Total waste of money today. Will it change in a few years? Wait and see.
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RIP looks like they hired some BGS graders
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yikes, what a waste.
CGC have said they’re less strict on corners and centering than BGS/PSA (for MTG specifically I don’t know about pokemon), quote:
"For corners we want to be more consistent, competition, 8.5 to 9 or even 9.5 are erratic, we want to bring consistency.
Centering, we feel no card should be denied a mint grade due to centering. Gem mint is a different story. But if the card is 9.5 everything else but centering, it should be mint overall."
Backs are also obviously taken into account, from the looks of the cards it seems you can have a minor corner ding and get 9.5 corners, 10 is probably no dings. Centering is measured digitally and uses the inner border for MTG alpha.
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Hey Pierce, where did these pics/quotes come from?
I like that they are bringing their expertise from one field of grading in a similar hobby to another. And honestly, they’re right. How often do we bitch about PSA and BGS’s subjectivity when it comes to whitening corners on grading? I’d rather have consistancy. Not gonnga write them off before they even get started.
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The quotes are from Matt Quinn, he fielded a few questions on the biggest MTG grading collectors group a couple of hours ago. I’m not sure of his exact role with CGC but he was a grading finalizer for one of CCGs other companies PMG.
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Got it thanks, they haven’t announced anything yet in the CGC forums which I found strange
It was a ‘sneak preview’, they probably don’t have a press release yet or might not be ready to talk about TCGs outside MTG. Who knows, I assume we’ll find out more soon though.
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Ah yes, the thing the hobby has been practically shouting at the top of our lungs for years: “We want cards with dinged corners graded gem mint!!”
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CGC is the #1 or #2 collectables authenticator on the planet. Let’s maybe give them a chance to even launch before letting biases get in the way?
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I don’t consider myself to be particularly biased towards PSA, and it does have its problems, but one thing that I believe they do well is maintaining a strict standard.
Of course, they do make mistakes every now and then, but overall, you don’t see them pushing for easing grading criteria and that adds a layer of consistency and credibility that other companies lack.
Personally, I believe any newcomer to the grading space would benefit more from being either as strict or stricter than PSA, not the opposite. Can you imagine buying that Royal Assassin as a 9.5 and have it arrive in that condition?
The biggest issue I have with CGC is that the serial number is at the back and not the front.
But besides that competition makes things better for everyone involved, especially us clients, so this is quite exciting.
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It’s so funny hearing people tout old/new label types and suddenly they’re jumping on the cgc train. This is nothing new. Cgc won’t pick up any substantial market share for many years. They’ll just be a valueless novelty except for newbies.
You won’t be able to trust the grades and nobody will pay market for them.
Now the biggest question. How much will they charge? Buck a slab?
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I can appreciate the mission and what they’re trying to do… but those cases look straight from the 90s. Not a fan…
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At the least I would like to see a company give PSA a real run for their money. There is a lot that PSA has refused to improve upon and it would be really nice if competition from CGC could pressure them into making necessary changes. This may not happen, but this is what I would like to see.
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I was looking forward to a sleek modern design… The case itself looks good but the blue label is sickening. Beckett still has everyone beat for clean modern labels + case design
CGC/PMG/NGC has authenticated and graded tens of millions of valuable items…why wouldn’t people trust them to grade properly?
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Well, the fact that they announce the launch of their grading service with a sub-par grade. I don’t think that Royal Assassin is a 9.5 in anyone’s book.
When trying to compete your way into a market, you don’t try to change the standard unless a) you’re ignorant about what the current expectations are for collectors or b) are trying to capitalize on the people who constantly whine about PSA being too strict.
Being new to the market and trying to re-invent standards by lowering the bar won’t work in my opinion. Also, it is not just a matter of grading properly, but also a matter of being widely recognized as an adjudicator within the card collector community.
Had they launched this same service with faster turnaround times, same financial guarantees on grades and stricter/better standards, I would say they might stand a chance. As it stands, I don’t think they will gain widely accepted recognition.
If they do though, I’ll definitely crack my dented corner PSA 7 Masakis and send them across, see if they come back 9.5’s so I can flip them and buy PSA ones with the proceeds. 
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But they haven’t launched yet lol All we have is one photo and one quote. I’m just saying we as collectors can wait for an official launch before judging.
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