CGC Updated Label & Grading Scale: What are your thoughts 8 months later?

[fourthstartcg]

Here were my thoughts when the label and scale update changed:

@fourthstartcg

Over their short three years of operation, CGC has methodically killed off what made them unique in search of more profit and market share. They killed off the harsher grading scale (while generally disliked, some collectors preferred this as opposed to PSA’s perceived lenience), killed off subgrades, and now have killed off the idea that 10 is a halo grade. In becoming a PSA-at-home grading company, they’ve also lost the trust of a lot of collectors. The earlier you submitted to CGC, the more screwed you are.

Now, I think there are three main reasons why one would submit to CGC:

• You have a card with questionable or unverifiable provenance which other grading companies won’t touch
• You’re a “CGC insider” and receive certain “benefits” for submitting to CGC
• You have a pathological hatred for other grading companies due to negative experiences, tribalism, or a desire to be contrarian

I don’t think anyone is weighing the pros and cons of major grading companies and deciding to go with CGC on objective, market-based merits for the majority of their card grading. In the past, they had some significant objective upsides (subgrades, harsher standards, turnaround time, prices) but all of those have either disappeared or been killed off by CGC themselves.