[briankort]

thanks for sharing a link...

+1

[branesergen]

Well one is a 10 which in collector's mind is a "perfect" card the other only a 9.5. Now compare a BGS 10 to a PSA 10. The BGS 10 would probably sell for $500+ and the PSA 10 only $300 so is there really a discrepancy here or are people just placing PSA 10 and BGS 9.5 on the same level because so few BGS 10's exist?

But both are labeled "Gem Mint" - BGS just steps it up a notch with their Pristine. A Gem Mint can have very minor flaws and still qualify whereas a Pristine is flawless. PSA does not offer a 9.5. The gap between a PSA 9 and a PSA 10 is one of the reasons that not all PSA 10's cross over to 9.5's. If a card barely scrapes a 10 it wont make 9.5 status with BGS.

The case for the LeBron is there are 2003 BGS 9.5's and only 951 PSA 10's. The PSA 10's are obviously rarer. There are only 1,957 total graded by PSA compared to 4,159 graded by BGS. If you get cards comparable in population you will see the prices are comparable for the most part.

[jonathani]

If I somehow found two identical cards with identical grades, one BGS and one PSA, I would always get the BGS. The grades are harder to earn, in my experience.

[hegotgame1515]

In the MJ market BGS 9.5's sell for 30% more then PSA 10's in most cases, with very few cards being the exception to the rule...

[evanturner12]

well mj needs the gold bgs label

In the MJ market BGS 9.5's sell for 30% more then PSA 10's in most cases, with very few cards being the exception to the rule...

[bengu]

I've noticed the differences in price between PSA 10 & BGS 9.5 as well.... I just think it has to do with the PSA registry. Overall though on any KEY card post 1990 BGS should normally win. Everyone pretty much praises PSA for all things vintage, but even with that I don't agree! I love BVG cases & standards and would gladly take a vintage card as a BVG anyway over PSA...


In the long run BGS is the way to go IMO

[slum22]

I've noticed the differences in price between PSA 10 & BGS 9.5 as well.... I just think it has to do with the PSA registry. Overall though on any KEY card post 1990 BGS should normally win. Everyone pretty much praises PSA for all things vintage, but even with that I don't agree! I love BVG cases & standards and would gladly take a vintage card as a BVG anyway over PSA...


In the long run BGS is the way to go IMO

I think BGS shutting down its registry for so long was very bad for BGS prices as it shut out a lot of the competitive set building that can raise prices. Do you think the new relaunch of the registry will help narrow the gap or is it too little, too late?

[briankort]

If I somehow found two identical cards with identical grades, one BGS and one PSA, I would always get the BGS. The grades are harder to earn, in my experience.

Well identical grades only goes so far. Your not going to find a PSA 10 and a BGS 10 of a highly collectible card that is even close in book value. But lets say for argument you meant BGS 9.5 and PSA 10. Would you still buy the BGS 9.5 if it was $100 more than the PSA 10?

I agree that BGS 9.5 most of the time is probably harder to get, but at some point you have to consider cost and actually look at the card in the holder, not just the grade. If I can get a PSA 10 Kevin Garnett Finest RC that is centered for $75 I am not going to pay $150 for a BGS 9.5.

This is just an example. I have no idea if there is a price difference in these and if it is that much. My point is every thing is not black and white. There is a lot to consider.

[hegotgame1515]

Well identical grades only goes so far. Your not going to find a PSA 10 and a BGS 10 of a highly collectible card that is even close in book value. But lets say for argument you meant BGS 9.5 and PSA 10. Would you still buy the BGS 9.5 if it was $100 more than the PSA 10?

I agree that BGS 9.5 most of the time is probably harder to get, but at some point you have to consider cost and actually look at the card in the holder, not just the grade. If I can get a PSA 10 Kevin Garnett Finest RC that is centered for $75 I am not going to pay $150 for a BGS 9.5.

This is just an example. I have no idea if there is a price difference in these and if it is that much. My point is every thing is not black and white. There is a lot to consider.

5/10 times a PSA 10 would only cross grade to BGS 9...
I have seen many PSA 10's that would even struggle to get a BGS 8.5...

THERE ARE ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE...
But on the whole a BGS 9.5 is going to be a better card.

As for price, its more to do with pop vs pop that makes one card worth paying more for in BGS 9.5....
There are countless MJ's in PSA 10 with pop well over 20....
But in the same card in BGS 9.5 some may be as low as pop 2....

I can't speak for any other player, but in the MJ market, BGS 9.5's are by far the most sort after and always command a premium over PSA 10's..
In most cases it's about 30% more for a BGS 9.5 over a PSA 10...

[SHowley2003]

I'm confused. Isn't judging value based on pop. reports a bit subjective. Isn't a population report a reflection of how many people choose to have a card graded by a specific service. If the hobby feels PSA is superior for vintage cards and there are 100 PSA graded Cousy RCs, but only 10 BVG graded of the same card does that make the BVG more valuable? I would think you would need to look at percentages of grades to truly gauge the differences. So how many of the cards submitted to PSA received a 10 vs. that same ratio of BGS 9.5s.

That being said I prefer PSA for my Pierce RCs and have gone exclusively BGS for anything 2007 and newer (there wasn't much worth collection between Pierce's rookie year and 2007 for a Celtics collector). All my vintage RCs are PSA. Any other PC I want the grade and the card and do it have a preference between the two. It just needs to look good.