I’ve been focusing on collecting vintage 1st edition singles from base set to gym trainers/challenge and can’t wrap my head around why some non-PSA slabs are going for much lower than their PSA counterparts? I know PSA can be sold for higher, but you also need to typically buy higher as well and the grading is only getting more expensive and lengthy. I figure, if the card looks decent for the grade on a non-PSA slab and you can get it for 60-80% of the price, I’m thinking that’s good value and even though you won’t get the highest price, it should still appreciate proportionally? Also grading companies aren’t immortal and there could be a new king, therefore making the decision to buy the card instead of slab label more wise from an investment standpoint? Anyone else buying cgc right now and/or grading with cgc over PSA?
With regard to your comment about grading companies not being “immortal” and that there might be a “new king” eventually: it should be noted that two of the three alternatives you listed are now owned by PSA. SGC and BGS are now both owned outright by PSA. A shakeup in the graded market hierarchy like you’re describing is unlikely.
But with that said, I think you’re very likely to find lots of “good deals” (in quotes because thats subjective) on CGC and BGS slabs. I know that over recent years I personally have found great cards in BGS 9 and 9.5 that are just as clean as a PSA 10. Im sure the same can be said about CGC but they do have a more ”flexible” grading scale and it is in my opinion harder to be confident in a CGC 9.5 than a BGS 9.5 and in fact the two companies give them different grade classifications with BGS 9.5 being considered “GEM MINT” and CGC 9.5 being considered “MINT +”.
Just my two cents / observations. There are people on the fourum with a lot more experience buying CGC than me that may tell you otherwise.
Agreed.
Smart money has been buying GOOD CGC 10s / BGS 9.5s for 1/3 price of a PSA 10 for years.
Overpaying for PSA 10s is still a thing though.
Depends on how you determine value. CGC is cheaper to grade with and probably easier to get a high grade. In that case they are. The counter argument is that grading a card with CGC makes it less desirable in the market. If your card hits a 10 in PSA vs a 10 in CGC, PSA would be a much better value since the market now values your card a 2-3x.
For certain cards, absolutely. For others, absolutely not.
PSA gives you max secondary market value, name recognition, and liquidity in exchange for an abysmally slow grading process and high prices. Sometimes it makes sense to wait the 4-5 months plus for bulk grading at $20-25 per card because the liquidity and secondary market value is so strong afterwards.
CGC gives you less secondary market value, less prominent name recognition, and less liquidity in exchange for low-priced, fast grading on an arguably more lenient scale. Many cards that I’m not confident gambling $25 and 5 months in the void on to see if it’ll hit a PSA 9 or 10 I do feel comfortable gambling $10-12 and 1 month at CGC. CGC 10s will often sell for more than PSA 9s, albeit not as fast.
There are places in the market for both companies and both provide strong value if they’re used in the right way. Finding that balance of what cards to send where is the challenge, however.
CGC is also in a prime position for some redemption assuming they don’t shoot themselves in the foot. There is definitely a chance that being bullish on cgc 10s could be beneficial for someone in the long run.
a wise man once said buy the grade not the card
In general everything above 8 in any grading company will already have good eye appeal. crack the slab and enjoy your binder
the point of grading in pokemon is to protect a mint/perfect card, create trust and make it LIQUID.
PSA10 is the very definition of liquid, and it maximises value so really, there is no point in bothering with anything else.
PSA 10 Quaquaval full art is more liquid than PSA 7 base unlimited Charizard ?
it’s really hard to justify psa prices because for so many cards if you get a 9 then your screwed unless you pay for bulk tier @ $25 and wait 5 months for your stuff back
I opened some AH and pulled one of the pikachu chases. So for a card like this I can justify regular or express tier,
but then for the IR’s i pulled like rockets Mimikyu, yea it might be a $200 card today but if I spend $80 on regular tier Plus shipping to AND shipping from and by the time I get it back its only worth $150, and then list it on Ebay and they steal 15% commission, you really feel hosed. Unless its a big card I will likely use other companies
Great points, I think I would also spend slightly extra money and wait time to go with PSA when sending in raw cards to grade. Only reason why I’m collecting cgc now is because I’m not great at evaluating raw cards and most eBay images are deceiving so I feel safer buying cgc grades 6+ if the price makes sense, just to have a nice vintage 1st edition in my portfolio. I’m only collecting 1st edition wotc vintage, so I heard lower grades are fine for the long term, but I could be wrong.
I’m having an absolute blast picking up vintage CGC 9s. Price value in the future be damned. These pickups are purely for the PC. Every time I look at a CGC 9 and compare to a lot of my PSA 9s they are roughly very similar if not better looking in some cases. Plus you get the discount. I’ve gotten over the need for uniformity in collection.
I don’t disagree, but “redemption?” You mean because the mini reckonings they go through every year, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot, have failed to completely tank them to this point?
And yet they still have the 2nd highest cards graded…huh.
Also yes, they are the better value.
essentially yes
I always put my trust in the cards, not the labels or plastic
Welcome to the forum, Mr. Yugi Mutou!
Depends on how you define “value.”
Can you get mint cards from CGC/SGC/BGS for a fraction of the cost of PSA? Yes, the label is worth less at those companies.
Will it sell for less than PSA in the same grade? Also yes.
So although you are saving money on the buying end, you are losing money on the selling end. Depending on your goals, CGC/SGC/BGS may be a better value. Note that SGC and BGS are owned by PSA, so you’re still buying from the company with the more expensive label.
Wow, you beat me to the joke. Good ole Yugioh.. the game where if you lose a duel, you die