I think PSA will be out of business within the next 12 months

​@@SylvainMarveaux9👀

@@SylvainMarveaux9 the new Chat Gpt&AI grading will put them all out of business. Take 10,000 PSA 10's and put them before the AI grader. The whole industry would implode.

Thanks for watching and commenting!

There are other options between compete failure and monopoly. They're obviously not going to fail any time soon with the backing they have, but give it ten more years where every card is getting a 10 Gem Mint and I really don't think they'll have the same market value

I'd rather have a BGS 9.5 than a PSA 10. At least you don't get 4 blunt corners

I'm with you on this, planning to keep my SGC slabs for now and see how things shake out. Especially for vintage, I don't think their prices are going to be impacted too much.

@@brutusonbaseball I have a couple of modern cards in SGC 10. would you keep those in the SGC slab?

@The_Cincinnati_Kid really depends on the card I think. If it's a rare card then I likely would keep it because the slab is not as likely to impact the value as the card itself. If it's more like base cards, then my own thinking is to slowly sell those off as long as the bottom doesn't drop out completely. It's the base cards that are easy to find in any grading company that are likely to lose their value first. That being said, I'm still in watching mode. If they really do continue to operate as two distinct grading companies, and they show they are actually willing to invest in innovation with the SGC brand, then nothing much may change at all

​@@The_Cincinnati_KidCross them over to BGS. See if you can get a BGS 9+

This is a great perspective as a pure collector, PSA is very driven by the investor attitude. I do agree that PSA is not going anywhere, but I hope they make some changes! Thanks for watching and commenting, appreciate the support!

No, I think your take will be the overwhelming take for most rational people.

Do I think PSA is actually doomed? No not really, they're massive. But I do think they need to make changes to stay relevant. I like all the grading companies for different reasons, but that doesn't mean I can't point out flaws where I see them. Give it a decade and I think PSA will have major resale issues at a 90% Gem rate.

@@brutusonbaseball they added half grades awhile back and I feel most people dont like it. It was a little more than a decade ago when PSA was #2 in the grading market and now they ARE the market. It would take something crazy to happen to see them fall. I'd this does happen the card market will collapse. Please dont forget SGC has been around way longer than most realize and this is where their market share is at. We will see what happens I guess. I've been collecting for 40 years and grading for a long time too. Just my take.

@@brutusonbaseball hey.....it was good click bait...lol You got me to watch it!

@matthewgreeley3099 haha, kind of the strategy these days huh? I think my ultimate point is that PSA isn't going anywhere, but if I were Collectors Universe, I would see the value in SGC's vintage brand and their grading scale and at the very least take those with me if all else disappears!

Thanks, really appreciate that you took the time to watch with an open mind and add the comment as well!

It is quite true now that when someone sees a non-graded card that they assume it must be "not good enough to grade". Grading has become so pervasive, and you really have to wonder sometimes why

@@brutusonbaseball It's gotten ridiculous. People don't take into account that maybe someone just doesn't want to grade their cards. PSA can be quite expensive on valuable cards, especially when they start upcharging. It doesn't end there, though...I've even had people question authenticity of the few cards of Mays I did have graded, because PSA had been known to grade fakes. I assured them they weren't fake, but even then, still didn't fetch near what they should've on auction. I guess more than one person had the same assumption. It's all a headache, so I converted everything to photos. The only thing in cards I now collect are extremely rare test proof cards. I recently acquired some Flair Diamond Cuts test proof cards of Griffey, Bonds, Ripken and Thomas for cheap. You're not likely to find that stuff on the market, because it was not meant for public consumption.

Thanks for watching and commenting, exactly my thought...if there's no distribution at the top then what's the point anymore really?

Thanks for watching, glad to hear you're enjoying it! I do agree that a 9.5 would be treated only slightly better than a 9, but I disagree with the notion that this would be an issue for PSA or collectors. If PSA gave out 9.5s and less 10s, I think you would see more submissions trying to get that slightly more elusive 10. For most collectors if they get all 9s, they don't give up. They submit again to try and beat the system.

@@brutusonbaseball I think what I’m saying is that with examples already existing like BGS 9.5s, some would cross over as PSA 9s and some are PSA 10s. So by introducing a 9.5 to PSA, the instances that would’ve previously been a 10 are no longer receiving that grade. I don’t think collectors want 9.5s, they want 10s. A 9.5 is preventing those borderline 10s from achieving the higher grade. I’m all for introducing a pristine grade above a 10.

