SGC recently spoke to the tremendous growth in non-sports sets registered so I thought it would be interesting to look at a comparison of PSA vs SGC. In
presenting this for full disclosure I am a PSA collector but Dave Forman is a personal friend and I think having competition is a good thing.

Overall, there is really no comparison. PSA has roughly 8 times as many non-sports sets registered. However looking more closely at the breakdown yields some interesting comparisons. For pre-1900 sets, 1900-1919 sets and 1920s sets the numbers are virtually identical. In the 1930s however the isparity appears and grows as sets become more modern. In the 1930ss it is roughly 3.5 to one PSA, in the 1940s 5 to 1, in the 1950s 15 to 1, 1960s 27 to 1 and post 1960s 33 to 1.

For older cards(1920s and before) the two grading services are equally popular as defined by numbers of graded sets. However beginning as soon as the 1930s there is a big advantage with PSA that grows as sets become more recent.

As collectors or dealers look to sell cards or look to grade cards, they should take into account the popularity of the two grading services by era as there will be far greater interest in buying PSA cards 1930 and beyond(which should yield higher prices)but relatively equal interest and prices prior to this.

PSA SGC

Pre 1900 169 173
1900-1919 86 86
1920s 30 31
1930s 355 101
1940s 161 34
1950s 793 51
1960s 1135 42
Post-1960s 826 25

Total 3566 452

Jim

That is very interesting. Thanks!

Thanks Jim,
Best guess, how does this compare to baseball? Similar distribution?

Jim,

My guess would be yes--huge advantage for PSA 1930 on but more competitive the further back you go. I would think that PSA would have an advantage in early baseball but it would only be a moderate one.

for REGISTERED sets in the PSA registry. A number of people, Marty included, have made that point that many tens of thousands of cards from both companies aren't or may never become registered within a set but may have a very high grade.

It would be interesting to have had those numbers before SGC started their grading 'special' to see if there really was any appreciable increase in the # of registered sets.

Thanks for the info Jim...............

Hello to All ,

Surely the cards go into the population report (after grading) regardless of whether a set is registered or not .

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Mark

the only data to go by is the registry. nobody knows what psa or sgc have been grading. i would assume sgc nonsports subs did go up, but may not be seen only because you have to register those cards towards a set. i have some psa sets that would become #1 or the only one. i have not decdided to put them up, therefore the registry set #'s have some slippage. unless psa and sgc make public ther breakdown of subs either monthly or quarterly all #'s are a guess. the overall is still psa (more) thank sgc at this time. i make this assumtion only because the #'s jim show are heavy in psa's favor.


Surely the cards go into the population report (after grading) regardless of whether a set is registered or not

mark makes a good point, but no crossover or people braking out cards from holders are known. again all #'s will always be a guess. for instance, i have broken hundreds out of holders, makes the pop report #'s a guess also.

Marty
In other words, the population report only contains cards from registered sets and is not an archive of all graded cards

Hello to All ,

Hi ,

I assume the PSA population report contains every card that PSA has graded , be it in a ' registered ' set or not .
I've just had some r36's graded , theres no r36 set registered with PSA but the cards are in the population report .

As Marty quite rightly states , the figures in the pop report might not be accurate due to ' break outs ' etc ...

----
Mark

hi jim, not sure where your going?
Marty
In other words, the population report only contains cards from registered sets and is not an archive of all graded cards

yes the pop is all that gets submitted, but it does not get updated when people cross or break out, how is psa supposed to know the # of these cards that are crossed or poped out. making the pop #'s not 100% accurate. psa does ask that if you do cross or break out that you send them the flip that is contained in the holder with the cert # so they can make an adjustment. but i would bet many many people do not do this. hope this answered your ? a little better.

