It’s a question that floods vintage forums everywhere: “Who should I use to grade my vintage cards? PSA or SGC?”
If you are a seasoned collector you probably have a preference. But you also know that there’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer.
Will CGC grow market share? Will Beckett rise to prominence again? Who knows! But for now, grading vintage is a 2-horse race. Each has its pros and cons, and this chart might help you understand the reasons a collector might choose one company over the other.
PSA | SGC | |
Price Point | Varies depending in tier and submission size, but generally a few bucks more per card than SGC for most cards.
Currently $19.99 for bulk. |
Current fee is $15 per card, no limit. |
Upcharges | PSA upcharges the grading fee based on the graded value of the card. | SGC also upcharges but is more lenient on value it seems. |
Value | PSA used to fetch a lot more value than SGC. That gap is now much more narrow but PSA still leads here overall. PSA will carry a premium for popular set registry cards. | SGC competes well for value for most vintage cards, and many of the highest value cards are in SGC slabs. Lack of registry hurts value somewhat. |
Grade Quality | PSA and SGC are very similar in terms of current vintage grading standards. You see more questionable grades in PSA slabs, but this is probably because of the sheer volume.
PSA uses “Qualifiers” to describe cards that are marked, miscut, etc. |
SGC is known as “tough on centering,” but PSA and SGC grade quality for vintage is very similar.
SGC does not use qualifiers, opting for a lower grade that reflects the defect. |
Slab Quality | PSA announced many enhancements in 2024, including UV protection, better plastic, and more security features. Very difficult to forge. | SGC features a basic slab with black insert. They do not explicitly pitch UV or slab security, and their cases are easier to tamper with. |
Specialty | Set registry and overall market share. PSA leads in volume in every category except perhaps Prewar. | SGC specializes in Prewar era cards and is likely the market share leader in this category. |
Turnaround Time | PSA faced a tremendous backlog during COVID and is still known as slower overall. | SGC most often meets its stated turnaround time of about 10 business days for standard cards. |
Aesthetics | The red label looks a bit like a Walgreens prescription bottle–a bit clinical and cold. But the crystal clear plastic and holo labels are slick. | Some people prefer the “tux” look for vintage. It’s a squared-off, somewhat timeless look that you either love or hate. |
App and web site | PSA has the edge with a better app, pop report, sales data, and the popular set registry. | SGC finally rolled out a basic functional app with nice scans of your graded cards, but they really need a registry or additional app features to compete on tech. |
When deciding what service to use, if I have a card with a (mk) on the rear, but the overall grade would have been ex/mt – if that mark is minor, I would use PSA who would grade the card as ex/mt (mk) rather than SCG would simply rate the card vg/ex+ …. My 2 biggest problems with any grading company is if I have a 1932 Ruth US Caramel (a personal favorite) which has a killer front (EX/MT but the back has paper loss – its gets a grade of Poor /1 … The same grade that a card would get with multiple creases and lots of corner wear. Same grade – which card would you want? I think grading companies need to expand the lower grades so cards graded poor have graded distinctions from each other (GENERALLY THIS APPLIES TO PRE-WAR) … maybe poor/1.. fair/2 .. Good/3 .. eye appeal and centering should have more grading impact – yes that makes it more the graders opinion BUT even now grading is all over the place .. Do we need 5 grades with the word mint in it (6-10) … with pre-war there are SO many more low grade cards, some that have pretty nice eye appeal other that look as if they were used for toilet paper – use your own eye appeal but its frustrating buying a card with great eye appeal and stare at a Poor or fair grade
Yes, at low grades the difference between “technical grade” and “eye appeal” can be pretty staggering!