[Hofcollector]

The scales are suppose to mirror each other regardless of what they call the grades. A PSA 10 is suppose to be the equivalent of BGS 10 but the collecting community has found that a PSA 10 to be more along the lines of a BGS 9.5, sometimes lower. Beckett grades in half grades suggesting they grade a lot more critical than PSA who have to round up or down if it comes into play. As for the minimal grade question, you can ask for the cards to remain untouched if they don't meet your minimum requirement but you still have to pay the fee because they still have to examine it the exact same way.

[rmpaq5]

Ok dumb question. I understand the consumer need/supply/demand aspect of price fluctuation. But why is BGS the expert in modern, PSA the expert in vintage, and SGC the expert in pre 1950s? It doesn't matter what you submit...it could be a T206, a 65 Topps, or a 2010 Topps Chrome, or a Magic the Gathering Card, the exact same thing is looked at no matter what is pictured or designed on the front of the card or the back. If PSA looks at a 2015 Topps Base Kris Bryant, or a 1984 OpeeChee Don Mattingly...they look for the exact same things. Same with SGC, BGS, or even KSA here in Canada (which by the way are considered experts in hockey. Why? Because they are in Kitchener?). It just seems if you are a grader, you are a grader. It shouldn't matter if I send in a 33 Goudey Ruth, a 52 Topps Mantle, a 82 Fleer Ripken, a 2015 Bryant, an Empire Strikes Back card, or the ace of clubs from a deck of cards. The criteria doesn't change.

[Hofcollector]

Ok dumb question. I understand the consumer need/supply/demand aspect of price fluctuation. But why is BGS the expert in modern, PSA the expert in vintage, and SGC the expert in pre 1950s? It doesn't matter what you submit...it could be a T206, a 65 Topps, or a 2010 Topps Chrome, or a Magic the Gathering Card, the exact same thing is looked at no matter what is pictured or designed on the front of the card or the back. If PSA looks at a 2015 Topps Base Kris Bryant, or a 1984 OpeeChee Don Mattingly...they look for the exact same things. Same with SGC, BGS, or even KSA here in Canada (which by the way are considered experts in hockey. Why? Because they are in Kitchener?). It just seems if you are a grader, you are a grader. It shouldn't matter if I send in a 33 Goudey Ruth, a 52 Topps Mantle, a 82 Fleer Ripken, a 2015 Bryant, an Empire Strikes Back card, or the ace of clubs from a deck of cards. The criteria doesn't change.

It all comes down to leniency or how critical the various agencies are. I personally don't believe PSA does a better, more thorough job than BVG does but it's accepted by most that they do. I find PSA to be extremely lenient at times when it comes to modern, which is also widely accepted by most. I believe SGC does every bit as well as BVG or PSA in vintage but really is lacking in modern grading, probably because they don't do enough of it. I can't tell you why the companies are so different. They all came up with grading scales independent of each other and none seem to align just right. The criteria may not change but it doesn't appear to be the same from company to company resulting in price discrepancies.

[chrisa19978]

I hate to tell you but PSA is more sought after here is an example with a PSA 10 vs. a BGS 9.5 which should be the same grade. So the card I will bring up is a 1993 SP Derek Jeter rookie as a PSA 10 sold for $31,100.00 and the BGS 9.5 sold for $2,500.00. Both are Gem Mint and the reason is I feel mostly because beckett didn't have a registry for the longest time and people are not going to cross over now. Honestly if you are looking to flip PSA is the way to go and BGS/BVG I would keep as a PC collection as I feel there better protected. I do believe beckett holds a higher standard but that also depends on who you talk to but I don't know any examples where BGS 9.5 sold for more than a PSA 10. Now a BGS 10 will sell for a lot more than a PSA 10 because that is the top grade out there but with any of the 90's cards and below it's an impossible task. I remember a guy buying boxes and cases of 1993 and submitting all the Jeter to BGS trying to get that first BGS 10 and never got one yet. So for the people who say vintage sells better as a PSA I will agree but I don't agree that BGS sells better as a newer card unless you have a BGS 10.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-SP-Foil-Der...5d5a82f3c0