Got it. Thanks

A clarification. Certainly the cards cracked out and resubmitted will be double counted. But I believe the major grading companies send the flips from crossovers to each other as a courtesy.

what psa has accomplished with the invention of the registry has changed the way people collect and the industry. it has single handedly made oldtime collectors, dealers, new dealers, new collectors, and investors the opportunity to become wealthy if they have the tough cards. lets not forget ebays contribution here. ebay and the hobby (along with the registry) have worked in tandem to attract so many people back to this hobby. i am one of those people. the abililty to buy older material (having it authenticated by a 3rd party) or new stuff in high grade, low pop, has been phenominal.

the psa registry is a wealth of information when deciding to start a new set.

the only thing i can say is SGC's registry is not a pinto. they have a fantastic registry as well. i have seen alot of psa guys adding sets to sgc's site. just look at the T206's, quite a few big psa hitters there now.
look at randyl stuckemeyers collections. so yes, psa hands down is dominant, but for every set sgc adds its one less submission to psa.

eric said-But I believe the major grading companies send the flips from crossovers to each other as a courtesy.

can anyone verify this?? is this true eric? where did you see or hear that. it would be great if this does happen ( grading co.'s helping each other out. i did not know that they did this? eric also makes a good point about double and triple submissions. another factor that skews the #'s. at any rate it is still somewhat a helpful tool with many people. at least it gives you an idea.(the pop report).

In my last SGC to PSA crossover submission, s pouch with all the flips were included. I always make this request in writing on the submission forms in order to keep the pops as accurate as possible. I heard the same rumors about professional courtesy between grading companies but not sure this is entirely true. In some orders, the flips were not returned and cards still listed by both companies. What a great business idea...someone should develop a registry that enables mixed slabs and dare I say raw cards too!

I'm working on it....

the best idea i have heard is by eric b.- develope a regstry for "any" graded card to be inputed into your set. sgc,psa,bvg, etc etc, yes i know some 3rd party grading co's carry more waeight than others, i think most would be able to determine if a set has more value with for example heavy in psa sgc cards as compared to heavy with pro and gai cards. somebody will do this. just a matter of time. or maybe legally it cant be done?? dont know if infringement will come into play with a regstry like this. i for one would love to see it.

I wish I was young and getting married again...I could tell all wedding guests that I was registered at SGC and PSA and have them buy gifts accordingly

Too much Chuck.
I wish I was young and getting married again without a registry.

yes just too funny!! if you dont collect graded or even care why would a registry bother you?

Very true Marty. If I was young again and just getting married, I'm sure a wouldn't even be writing this.

But seriously, Todd should offer us a link again and some info on his website. The years are passing by.

Really seriously, Todd should finish my website, the years are passing by.

I think the whole cutoff of 1930 is interesting. I think most graded card collectors would think that SGC would be very competitive in pre-war but not post-war. Turns out the cutoff is earlier than that.

It would be interesting to see if baseball is different and when I have a couple of hours I will do it.

Competition is good except when you see that one card you need to complete a set in psa 8 or better and its an sgc 88 and you have to buy it break it out send it in and watch it come back as a PSA 7. Thats when I wish there was only one option.

Jim

1930 is a natural cutoff date for cards though. E, N and T cards before 1930 and R cards after 1930. So it makes sense irrespective of the 2nd world war. "Prewar" doesn't carry the same connotation in non-sports as it does in baseball.
It seems like vintage guys consider themselves tobacco collectors or 30's collectors instead of prewar.

Interesting point Jim--I did not know that.

jim, why crack the card out. psa knows who you are and if you send it an sgc holder they should treat it fairly and if it deserves to be crossed it will.

Haul around your graded cards in a wheelbarrow.

I will keep my raw cards in binders.

Just as good, if not better.

I think the rivalry between SGC and PSA is so great that the best chance of maximizing your grade is to break it out of the others holder.

Its a process I don't like.

"the rivalry between SGC and PSA is so great that the best chance of maximizing your grade is to break it out of the others holder."

I am astonished that a veteran collector of graded cards would make such a statement. It makes no difference whether a crossover is pre-cracked or not. The grader doesn't know or care who owns the card in front of him, or whether the card has been graded by someone else in the past. And even if he does, he's not going to compromise the grading standards set by his company just to stick it to the other company. To suggest otherwise is just an unflattering mixture of paranoia and sour grapes- and vaguely insulting to both PSA and SGC.

You can not accurately grade a card when it is slabbed, specifically the edges and thickness. You can not check if a card has been pressed out (Thickness checked with micrometer) and then micro-trimmed. This is just one example.

Because of this both SGC & PSA prefer to err on the side of caution when crossing over slabbed cards. If they remove it from the holder & then find a problem, they are stuck.

IMHO just simple prudence and not sour grapes of any kind.