SGC Grading has been around since 2005, but only recently have they become a very serious threat to PSA and Beckett Grading Services in the top tier of sports card grading companies.
Over the past year, I have sent about 15 cards to SGC grading, and I bought several other SGC slabs from other people. I have become a fan, as you can tell from the title of this post, and from the fact that I sent 15 cards that I love to them!
So this blog post is meant to help you decide if you should send cards that you love to SGC grading!
13 Reasons To Use SGC Grading
This baker’s dozen set of reasons is not every reason, and I’m sure there are a few you can think of that I missed. Feel free to leave me some comments below with reasons why you like — or dislike — SGC grading.
1. SGC’s Turnaround Times Rock: Get your cards back within a month! In a hurry to sell your slab? Get their new 10-day or even 5-day turnaround service.
2. Great Pricing: With their standard service, they’ll grade your slabs for $30 each. While that sounds more expensive than CSG and HGA, it is still cheaper than PSA and Beckett. And the 25-day standard service turnaround time makes it an even better deal.
3. It’s Tuxedo Time — Black Slabs Are Beautiful: They really accentuate the beauty of the card, and it’s tough to imagine someone beating them on aesthetics alone.
4. Autograph Grades Don’t Cost You Extra: If you pull/buy an awesome autographed card, you can send to another company for the cost of grading the slab, and an additional cost for grading the autograph. Or you can send to SGC, where they’ll grade the autograph for free.
5. BIG Numbers For the Grades: If you get a 10 on a card, you really want to show that off — and no one does that better than SGC’s slabs.
6. SGC Gives “Authentic” Grades: I had a 1956 Topps Jackie Robinson card get rejected from PSA because it “did not meet the minimum size requirement.” So I sent it in to SGC and I checked the box that said if the card was authentic, to encapsulate it as such, even if it didn’t deserve a grade. I’m just glad “Authentic” starts with “A,” and that they didn’t use the term “Factual” and its “F” abbreviation!
7. Tons of Experience With Vintage Cards: SGC has made their bones on grading vintage cards, which makes them experts. And the big number grades look great on vintage cards, too.
8. Faster Turnarounds Mean Faster Profits: If you are working on flipping cards, you can send in cards to SGC grading for a one-month turnaround and get it back quickly so you can sell it fast.
9. SGC Grading Has Flat Fees: Rather than charge you compared to how valuable your card is, SGC’s fees are based on how fast you want them back. So they charge a flat fee!
10. SGC Gold Label Pristine 10s: Their super 10 grades represent a virtually flawless card! They’re tough to come by, but when you get one, it’s time to dance!
11. Slab Uniformity is Overrated: Consider that your slabs already have different players on different teams in different jerseys from different sports — so why would a different slab make any difference? My card display has a few different grading company slabs and it looks awesome.
12. You Might Get a 9.5 Grade Instead of a 9: Unlike PSA, which has half-grades up to 9.0, SGC has half-grades up to 10. So you can plausibly take a card that would get a PSA 9 and get an SGC 9.5 instead.
13. SGC is the Most Transparent Grading Company Around: If you follow SGC’s social channels, you’ll likely notice CEO Peter Steinberg doing videos pretty regularly. This isn’t because he’s a camera-hog — it’s because he’s the face of the company, and he makes sure his customers (and prospective customers) are aware of any issues they might have. That includes possible delays in grading, possible price hikes and finding out they graded counterfeit cards. SGC controls the narrative because they are first to air.
I still plan to submit cards to PSA, CSG and HGA, but you better believe I’ll be sending more to SGC grading, too. I like the mix of slabs in my display. My vintage cards look awesome in SGC slabs, and I’ve even sent some new cards to them for both quick turnarounds and to have others for my personal collection.
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