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-Upper-Deck-...25abc5f54d

[Hofcollector]

I hate to tell you but PSA is more sought after here is an example with a PSA 10 vs. a BGS 9.5 which should be the same grade. So the card I will bring up is a 1993 SP Derek Jeter rookie as a PSA 10 sold for $31,100.00 and the BGS 9.5 sold for $2,500.00. Both are Gem Mint and the reason is I feel mostly because beckett didn't have a registry for the longest time and people are not going to cross over now. Honestly if you are looking to flip PSA is the way to go and BGS/BVG I would keep as a PC collection as I feel there better protected. I do believe beckett holds a higher standard but that also depends on who you talk to but I don't know any examples where BGS 9.5 sold for more than a PSA 10. Now a BGS 10 will sell for a lot more than a PSA 10 because that is the top grade out there but with any of the 90's cards and below it's an impossible task. I remember a guy buying boxes and cases of 1993 and submitting all the Jeter to BGS trying to get that first BGS 10 and never got one yet. So for the people who say vintage sells better as a PSA I will agree but I don't agree that BGS sells better as a newer card unless you have a BGS 10.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-SP-Foil-Der...5d5a82f3c0

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-Upper-Deck-...25abc5f54d

That Jeter your referring to is the beneficiary of the direct result of PSA's population report. With an unbelievable amount of SP Jeters graded (11,500) by PSA alone and only 17 coming in at PSA 10's, the card will obviously demand a premium from PSA collectors, die hard Jeter fans and those who live for the population report. That time period also falls into a gray area as far as encapsulation goes where people either aren't sure which is better or dont care who graded the card. I owned the single highest graded (at the time) '57 Topps BVG 9 Richie Ashburn, '56 Topps Sandy Koufax BVG 8.5 (Pop 2) and single highest graded '50 Bowman Duke Snider BVG 8.5. I got absolutely ridiculous money for them despite the grades not being 9.5's or 10's because being able to slap POP 1! next to them makes the cards a lot more desirable, regardless of who graded them. The gentleman I sold the Ashburn to had absolutely no interest in the card until his friend clued him in to the population report. Obviously every Beckett 9.5 sale isnt going to more than a PSA 10. Your going to get situations where strict PSA guys get a chance to bid on a low pop card of distinction. The worlds will align and you'll get a monster sale, much like those few individuals bidding on the Omar Vizquel 1/1's. The vast majority wouldn't pay anywhere near what they do but because there's a few guys specifically looking for Vizquel 1/1's with cash to spend his sales are beyond belief. While I cant give you show or private sales to view, you can cleary use ebay to see the sales differences between PSA and BGS for any major star in modern cards. Occasionally you'll get a card on ebay that's extremely hot like an '09 Bowman Chrome Mike Trout in a PSA 10 a couple months back that I believe sold for about $2k, which is around where the BGS 9.5's were selling, although I know of 3 that sold well above there. Another quick example would be the '11 Bowman Chrome Paul Goldschmidt auto.

[chrisa19978]

That Jeter your referring to is the beneficiary of the direct result of PSA's population report. With an unbelievable amount of SP Jeters graded (11,500) by PSA alone and only 17 coming in at PSA 10's, the card will obviously demand a premium from PSA collectors, die hard Jeter fans and those who live for the population report. That time period also falls into a gray area as far as encapsulation goes where people either aren't sure which is better or dont care who graded the card. I owned the single highest graded (at the time) '57 Topps BVG 9 Richie Ashburn, '56 Topps Sandy Koufax BVG 8.5 (Pop 2) and single highest graded '50 Bowman Duke Snider BVG 8.5. I got absolutely ridiculous money for them despite the grades not being 9.5's or 10's because being able to slap POP 1! next to them makes the cards a lot more desirable, regardless of who graded them. The gentleman I sold the Ashburn to had absolutely no interest in the card until his friend clued him in to the population report. Obviously every Beckett 9.5 sale isnt going to more than a PSA 10. Your going to get situations where strict PSA guys get a chance to bid on a low pop card of distinction. The worlds will align and you'll get a monster sale, much like those few individuals bidding on the Omar Vizquel 1/1's. The vast majority wouldn't pay anywhere near what they do but because there's a few guys specifically looking for Vizquel 1/1's with cash to spend his sales are beyond belief. While I cant give you show or private sales to view, you can cleary use ebay to see the sales differences between PSA and BGS for any major star in modern cards. Occasionally you'll get a card on ebay that's extremely hot like an '09 Bowman Chrome Mike Trout in a PSA 10 a couple months back that I believe sold for about $2k, which is around where the BGS 9.5's were selling, although I know of 3 that sold well above there. Another quick example would be the '11 Bowman Chrome Paul Goldschmidt auto.