I love the idea of a standardized grading scale that is defensible across companies. Would help to make them accountable

Exactly. Sure everyone wants a 10, but when literally everyone is getting 10s, what's the point of them anymore. I'm working on a video idea right now that gets back to collecting roots a bit more, looking forward to your thoughts on that one

That's why you buy only short-print cards

@@macl221310 While I agree for the most part, collecting this way can be pretty difficult for most due to initial cost. Using them as “investments” may not be a great strategy either because of market volatility. The problem with this type of scarcity is that there is eventually a cap to it, with the potential for huge short-term (and possibly long-term) losses, with a slow growth trajectory. Even SSPs will never be truly rare in the same way that pre-war and vintage cards are rare; limiting their value.

There seems to be two competing ideas here. I'm not saying that collectors care much about the 9.5, why should they when they can crack it and send it to PSA to get a 10? I'm saying that if PSA had a 9.5 grade available, then they'd likely give out less 10s...which I think would actually drive more submissions for people looking for that slightly more elusive 10. And I do think people care about the pristine grade, that's why they fetch a premium over PSA even if they are from BGS or SGC. A major thing that drives collectors is competition, to have what the next guy doesn't. In a world where you can submit 10 cards of the next hottest Rookie and get 9 Gem Mints, I do think the Pristine will start to hold more value because it separates itself. Do I think PSA is actually doomed? Of course not, they're massive. Do I think they need to change to stay relevant? Absolutely.

@@brutusonbaseball I do agree that a pristine grade would be very popular with PSA fans, especially with the set registry people. For me personally, a pristine grade would only be intriguing with pre modern cards.

PSA will be out of business soon

@@SylvainMarveaux9 😂

I totally agree with both of those points. Having the pristine would definitely help drive the registry competition...but it's way more meaningful for pre-modern cards

That would be interesting. You think they would just go with SGC then and let the massive PSA following walk???

I don’t know. I think I recall collectors universe doing something like that with an auction company. If owning a different company could create more revenue it could make sense selling PSA would probably put a ton of cash in their account. I would think Fanatics would be interested in PSA. I’m just speculating and trying to make sense of the whole thing

Yeah it's difficult to make sense of it all, especially when Collectors Universe already has a grading company. I would be surprised to see Fanatics buy out someone either...I wonder if Collector's is even more attractive in some way by having two of the biggest under the umbrella

There's a lot to like about Beckett still, even though they've been run into the ground in recent years. I think they just have too many other priorities and don't give enough attention to their card grading business. Would love to see them either sell that piece to someone that wants to grade cards as a priority, or decide for themselves to get back all in into the game

I think SGC 9.5 is better than a PSA 9, but worse than a PSA 10. PSA doesn't use the same 9.5 grade that SGC does, which is why they're not directly comparable. I will say though that lots of people I know have cracked SGC 9.5's to send in to PSA to get re-graded, and now often than not they come back with PSA 10s. I think that says something if we remember to buy the card and not the slab...

Agreed, collectors and investors just keep going to PSA with modern cards, but I just don't see it lasting another 5-10 years from now because at some point people will stop caring if everything is a 10. Looking back, it turns out that making 9.5 a gem Mint was not the best idea by BGS. I get it though, only the best should be 10s, but that's more from a purist perspective. I made a video last year on how BGS could potentially fix their grading scale by making 9.5 a Mint+, 10 a gem Mint, and using a new 10+ to show pristine with the gold label. I still think they have to fix something...if they really care to at all.

@brutusonbaseball yep I remember that. They were gonna use some weird combo of sub grades to change the 9.5 to a 10. Got extreme backlash and canceled it. The sub grades do really complicate things.

BGS are the best of a bad bunch

I totally get this and think it would be a great idea. I'm sure it wouldn't happen without a major revolution in the grading industry because every company developed their own scale, and now they're in too deep to go back. SGC made the biggest change a few years ago when they left behind their old 100-point scale and went to the 10 scale instead. I think that's why they now have the model grading scale, because they took the chance on reinventing themselves, and it paid off. I would love to see all companies have to follow the same scale, and I think SGC would be the best one to go with.

I'm not sure what you mean by the best "system", but they're grading scale is pretty good. They don't have a Mint+ grade, but the reality is that the hobby has essentially treated 9.5s with a 9 subgrade as Mint+ anyway for years. Would be good to see them relevant again

Yes, thanks for catching that mistake. It makes you wonder though...had PSA graded it would it have been a 10 since they don't have a 9.5 grade??? Lol

@brutusonbaseball my guess would it would have most likely. Especially if it was an older submission where they were lenient with the grade. With all the talk about population control now, if it was a recent submission, they probably give it a 9

Thanks Dennis, really appreciate the support and feedback!

