[Wmartin1963]

I'm sure this has been asked before but ...

I am new to Baseball Card trading and selling, I am looking to see if I can get (unbiased, since I am asking on BGS) opinions on which companies are best? between PSA, BGS, and SGC.

Thanks for any info on this.

[mistral38]

Best? Pros and Cons to all mentioned PSA will garner a bit more at sale time these days it seems their pricing is confusing to many A few years back BGS was the premium choice and I like the sub grade option. As a collector there are few cards I think are worth grading (many collectors like myself dislike graded cards for assorted reasons like storage issues and added expense)

[chevy man 22]

PSA - The Hobby accepted #1 choice primarily because PSA 10's will sell for more than any other companies Graded 10. Biggest downside to PSA is you have to buy their yearly subscription service to get the monthly specials so sort of a pay to play type deal. It was $99 / yr but they recently announced the price is increasing to $149 starting April 20th 2024.

SGC- Was #2 in the hobby but recently was bought by PSA's parent company. They are known for being popular with Vintage collectors and for their cheap sub prices at $15 but in the past have been known to do $9 specials which are popular but haven't had one since being sold so we will see if they continue those in the future. They are also known for the quickest turn around times in the industry
(10 days ) but for whatever reason have hit a bump in the road and are now around (15-20 days ) which is still by far the fastest turn around time. 

BGS - The one that started it all. They really fell out of favor during the pandemic when everything shut down and return times were a year or more for basically all the companies but BGS went dark and really didn't communicate with their customers while PSA and SGC at least gave updates. That really turned a lot of people off plus the younger generation post pandemic like the PSA slabs better because they are slim and light weight where as BGS probably has the heaviest and bulkiest slabs out there. BGS also very rarely runs specials and their website/message boards are stuck in the early 2000's and have needed an overhaul for more than a decade. Ebay killed the famous Beckett Price Guide magazine that so many remember fondly from their childhood and after that it seems Beckett just gave up and decided it is what it is. The only thing Beckett really has going for it is they are pretty much the only company that can/will slab ticker patch/memorabilia cards.

[Wmartin1963]

PSA - The Hobby accepted #1 choice primarily because PSA 10's will sell for more than any other companies Graded 10. Biggest downside to PSA is you have to buy their yearly subscription service to get the monthly specials so sort of a pay to play type deal. It was $99 / yr but they recently announced the price is increasing to $149 starting April 20th 2024.

SGC- Was #2 in the hobby but recently was bought by PSA's parent company. They are known for being popular with Vintage collectors and for their cheap sub prices at $15 but in the past have been known to do $9 specials which are popular but haven't had one since being sold so we will see if they continue those in the future. They are also known for the quickest turn around times in the industry
(10 days ) but for whatever reason have hit a bump in the road and are now around (15-20 days ) which is still by far the fastest turn around time. 

BGS - The one that started it all. They really fell out of favor during the pandemic when everything shut down and return times were a year or more for basically all the companies but BGS went dark and really didn't communicate with their customers while PSA and SGC at least gave updates. That really turned a lot of people off plus the younger generation post pandemic like the PSA slabs better because they are slim and light weight where as BGS probably has the heaviest and bulkiest slabs out there. BGS also very rarely runs specials and their website/message boards are stuck in the early 2000's and have needed an overhaul for more than a decade. Ebay killed the famous Beckett Price Guide magazine that so many remember fondly from their childhood and after that it seems Beckett just gave up and decided it is what it is. The only thing Beckett really has going for it is they are pretty much the only company that can/will slab ticker patch/memorabilia cards.

Wow, thanks for the info. I would like to send some in for grading to PSA but ss far as I can tell, I need to send 20 cards minimum... kinda spendy. I have seen some graded cards done from PSA and from BGS, seems that the BGS slabs kind of kill the card color a bit but it is more affordable. I have not seen much as far as SGC .. but like I stated, I am new to this hobby (kind fell into it). Thanks again.

[chevy man 22]

Yeah that's another draw back to PSA is the minimum order usually 10 or 20 cards. Most just live with it because they figure they make up the difference in the premium return on investment they bring. Problem is anything other than a 10 and you might as well crack it out and sell it Raw because the price difference is that wide from a 10 to a 9.

Personal opinion is Grading is a scam or as I call it Fools Gold because people only see the final price a card sells for and don't factor in how much they have in a card. It's like spending $5 on a scratch lotto ticket and winning $3. 9/10 people will tell you they won $3 when they actually lost $2.

[Wmartin1963]

Best? Pros and Cons to all mentioned PSA will garner a bit more at sale time these days it seems their pricing is confusing to many A few years back BGS was the premium choice and I like the sub grade option. As a collector there are few cards I think are worth grading (many collectors like myself dislike graded cards for assorted reasons like storage issues and added expense)

Sorry to bother you again,

Is there a minimum card order with beckett? I thought I saw it was 10 cards a while back but now I don't see any info on it. (I have tried to contact someone from Beckett, but to date have had no replies from any submissions to them)

Also, I assume the insurance amount is what ever I the value is that I give to the card.

Thanks again for you info.