I did say this was because of the POP report that beckett was late at staring. I know a lot of collectors who only used PSA because of the POP report and now beckett has it there not going to change when they have thousands of cards graded by PSA. Most PSA cards are not that big of a difference Anything new like the last 2 or 3 years it's probably about the same but when people say Vintage 1979 and below PSA sells higher I have to say you need to go all the way into the 90's which would add modern cards as well. Of course if a 1993 SP Jeter rookie ever gets a BGS 10 grade that will probably sell for an ungodly price I would guess a minimum of $100,000.00 and that's why people try BGS on that card and why the POP report is so much more.

[Hofcollector]

I did say this was because of the POP report that beckett was late at staring. I know a lot of collectors who only used PSA because of the POP report and now beckett has it there not going to change when they have thousands of cards graded by PSA. Most PSA cards are not that big of a difference Anything new like the last 2 or 3 years it's probably about the same but when people say Vintage 1979 and below PSA sells higher I have to say you need to go all the way into the 90's which would add modern cards as well. Of course if a 1993 SP Jeter rookie ever gets a BGS 10 grade that will probably sell for an ungodly price I would guess a minimum of $100,000.00 and that's why people try BGS on that card and why the POP report is so much more.

My bad. I'm in agreement with you here. My gray area reference was basically saying heads or tails, Beckett or PSA for the 90's stuff. Im in agreement that when people say PSA rules vintage, I don't believe 1979 is the clear cut off point. My experience has led me to believe that it extends through the 80'sand starts to get sticky in the early 90's as far as who is the clear cut leader.

[KPRROK]

Anyone have experience on some of the "lesser" graders? I have a Moustakas auto pro debut card that I picked up at an absurdly low price that is a "GMA 10". I'm thinking I'll break it out of that and send for BGS, hoping to get an 8 or an 8.5 at least. A 9 would be fantastic in my book.

Forgot to add...any ideas on HOW to cleanly break encapsulated cards? I don't want to damage the card obviously, so saws are out!

Thoughts?

[Hofcollector]

You should be good with an 8 or 8.5. As far as breaking cards out of their cases it all depends on what tools you have available. My weapon of choice is a pair of bull nose pliers that I use to snap off a top corner (above the header) and then slowly cut by pinching the pliers straight across the top, taking the top binding edge completely off. From there you can carefully put a straight edge (wide dull chisel works the best) and prying the case apart. If the case wont come apart, you can move your cut line below the header, above the edge that holds the card from shifting and again cutting straight across with your bull nose. From there you pry the case apart or stick you flat bar in enough to put a gap in the case and pull or slide the card out.

If time isn't an issue, you can take a low profile hand saw to cut it open. I recommend a coping saw. It has an extremely small, thin blade that's easily controllable. All you do with this is cut straight across the first insert that holds the card from shifting, below the header. Again, you can most likely slide the card out from here sliding in a small flat bar and prying it open. If your not comfortable with this, make another cut vertically along a side just outside of the insert that keeps the card from shifting. If you have the ability to clamp down the corners of the case while you cut it may make it easier.

In all honesty, while it may seem a little scary, I just use the pliers to cut across the top and slide the card out. It's fast and safer than it sounds.

[y2hood]

Gentle but firm, with a flat head screwdriver in the area of the case with the most area to work with (usually the label) that is away from the card itself.