Thanks for watching and commenting!

This is true, but I think it's also true for SGC. I've been told by them they don't keep any graders notes. The only combat to this is subgrades from BGS and CGC that help to tell the story.

@@brutusonbaseball TAG is the future

@@brutusonbaseball cgc got rid of subgrades even they switched scales

That's a great question, if they did change the grading scale then they would have to recalculate the weights they give to specific grades. The pristine would obviously be given a bump over Gem Mint, which they currently kind of do for gems anyway. For anyone hyper-competitive in the registry, it might drive them to seek out Pristines to have the best sets. The other curious thing is if they do end up combining both SGC & PSA in one set registry, then they'll have to figure out how to balance the grading scales anyway since they operate under different ones

@@brutusonbaseball thank you for responding with your thoughts. There's no way I would ever put together a mixed set of PSA and SGC. The holders aren't the same size and they look completely different. Also if you let it SGC cards sit in the sunlight for a little bit the labels turn black. I had four or five of them sitting on the front seat of my car at one point could be the heat could be the sunlight but the labels all turned black. Wonder if anybody ever told them about that. Historically I've gone to card shows for ungraded singles especially Commons and bought ungraded sets and unopened wax and vending boxes and an occasional moderately large collection. I then sent the raw cards into PSA and get graded. At one point I had a deal where I was getting $7-$9 a card to get them graded at PSA but that was under Joe Orlando. I just sent in 158 mostly hockey Commons from 1962 -1974 on the March special but at 15 bucks a card it's crazy and makes me want to give up and sell my stuff. I'm not rich so for me buying pristine and or PSA 10 examples is prohibitively expensive for me. Virtually all the cards I have including my PSA 10's, I sent in raw. I have a very good eye for grading and at one point even interviewed over at PSA headquarters in California for 3 days. I hadn't sent in a card since Joe Orlando retired. I had an order ready to go before covid then they stopped accepting submissions. They come out of the pandemic and nearly double their prices on the bulk. And also changed the membership levels and benefits. I'm also watching many a reveal video on KZfaq and I'm quite shocked by the inconsistency of the current PSA graders. If I get a really bad batch of cards back I'm probably going to hang it up and sell all my stuff. I'm a collector out of love for the hobby not a flipper. Sorry for the long winded response. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you stay in the hobby just for the love of it and don't let grading results sway you too much! The landscape has definitely changed over the last handful of years for sure, but there's still a lot of enjoyment to find in it if you stick to what you love

No, I'm not saying a 9 is a worthless card to a collector. What I am saying is that when someone submits 10 ultra modern Rookie cards and they get nine 10s and one 9 back, the 9 will be discarded, sold for less than the price to grade, or forgotten about. With ultra modern cards, the 9s just don't matter must anymore, unless you are a collector only. I don't want a 9.6,9.7 or 9.8. What I'm worried about is when 10s become so commonplace, what even makes them valuable at all anymore? I think we do agree on one thing though...a lot less modern cards should be graded than there are.

Thanks, I totally agree with you that people wanting a 10 has been one reason that PSA has been more popular as well. I just think we've gotten to a point that getting a 10 just doesn't mean much anymore. Of course people want a 10, but they should be prepared to get some 9's or 9.5's mixed in as well and know that that's actually good for the hobby!

PSA 10's are a joke, good luck getting PSA to admit it's not a "10" either. They guarantee but apparently they're never wrong either.

I'd counter that those same people would take a 9.5 over a 9 also.

Wouldn't be surprised if BGS purchased PSA and Charles Stabile was in charge of everything

Yeah, but buying SGC doesn't mean they don't do some things better. That's probably the main reason they're even interested in buying them. Here's what I see SGC does better for sure: 1) turnaround times - but that's easier when you deal with a much smaller volume 2) customer service - but that's easier with a smaller company culture and lower volumes 3) grading scale - that's just better with no reason

Are not listening? PSA did not purchase SGC. Collectors purchased SGC.

@@brutusonbaseball none of that matters. Only the resale value matters. 92-93 Upper Deck Shaq RC psa 10 is 2k and SGC 10 is 200 bucks

@RCAdome28 look again, a psa 10 goes for about 400 and sgc has been selling for 300-350

I agree that AI is bound to change the industry, and it could be quite soon if someone can figure out the technology

Thank you!

