for me. If you would like to have cards graded, I recommend using his service. We chatted at today’s show about BGS suspending ten-day submissions and as our conversation evolved, mentioned the BGS ten-day service is likely the reason it feels more modern cards are going through them.
BGS offers guaranteed 2, 5 and 10 day services, while PSA offers only “estimated” services. PSA’s estimated one-day services lowest cost is $300. They also offer estimated 2 and 15 day services but those cost $125 and $50 respectively. Finally, their “regular” service has an estimated 30 day turnaround time, but the website states to write 10 day service on the outside of the box. This service is $20.
To recap, BGS offers guaranteed services at better prices. I wasn’t aware of this and it makes perfect sense on why many are using the BGS service.
If the items you want to grade are time-sensitive, BGS appears the way to go. Many people are cracking boxes or cases of cards, submitting items and wanting them back to sell before the next big product comes out. Time is money in this case. Also, you often need to strike while the iron is hot (see: Shohei Ohtani). It is certainly possible that bubble has burst. Would you want your cards sitting at PSA now if you could have had them back two weeks ago from BGS and already sold?
That’s what I thought.
I’m interested in other collectors’ thoughts. Are you into card grading? If so, do you feel BGS is getting a higher percentage of modern cards to grade and if yes, why? Please leave your comments below!
Happy collecting, y’all!
Every time I think about sending in cards I’ve saved away in my “to grade” box, I take a look at the prices and realize I’d rather just buy more cards instead. I think collectors like having a grade breakdown on the corners, surface, etc, and that’s why they go with BGS.
Ah, that’s something that I hadn’t considered. Thanks!
Do we really know more cards are being graded by bus now to begin with?