I get that PSA is the top banana of all the grading companies ( from what I have seen in the market ) , but I wanted too ask what your thoughts are on who you rather have your cards graded with if you so chose to at all.
Does one grade more accurately than the other ?
Does the slab look better for CGC or PSA ?
I guess what I am truly asking is what are the pros and cons of both grading companies ?
Psa, though I wish their labels had a bit more information and didnt abbreviate everything
Id buy any company if the deal was good enough.
If i graded as a business, side hustle, w/e id probably use a combination of the three, but mostly psa/cgc
PSA
We have had a few threads to understand the general consensus of the folks here, maye you will find the info useful.
I personally donāt grade my cards, but If I ever decide to, I will just choose PSA.
Cheers!
For my personal collection Iām leaning towards CGC, their slabs and scans look better imho.
Market seems to prefer PSA though, so I would consider that if youāre planning to sell.
P$A
I think the psa slabs are ugly. Iāve always thought so. The CGC slabs, particularly the new design, look much better. Yes psa is the top dog but also Iām grading for aesthetics not resale.
In terms of value, liquidity and overall demand, I feel PSA is definitely at the top in Pokemon. Personally, I mainly focus on high grade/value PSA slabs and the rest of the slabs I buy I crack out for my binders. Iāll go for both PSA & CGC for my binder cards, it just depends on what Iām after and the budget Iāve set for myself.
I find PSA grading the most comprehensive, especially in the lower grade range (i.e. PSA 4-8). CGC on the other hand while also comprehensive, can be a little harder to get used to due to the sub-grade calculation. Because of this, I find a PSA 7 can look drastically different from a CGC 7 depending on what made it a CGC 7 if that makes sense. Regardless though, this is also the grade range that Iāll usually buy for my binder copies, and so again I wonāt rule out a CGC slab if the price is right and the overall condition suits what Iām after.
Regarding the slab itself, I do think CGC has one of the better slabs in terms of clarity & protection. I have not seen the newest PSA slab in-person, but it sounds fairly promising compared the older ones. So for a while I would say CGC is the better slab, but now they may be more equal. Personally, I didnāt love or hate the PSA slab, it has always sort of been just fine to me as it is.
So in the end of the day it really comes down to your own preference/collecting goals; No plans to re-sell and still want a nice card? Both companies can provide that. Looking more to āinvestā or maximize value & liquidity of your collection? You probably want a PSA 9 or 10, and with CGC the 10s can also command a decent premium (just not PSA 10 value typically). Want to save a ton of money and still see 10 on the label? Go CGC. Building binder sets? Both are fine for cracking out.
Hope this helps 
well it all comes down to one question:
do you like money? yes? PSA
I personally buy mostly PSA, but a bit of CGC as well. I dont think I would ever submit cards to CGC for grading. Ive also had a lot of shenanigans with PSA damaging and losing stuff so im not really grading at all for the forseeable future.
Im happy with PSAs grading standard, i like the slab and label. In all honesty, i think the only thing alternate grading options provide is an opportunity for arbitrage and some healthy competition.
PSA is the least bad
Each company has their strengths and weaknesses. If youāre selling, you will get the biggest bang for your buck at PSA. If youāre not selling, choose what speaks to you.
Just going to drop a line here that if you are in it for money / liquidity, PSA is probably your best bet currently. If youāre in it for best looking slabs, TAG is a clear winner over any of the current leaders in my opinion. While they arenāt perfect, they also give a clear breakdown of why a card gets a certain grade, allowing for more transparency than you typically see with PSA, etc.
I donāt have anything in particular against CGC, actually I think their holders look really nice (especially with the new labels), but my entire collection is PSA and it would drive me freakin nuts to have a collection of a mix of grading companies.
CGC pros:
CGC cons:
PSA pros:
PSA cons:
I wonāt comment on which company āgrades more accuratelyā because they each have different grading scales and grading standards, so they arenāt directly comparable. Consistency within oneās own grading scale is important, and in that Iād say both companies are similar, for better or worse.
imo there are two questions you need to answer for yourself when evaluating this (for most cards, i.e. some cards arenāt gradable by both companies)
like many things it depends. there are certain cards/conditions i would send to psa, cgc, or bgs (although not very likely with this one)
Asking Pokemon collectors which grading company is the best is like asking a normie which religion is the best.
You really should just try both and see what you like better. Thereās a lot of factors that come into grading choice and itās not as simple as PSA = stonk
Grading accuracy varies from company to company. When it comes to strict grading Id say Beckett (bgs) standard holds a premium over any other company seeing as though their gem mint 10s are usually spot on. As for psa, yes its more popular but definitely not on a higher standard in grading that Beckett (bgs). CGC is stricter on centering than psa. Both are great companies to grade with. Cgc slabs look great, very transparent and durable. PSA cases are a little outdated though imo. Same as bgs cases.