My own post on the BGS thread got me thinking more about this:
What are your thoughts on this theoretical grading company? What if we lived in a world today where BGS and PSA didn’t exist in the inconsistent manner in which they do, and instead both only graded on the proposed 5 point scale. How, in your opinion, would it affect:
-consistency in grading
-card values
-perception of grading
-your collecting habits
I currently collect PSA 9’s that are “strong”, so I’d obviously just stick with “5 star” cards in this scenario. I’s have to assume “5 star” cards would find a price point between that of PSA/BGS 9 and 10. I’m not sure how the overall collector base would feel about this. Strict PSA 10 collectors (label buyers at times, IMO) would obviously not like the thought of their cards being devalued and having them lumped in with “lower” quality cards. PSA 9 buyers like myself would obviously tend to like this I’d imagine (guess that’s why I do). But if the concept of BGS 10 and PSA 10 never existed and only 5 star was the pinnacle how would you feel about it? You likely would have assembled a “perfect” (in score) collection for much cheaper than you currently have into a PSA 10 collection.
You’d have to have a unique selling point, who would be the target market for the grading? Of course collectors, but would it be the low or high value market. PSA and BGS focus on everything.
I would suggest targeting the niche high value market. Liquid cooling cases and led digital labels which connect to WiFi to provide live population counts.
You could even charge a subscription based service where users can grade their cards for free but should they not pay the monthly billing cost the case will self destruct destroying the card or damage the card lowering the grade etc.
First and foremost I myself don’t like the number 5. Second the cases would have to be as thin if not thinner than PSA or BGS. Third I really like the idea but how much would it cost to kickstart the process? If cost isn’t an issue I say go for it. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my cards except E4 members so I’d be down to sign up for he service.
If the five star thing does go down I think label color would be huge. Something like:
To be completely clear I am not remotely thinking of starting a grading company. This isn’t another “we should buy a bar start a grading company” thread.
Purely a thought experiment on what would happen to the market/what would the market currently be like if:
This company came out tomorrow to compete with BGS and PSA as they currently exist.
BGS and PSA always historically graded on this scale.
The cases styling and things of that nature aren’t relevant or important as it is all theoretical around the proposed 5 level grading scale compared to the existing 40 (BGS) and 19 (PSA) increment grading scales.
Agreed with a lot of points already made. I feel like for me, the distinguishing of a 10 versus a 9 is what makes me appreciate BGS more in terms of their aesthetic. PSA 10 doesn’t feel like anything special. I think the design of the case would have to look flashy in a professional manner (another reason why I dislike PSA cases is the label looks consistent all the way throughout and is overly simple in my opinion).
I think if you have a case that’s flashy and professional, sleek in all the right ways, protects against UV and water, you’d have a solid case.
I like the idea of a 5-star rating for cards. It would allow for more general grades, and wouldn’t make such a big deal about top tier grades. A 5 is a solid card but doesn’t make it impossible to get and flood a market. I feel like you could also design the 5 star rating as 4-cornered stars with a giant 5th star in the middle. Each star would be highlighted the higher the grade while other stars would be grayed out (imagine getting a 3 star grade, 3 stars are in gold/bronze/silver whatever, and the remaining 2 stars are in gray).
How about instead of grading the quality of the card you’re grading the value. I.e. a PSA 1 Charizard 1st Edition Based would grade 5 Diamonds, the same as a Shiny Charizard GX PSA 10.