Why BGS pop higher than PSA?

[HKBred]

Just curious, why is the pop count for BGS so much higher than PSA for hockey cards? Do hockey collectors prefer BGS slabs?

[k13]

Every sport preferred BGS for modern till the last few years. Especially bowman 1st autos.

[Paderborn1907]

Originally Posted by k13

Every sport preferred BGS for modern till the last few years. Especially bowman 1st autos.

Indeed even when McDavid Young Guns hit the market the consensus was still modern cards to BGS and Vintage to PSA.

That has changed since the market decided that the exact same card is worth more as PSA 10 over a BGS 9.5.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by Paderborn1907

Indeed even when McDavid Young Guns hit the market the consensus was still modern cards to BGS and Vintage to PSA.

That has changed since the market decided that the exact same card is worth more as PSA 10 over a BGS 9.5.

The exact same grade, Gem Mint, should all sell similarly from the big 4, BGS, PSA, SGC AND CSG, but influencers are ruling the day and PSA has far more big dollar cards in PSA slabs. It does not make sense, but that is how it is.

[kingb22]

Originally Posted by Paderborn1907

Indeed even when McDavid Young Guns hit the market the consensus was still modern cards to BGS and Vintage to PSA.

That has changed since the market decided that the exact same card is worth more as PSA 10 over a BGS 9.5.

It's not even close on PSA 10 vs BGS 9.5 - Auston Matthews for example is $1550-1800 in PSA 10 vs $1000-1100 in BGS 9.5. There's probably a strong case to cross grade your BGS 9.5 INTO a PSA 10. I can't imagine BGS doing it, but they really need to move BGS 9.5 up to a 10, and then only have "black label" as their "special" 10. [They also desperately need to fix their submission system - PSA is light years better]

[ewilkens]

Also with epack and comc it was very easy to grade with BGS. You could transfer your YGs directly to COMC and submit for BGS grading through them. You never even had to touch the cards. I did that a lot starting in 2015-16 until they discontinued that option.

[k13]

All the shops in Canada would send to BGS also.

[TawkCards]

Didn't COMC used to have deal with BGS where you could send cards in for grading?

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by TawkCards

Didn't COMC used to have deal with BGS where you could send cards in for grading?

Yes, and it was mentioned two posts ago. They did that for years, and stopped when the backlog at BGS ballooned from weeks to 18 months in rapid fashion.

[HKBred]

Ah..makes sense

[Giroux]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

Yes, and it was mentioned two posts ago. They did that for years, and stopped when the backlog at BGS ballooned from weeks to 18 months in rapid fashion.

Interesting. Wonder if they have plans to bring that back at all? Would certainly make me more likely to sub to BGS.

[NotGoSportsBall]

It was so easy. I subbed dozens of cards I otherwise wouldn’t have. Ah the good old days.

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by Giroux

Interesting. Wonder if they have plans to bring that back at all? Would certainly make me more likely to sub to BGS.

BGS would have to clear their backlog before COMC would do it again. They were looking to do one with PSA before PSA got clogged and then 5x'd their prices. I also think PSA had an issue with keeping all the cards in order.

COMC has to make sure that if 30 Young Gun base cards are submitted at the same time, that there is internal tracking they can trust about which cards came from and were returned to the same accounts.

[glorbgorb]

Originally Posted by The_Reverend

The exact same grade, Gem Mint, should all sell similarly from the big 4, BGS, PSA, SGC AND CSG, but influencers are ruling the day and PSA has far more big dollar cards in PSA slabs. It does not make sense, but that is how it is.

This is part of the reason why I'm surprised grading is even a thing. If you can crack open a slab and send it to another for a higher grade, then the whole system is broken. Don't even bring up the altered or fake cards that are slabbed...

And IS there a Big 4? I always thought it was Big 2 (PSA and BGS), then a secondary group, and a tertiary one way back with all the new people grading in their basements.

[NotGoSportsBall]

SGC and CSG aren’t anywhere close to PSA and BGS lol. What???

[glorbgorb]

Originally Posted by NotGoSportsBall

SGC and CSG aren’t anywhere close to PSA and BGS lol. What???

I sort of kept track of the many grading companies that popped up. Here's what I would say:

Top tier:
PSA
BGS

Second tier:
HGA (only because of their custom labels)
KSA
MNT (bigger in Canada, especially hockey)
SGC (more well-known in vintage sports, particularly baseball)
CGC (used to grade only gaming cards, but now do Marvel as well)

Third tier:
Overtime Grading
GCG (Great Canadian Grading)
ISA
FCG (Forensic Card Grading)
CSG (Certified Sports Guaranty)
All-Star Grading
EMC Grading (Encapsulated Memories Company)
CGA (Card Grading Australia)
RCG
CG (Collector's Grade)
Pure Graded X
ECA (East Coast Authenticated)
Electric Grading (sometimes uses custom labels with images of the character, so, you know, probably violating trademarks)
DGA
UCZ
GS.C (GradedSports.Cards)


(I'm pretty sure some of these are just people who bought blank slabs and 'grade' from their basement...)

[NotGoSportsBall]

I would bump down HGA, MNT and CGC. COMC won’t even accept them.

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by NotGoSportsBall

I would bump down HGA, MNT and CGC. COMC won’t even accept them.

COMC currently accepts HGA and CGC, although their submission page isn't updated to reflect that.


Here is the list of companies (number of unique listings):
PSA (97,318)
BGS (26,438)
SGC (13,186)
CSG (9,586)
BVG (3,000)
HGA (1,825)
BCCG (1,799)
Other (1,098)
CGC Gaming (642)
KSA (538)
GAI (93)
CGC (20)

I would bet FCG will be the next one to be listed.

[Triple B]

Originally Posted by HKBred

Just curious, why is the pop count for BGS so much higher than PSA for hockey cards? Do hockey collectors prefer BGS slabs?

Canadians has historically had easier access to BGS than they did PSA (via the Expo and Grosnor). Now that has changed with PSA Canada going all out. I'm almost exclusively sending my cards to PSA through them.

[odjickfan]

Originally Posted by Triple B

Canadians has historically had easier access to BGS than they did PSA (via the Expo and Grosnor). Now that has changed with PSA Canada going all out. I'm almost exclusively sending my cards to PSA through them.

I never heard about PSA Canada before. Is it new? What it is exactly?

[valleynuckfan]

Originally Posted by odjickfan

I never heard about PSA Canada before. Is it new? What it is exactly?

Len Pottie of Platinum Promotions started this by taking submissions shipped to Halifax. Now it has grown into a full time operation.


https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=07a54...YS8xOTgw&ntb=1

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=641fe...yNDMwNi8&ntb=1

[odjickfan]

Originally Posted by valleynuckfan

Len Pottie of Platinum Promotions started this by taking submissions shipped to Halifax. Now it has grown into a full time operation.


https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=07a54...YS8xOTgw&ntb=1

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=641fe...yNDMwNi8&ntb=1

Thank you for the info. PSA is a leader in the grading market, it's awesome to know they have an office in Halifax. If I decide to go ahead with some grading, I'll contact them to have more infos about their process.