Thanks for that, you are so right! I'll see if I can correct, but I think the concept stands either way.

@@brutusonbaseball yep it does. Was my subtle way of putting one last dig at psa for not having that 9.5 grade. Lol

@@richardbianco9674 nicely done

I must say, thank you for disagreeing so respectfully!

@@brutusonbaseball I try to be respectful while voicing an opposing view. It is the only way to have a decent conversation.

SGC is definitely responding more positively in the hobby to the buyout than I had imagined

PSA hands out more 10s than anyone? That might just be because of pure numbers of cards graded by them compared to other companies. If you watch other KZfaqrs you will hear a very common theme that most think PSA grades tougher.....NOT EASIER. Through my experience I would say SGC grades easier than PSA. There are KZfaqrs that admit that SGC does and that SGC overlooks some surface issues and that is why they use SGC for certain cards or why they crack a PSA slab and submit to SGC. This goes with what I see on the market as well. Love them or hate them PSA is going nowhere.

@@matthewgreeley3099 well , I live in Canada and there us no doubt that MNT are a lot tougher than PSA. There's no comparison, they're not even close.

@@johngawrylash7732 you may be right....and there is a reason why I've never heard of them. I've heard of KSA that looks like they over grade but sorry, never heard of MNT. I had to look up their slab because I have never seen one.

These are good questions, I do think that PSA will be seen differently a decade from now with all these ultra modern 10s of they don't make any changes. That's kind of the main point of the video

Correct, will have to try and fix that mistake

A BGS 9.5 Mantle 52 Topps is the card to look for

Lol

Bring back the 15 free grading vouchers and cheaper grading fees.

Probably not...but I do think they need to change with the times at some point.

I've heard this quite a bit, especially from guys like NEO, but I just don't buy it anymore. This argument made sense in the beginning when BGS took 9.5 as their Gem and SGC was using that 1-100 grading scale where 98 was Gem for whatever reason. But with ultra modern, this argument just doesn't make sense anymore. Having 9 and 10 only doesn't provide enough variety to characterize the differences, especially since 80-90% are coming out Gem 10s. They took on half grades about 15 years ago, but just not the 9.5. Adding that is really not much different...and I don't think I've heard anyone say before the gold labels are confusing.

They need to introduce subgrades and hire more competent graders in order to compete with BGS. Sacking Nat Turner and bringing back Joe Orlando may help things

The "simple minded" are about to drive me out of the hobby. Would you feel safer putting 100K into a card or a coin on graded on a 70 point scale with companies that haven't been associated with pop controls, alterations and favorable grading?

​@@brutusonbaseballNEO is a PSA shill

Yes, will have to wait and see how it all plays out

This is probably the best "opposition" argument that I've heard!

That's an interesting take...if you've been around the hobby long enough you would know that BGS used to be king for modern cards. You don't hear that anymore, and it wasn't their choice. Even the biggest have to change with the times or risk becoming irrelevant.

I can't quite tell how serious this comment is, but I actually do think it's a very valid point. Grading has been around for 30+ years, there's been a lot of inconsistency, and there hasn't really been a lot of advancement in how it's done. I've seen a lot of Gem Mint cards that have very obvious flaws. If it's all done by AI, there might be a lot of very unhappy people...

@@brutusonbaseball Totally serious bro. Unlike the current grading companies, the future AI will give you a transparency report showing in exact detail why it marked the card a "99" versus a "98.5" with laser precision. Why are people cracking cases and crossing over?? Answer: Because grading companies are playing fast & loose with 9's and 10's.... Experienced dealers even can't tell the difference. Imo.

So much truth!

@@brutusonbaseball Definitely a soft spot in the grading industry. PSA+SGC merger is just the beginning of an industry transformation.

Haha, wouldn't it? I think if everyone takes a step back from their preferences they would realize PSA is #1 because of size, longevity and set registry. Almost everything else is done better by a different grading company. Consistency, turnaround times, price, slabs, label, grading scale....I'd take the "other" category on all of those.

The funny thing is sgc was working on a set registry so that might not have been an advantage much longer either

@richardbianco9674 I've been skeptical, they've been saying it's in the works for at least five years since the old one was shut down with the new website. I always wondered if they would ever finish

@brutusonbaseball true, I just know when they released the app, that was the next priority.