A few days ago I wrote an article featuring questions I would love to ask PSA / SGC / Beckett grading president Ryan Hoge. As an SGC collector, I’m curious to learn the true future plans Collectors has for the SGC brand. What is the focus of SGC going forward? Will SGC be provided with the necessary resources to scale back up and thrive? It’s one thing to say that there is no intent to run SGC into the ground. But seeing is believing, and so far, the optics are terrible.
So there’s no time to waste for us SGC folks. That’s why I went ahead and drafted my own unsolicited 10 step plan for an SGC revival. Let’s get to work! These are not necessarily “in order”–all are ASAP requirements if SGC is to survive 2026.
Think you have any better ideas? Drop them in the chat!
First Steps: Brand (re)Focus
If the aim is to position SGC as some sort of smaller-scale “boutique” grader, then SGC needs an explicit focus. This part seems so easy and obvious, and I’m surprised it was not a day-1 announcement after the acquisition.
- An immediate public shift towards vintage, or at least sports. Cease TCG entirely. It has always been a square peg in a round hole for SGC.
- Preferably: go all in on vintage and prewar. 1980 and earlier? Do it.
- Revise the web site and social media approach–maybe a complete visual overhaul. Currently, SGC’s home page is still obsessed with images of shiny modern cards like these, which is a mistake:
Next Steps: Transparency
The SGC brand used to have transparency (or at least the appearance of transparency) as a hallmark. Now it’s a mix of invisibility and, frankly, double-speak. How can you say you’re trying to “grow” SGC when we know that the SGC workforce has been absolutely slashed?
Don’t tell us SGC is slow because vintage cards take longer to grade. They are slow because they have few graders left. Without trust, you have nothing in this business–trust is the product. A few crucial moves towards transparency include:
- Be honest about turnaround times–revise it on the site. Let’s see a real-time turnaround time estimator. Transparency used to be a hallmark of the brand–get back to that.
- And do away with this “your clock doesn’t start until we open your package but we might not open your package for 2 weeks” garbage. Day 1 is the day you receive the card. That’s just how time works.
- SGC needs a public face other than Hoge–someone who can communicate with customers from an SGC-specific perspective. Maybe a lead grader?
(Re)Building Relationships
- Speaking of graders, did SGC get to keep its experienced vintage and prewar graders? Or maybe recruited some new ones? Let’s meet them. Let’s put some names and faces to the grades, to restore some faith in the brand. SGC needs a story.
- When scale allows, bring back bulk sub discounts for your bulk submitters–or at least, some vintage / prewar specials. The SGC faithful deserve it and it would be a great way to roll out the soft rebrand.
Innovation
It’s past time to innovate. Everything about the brand is a bit stale, frankly. This needs to be addressed on at least 2 fronts:
- Technology / back end. The app is glitchy and pretty sparse. The pop report is riddled with errors and double-listed sets. There’s obviously still no registry, no vault, no marketplace. These will all be standard practice very soon, and necessary for revival.
- Slab. The slab / label tech are outdated. Obviously, keep the “tux” and the form factor. But give us some security enhancements, more tamper resistance, some UV, and more. A boutique product should be premium–and some of the most valuable vintage cards in the world are in SGC plastic. Go archival / museum grade, and market the hell out of it.
Collectors / PSA has the best tech–deploy it across the SGC brand.
Price Point
Hoge has mentioned that SGC’s calling cards were vintage, speed, and price. That need not be the case going forward.
- In my plan, I don’t think SGC needs to compete on price–or not on price alone. You don’t bargain shop at a “boutique.” Vintage and prewar submitters will pay for good, smart, trusted service delivered in a timely manner at very high quality. It’s not a downscale brand. Many of the enhancements above will provide excellent ROI and give SGC the margins it needs to stay smaller-yet-viable.
- Above all: if there’s a real plan, let’s see it laid out in a clear, transparent, cohesive way, across the entire brand. Time is of the essence!
The future of SGC hinges on a plan; transparency; and of course, execution. The longer Collectors waits to reposition the SGC brand, the lower the chance of a successful rebirth.
