[Merovius]

This may have been asked before but I couldnt find a thread on it with the search tool. Ive just recently gotten back into collecting and the whole grading thing is new to me. Ive noticed there are several companies that offer grading services but most card shops seem to stick with PSA. Their reasoning for doing this is that it makes resale easier because PSA has been around longer. PSA is a company vintage collectors know and they dont want to have a mixed bag of various grading companies. At any rate my question is: Does having PSA and Beckett graded cards reduce the value of a collection or is it just anal retentive?

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks in advance.

[coimbre 21]

Here is why I'm a proponent of Beckett Grading. I collect mostly vintage cards and had been relying on 4-5 vendors spread across the country a few years back. I purchased many cards from TriplePlayVintage in OH and also found on eBay. I had an aversion to grading but over time decided to grade. Living in Dallas, I went with Beckett and discovered that about 10% of the 200 cards I submitted over a period of time had been either trimmed or recolored. All but one of those altered cards came from TriplePlayVintage. While TPV refunded the cost of my cards and most of my grading, their suggestion was "Try PSA". I then noticed that TPV had been posting a suspiciously high number of PSA 9's on their ebay store, which had sold mostly raw cards previously. I bought a 10x loupe and researched the practices clues to altered cards. I went through my collection and found many more trimmed cards from TPV. The suggestion to try PSA was TPV's subtle way of saying that PSA might not spot altered cards. Since then I've talked to several other dealers who question PSA's quality standards. At the end of the day, I want an unaltered card that is worth its value or near value. Any graded card that has been trimmed is not an asset or even worth 2 cents. To be fair to PSA, I don't know if their standards have improved but word on the collector street is that they process so many cards that many altered cards slip through, particularly for their larger customers. Yes, you can get some Beckett cards for maybe a bit lower than PSA cards in some cases, but for me a Beckett card comes with the full confidence that it has not been altered. Hope that helps more than it discourages.

[nolan5000]

Here is why I'm a proponent of Beckett Grading. I collect mostly vintage cards and had been relying on 4-5 vendors spread across the country a few years back. I purchased many cards from TriplePlayVintage in OH and also found on eBay. I had an aversion to grading but over time decided to grade. Living in Dallas, I went with Beckett and discovered that about 10% of the 200 cards I submitted over a period of time had been either trimmed or recolored. All but one of those altered cards came from TriplePlayVintage. While TPV refunded the cost of my cards and most of my grading, their suggestion was "Try PSA". I then noticed that TPV had been posting a suspiciously high number of PSA 9's on their ebay store, which had sold mostly raw cards previously. I bought a 10x loupe and researched the practices clues to altered cards. I went through my collection and found many more trimmed cards from TPV. The suggestion to try PSA was TPV's subtle way of saying that PSA might not spot altered cards. Since then I've talked to several other dealers who question PSA's quality standards. At the end of the day, I want an unaltered card that is worth its value or near value. Any graded card that has been trimmed is not an asset or even worth 2 cents. To be fair to PSA, I don't know if their standards have improved but word on the collector street is that they process so many cards that many altered cards slip through, particularly for their larger customers. Yes, you can get some Beckett cards for maybe a bit lower than PSA cards in some cases, but for me a Beckett card comes with the full confidence that it has not been altered. Hope that helps more than it discourages.

Well said!!