[Texan1985]

Of course the cost per card will look high when you only grade 1 card. Always more cost effective to grade multiple cards at a time or join a group submission.

[KPRROK]

Yup, $32 for a single card sounds about right. Just like if you drive 20 miles to a Costco to buy a Soda, that soda is really expensive. But when you add the rest of the stuff you buy while you are at Costco, the cost per item is cheaper.

That $32 bill for the first cards turns into $45 for 2 cards and $60 for 3. Each card you add makes the per-card price cheaper. I never send in less than 10 cards, and I prefer to save it up until there's a good special or I have 30 or more cards as that's when the price-per-card is lowest (and the total is still in my budget!).

[britches79]

I am dumbfounded by the cost of getting a card graded, or re-slabbed for that matter. It cost me less than $2.00 to ship the card to Beckett, and they are charging $28 to ship it back. A $26 difference. Is it just me, or do others think this is way to high? Where is the fun in getting a card graded, when 1.) you won't know the grade of the card until it's too late, and 2.) unless you send in 20 cards, they are going to charge you an absurd amount of money just to ship it back?

I am very disappointed in the way that Beckett has handled the last couple of submissions that I have sent in to them.

[scottishpunk]

Yes grading is too expensive now. You have to be selective on what to send in and make sure the graded card will yield profit over raw.

1) You can set minimum grade on cards, still get charged, but won't slab anything lower than you request.
2) It is always a good idea to grade in batches to spread out the shipping charges.

[creativemunky]

My way around some shipping costs and less worry about them actually getting there was to meet them at the local card show held every 6 months and put in a submission there. I would usually do 10-20 cards at a time.

Since then my relationship with the local rep soured, mostly because of Beckett making the decision that random cards would have to be sent to JSA for an additional cost.

So yes, to me the costs went up too high as well. With monthly specials I used to be able to get cards graded as low as $7 a card, now the lowest is around $11 a card. Add that up in the 10 - 20 range thats an additional $40 - $80 per submission.

Ever since Beckett hired that new President from India, it just all seems to be about money now. Theve expanded into Auctions, Gaming, Coins and Fantasy Sports when their main departments seemed to be lagging in help and support, namely the Grading and Online Price Guide and Organize services.

[creativemunky]

And better pray it doesnt have to go to JSA, thats even more!!!

[creativemunky]

For modern cards I would do neither Beckett nor PSA. First reason, prices are way high. Second reason (at least for Beckett), very crappy customer service. I had one card from the Yankees Legends Legendary Lumber Gold set come back as a Legendary Lumber not as the Gold. I got it relabeled no problem, but then couldn't put it in my registry set. Wanted them to make this right, silly me, I thought it would just be a simple matter to edit their database. Well, it took 14 months, yes I said months, and was then told it would take 2 more months to fix. You all decide if this is good customer service or not. Finally, my cards look a lot better in the S** holder.

Ill agree with the customer service completely.
Ive had cards come back where the label slide down out of place and into the card area of the holder, and Ive had wrong titles and years placed on labels as well.

PS: Why censor SGC?

[KPRROK]

I am dumbfounded by the cost of getting a card graded, or re-slabbed for that matter. It cost me less than $2.00 to ship the card to Beckett, and they are charging $28 to ship it back. A $26 difference. Is it just me, or do others think this is way to high? Where is the fun in getting a card graded, when 1.) you won't know the grade of the card until it's too late, and 2.) unless you send in 20 cards, they are going to charge you an absurd amount of money just to ship it back?

I am very disappointed in the way that Beckett has handled the last couple of submissions that I have sent in to them.

If you're only paying $2 to ship your cards to Beckett, you're doing it wrong. I use a Priority Box, pay for extra insurance, and my fee is generally around $10-12 depending on the value of the cards. When they come back to me, they're insured, in a really sturdy box, and a heckuva lot heavier than they were when I sent them in due to the slab!

I have about 60 cards I want to submit, but have to wait for finances to allow it. Also, if you have some friends who collect, pool your resources and submit together to save a bit. Or find a group submitter and go that route.

[jeffv96masters]

I've merged several pricing related threads into one

And on the subject of prices= I've run bulk specials on these boards before= didn't see a single one of you participate or even ask .

I'll offer again for MAY = see me at my jeffv96masters@gmail.com email address. You'll be sent the info in my bulk email about our May 2015 bulk.

Jeff

[ak11]

Another way to look at this from the perspective of someone who has been submitting to BGS for over a decade, if you think it's high to grade your card, stop sending your cheap cards in period. If you do it for a set, then normally you have enough cards to send in at one time to smooth over the price per card and pay shipping just once. I personally send in small orders to BGS, anywhere from 5 to 7 cards at once, but I don't send them stuff that so cheap in value the grading cost is higher. Also, people here who get disappointed with results the first time or two, be super selective of your cards in terms of condition and set a minimum grade which you can write along the left hand side of the form next to the list of cards. Too many people can't see the imperfections to the naked eye and don't know what mint 9 is when it is staring them in the face. Yes, it did take me a few orders, maybe 3 or 4, to figure what to look for, but hopefully you figure it out, otherwise grading isn't for you. Honestly, so many collectors don't know what a clean card looks like that 9 out of every 10 cards I buy on ebay wouldn't measure up in grading no matter what the seller tells you.

My simple advice to new submitters is the card has to be flawless to your naked eyes on everything from centering to corners, edges, and surface. Then it has a chance at a solid grade. If your eyes can't focus in tight on a card, then buy a nice pocket magnifier/loupe to help your eyes out.

As for the pricing, my 2 cents is if your collection is full of scrubs or just cheap inserts, relic cards, just don't bother. I'm not dissing on your collecting habits, I'm strictly saying slabbing them is not worth it compared to the toploaders and magnetics that your collection should already be in.