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Hey guys,

New to forum here.. I'm in my early 30's and quit collecting right around the time getting everything graded was becoming the norm. It was a huge turn off to me and one of the main reasons I lost interest in the hobby... the other being the insanely limited edition 1 of 1's that were becoming more and more common from every manufacturer.

As luck would have it though, I've got one notable thign to show for all my years of collecting - the 93 SP Jeter graded an SGC 98. I only recently stumbled into all of my graded cards, and they are all by SGC. I vaguely remember thinking that SGC was more selective in their grading criteria than PSA (i can't really remember if BGS was even around when I graded my cards) and was confident one day SGC would be the industry leader! Plus I think they were cheaper.. that might have had something to do with my choice.....

Anyhow, I've got quite a few nice SGC cards but none as nice as the Jeter. From just perusing the ebay listings and reading comments on this forum it seems clear that PSA is dominating the market and SGC is an afterthought? Or am I wrong? I'm just looking fro the general consensus as to what SGC is these days. I went on their site an was even surprsied to see they're still in business given that I don't see much in the way of SGC cards for sale. Their site does seem pretty amateurish now, like the type that nobody spends any time or money to maintain.

I'm fine with keeping most of my SGC items just as memories of my youth even if PSA fans thumb their nose at me, but in the case of the Jeter card it seems I could turn this for a nice $$$ if only it said PSA on the front of the slab. Would I be a complete moron to think I can sell my SGC 98 on ebay without getting it regraded?

I remember never having a good impression of PSA and I'm positive my SGC 98 would hold up against any PSA 10.. but in terms of just maximizing my sale what would other collectors do?

As far as I can tell sitting here SGC is recognized as a Top 3 grading company. How you rank it 1-3 is up to you.

If you're not into vintage in any way, shape, or form, you're likely not going to be too familiar with SGC. If you looked at the front page of their site, it's plastered with vintage card photos. Looking at their list of "Most Popular on Ebay" (in SGC slabs), they are all vintage sets. The majority of their specials cater to the vintage collector. SGC targeted the vintage market from the get go when they came out. So, the majority of people associate them with vintage cards, more so pre-war, than with modern cards.

If you're just keeping the card for your PC, I recommend just checking out the slabs of the big three and going with whatever one you like and whatever one presents well to you because, bottom line, that's all that should really matter anyway.

If you are looking to maximize the sale of your Jeter, absolutely get that thing in a PSA slab. A PSA 10 SP Jeter is as close to a Jeter Holy Grail as you can get. I certainly would not crack the card out of the SGC case. I would instead submit to PSA with a minimum grade of 10, so that if PSA doesn't see it worthy of a gem mint grade, you still have an SGC 98.

("Too long, didn't read" summary: SGC is absolute trash and you should go with BGS or PSA)

It's incredibly difficult for me to not go on a huge rant about SGC, and I will try incredibly hard to keep this short.
To be "nice", they are an absolutely worthless company, with no grasp on why one would get cards graded. How they even have a following is beyond me.

Is this a result of me not agreeing with them grading my cards? No, not at all. I've only done one order with them, but at least 50-75% came back as a 98. As far as I'm concerned those 98s aren't worth the two cent paper label its printed on.

The first thing I would check, if you're concerned about value or anything is if the card rattles inside the slab. If so, I doubt that 98 is a 98 any more. This seems to be an extremely common trend with SGC. This also seems to defeat the purpose of grading it in my humble opinion, it is not preserved.

My experience with SGC was rather infuriating and resulted in me totally shutting down and leaving the hobby for ~3 months. I would not recommend them for anything whatsoever. Yes, supposedly vintage is their forte, but if the card rattles, shifts and moves within the holder I don't care if its 100 years old or 1 day old, it's still worthless in terms of grading/preservation.

And although this may not seem short, trust me, for the amount of hatred I have for SGC and the "quality" of their work, this is Chapter 1 of the first Encyclopedia in a 30 book set.

Cheers,
Adam

(05-24-2012, 11:45 PM)kr0n420 Wrote: [ -> ]("Too long, didn't read" summary: SGC is absolute trash and you should go with BGS or PSA)

It's incredibly difficult for me to not go on a huge rant about SGC, and I will try incredibly hard to keep this short.
To be "nice", they are an absolutely worthless company, with no grasp on why one would get cards graded. How they even have a following is beyond me.

Is this a result of me not agreeing with them grading my cards? No, not at all. I've only done one order with them, but at least 50-75% came back as a 98. As far as I'm concerned those 98s aren't worth the two cent paper label its printed on.

The first thing I would check, if you're concerned about value or anything is if the card rattles inside the slab. If so, I doubt that 98 is a 98 any more. This seems to be an extremely common trend with SGC. This also seems to defeat the purpose of grading it in my humble opinion, it is not preserved.

My experience with SGC was rather infuriating and resulted in me totally shutting down and leaving the hobby for ~3 months. I would not recommend them for anything whatsoever. Yes, supposedly vintage is their forte, but if the card rattles, shifts and moves within the holder I don't care if its 100 years old or 1 day old, it's still worthless in terms of grading/preservation.

And although this may not seem short, trust me, for the amount of hatred I have for SGC and the "quality" of their work, this is Chapter 1 of the first Encyclopedia in a 30 book set.

Cheers,
Adam

Cards also rattle in PSA holders.

(05-25-2012, 06:19 PM)nolan5000 Wrote: [ -> ]Cards also rattle in PSA holders.

That is pathetic.

(05-25-2012, 07:01 PM)kr0n420 Wrote: [ -> ]That is pathetic.

Are you saying that I'm pathetic OR that it is pathetic that cards also rattle in PSA holders?

I think he means PSA is pathetic.

Yes, PSA is pathetic. Why bother with grading if it's loose and just rattles inside the slab, liable to be dinged/degrade?

I'll throw out this exclusive offer to Beckett members; Send me your 100pt cards, I'll carefully deduce their true value and condition. I'll elegantly place them in a nice (pack fresh!!!) 130pt toploader, adhere some classy silver duct tape (matte, not gloss) to the top and I will use a laser-level to ensure my Dymo handheld label maker label is applied with surgical accuracy.

Damn, being a competitor to the "Big 3" is hard.

My apologies if this is derailing the OP.