I've been pretty supportive of SGC over the years, even used their card grading services for a lot of cards in my own personal collection.
However, another recent discovery of a trimmed card in an SGC holder has me somewhat concerned.
Here's the deal: a Blowout Forums user (who else?) discovered that an SGC 6 1936 Goudey World Gum Joe Dimaggio card was trimmed, resubmitted to SGC and ultimately rewarded with a new SGC 8.5 grade.
Check out the comparison from user CornDog below.
PSA's card grading prices have been quite volatile thoughout the past several years.
To offset an onslaught in demand during the midst of the pandemic, PSA shut down all card grading services at its most affordable price points
The acquisition of Collector's Universe (the parent of PSA) has brought about a multitude of operational changes to improve PSA's grading service.
Still, that hasn't stopped collectors from thinking PSA (aka Professional Sports Authenticator) is the devil of the industry, controlling the fortunes of the hobby, and squeezing every last dime from grading fees.
It's been a little while since eBay announced the first steps to help alleviate the wrath of counterfeit cards sold on its platform.
I thought it would be a good time to update collectors on some of the feeback from the program, while helping to provide more clarity on the details.
First things first, let's take a step back to discuss the details of eBay's Authenticty Gurantee for sports cards.
In a previous article, I covered the world of fractional card investing.
Much of the piece centered around the biggest player in the space, Collectable.
Following the article, we heard from Ezra Levine, the CEO of Collectable.
We spoke at length about Collectable and the future of the industry.
As follows is our interview with Ezra Levine. I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve always viewed sports cards as an alternative asset. Vintage sports cards are equivalents to your other stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.
Some view baseball cards as pieces of cardboard. But once you dig into the supply/demand dynamics, it is clear why sports cards should be considered investments.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been in this first as a collector. I agree that the popularity of breakers and flippers gives rise to a bubble-like, greed-infested hobby.
But I also think it’s fine to be both a collector (in it for the love of the hobby) and an investor at the same time.
Yet, with many vintage sports cards out of budget for most collectors, a new stock market-like dynamic has evolved.
Fractional sports card ownership allows a collector to buy a small piece of a high-priced card at whatever amount they desire.
In this piece, we will dive into the details of this burgeoning new market.
PSA recently announced that its Standard grading service would reopen to collectors, at a new price point of $100 per card.
Recall that PSA shut down everything aside from its premium grading services in early 2021. They have not been able to keep up with the steep increase in grading demand.
The latest changes come amidst many changes at PSA.
Starting with the acquisition of its parent Collectors Universe, followed by the departure of CEO Joe Orlando and replacement by Nat Turner.
I’ve had a few weeks to digest the acquisition of Topps by Fanatics and wanted to provide a few comments.
First, let’s just say that the deal comes as absolutely no surprise.
I wrote about the possibility back when Fanatics had acquired the MLB licensing rights.
Fanatics pulled the rug right from under Topps and stole the one thing that keeps the heartbeat alive for the company – it’s licenses.
So, I would imagine, that Fanatics could pick up Topps for pennies on the dollar, and get access to all its brands, designs and trademarks. Plus, Fanatics needs that MLB license that Topps holds through the end of 2025 in order to make cards with team names and logos from 2023 to 2025.
Thus, yes, a Fanatics takeover of Topps would make a lot of sense.
However, I also noted that pride might keep Topps from selling out to Fanatics, and it seemed as if Fanatics might want to blaze their own branding trail.
Yet, the deal, honestly just made way too much sense for Fanatics.
We’ve written extensively about sports card grading and many of the controversies that have surrounded the space.
With the explosion in demand for card grading, collectors have faced long wait times and higher prices.
I felt like it was a good time to get a pulse of the collector community to get opinions on the best grading companies.
Let’s face it, a lot has changed, and new competitors have come into the market.
In what follows, I provide the results of our 2021 Sports Grading Collectors survey while also providing some of my experiences with the different grading companies.
In what came as a shock to many, MLB and the MLBPA (MLB Players Association) signed a new exclusive deal with sports memorabilia company Fanatics, effectively ending the near 70-year dynasty for Topps.
The immediate reaction from collectors?
Surprise, confusion, and outrage.
Keith Olbermann, not afraid to speak his mind, said the deal orchestrated by the ‘Butcher Of Baseball’ (aka Rob Manfred, head of MLBPA) will lead to ‘ Shit Propagandist Cards’ due to MLB’s involvement as an equity partner in the deal.
While Topps won’t win any awards for the junk-era designs and overproduction during the ’80s, the brand represents a certain nostalgia for many in the hobby that crosses generations.
And the fear is that Fanatics will flip the industry upside down, leaving the hobby in a state of disarray.
I’ve had a few days to digest this and had a lot of questions from collectors. Here’s a summary of my thoughts and answers to some of the biggest uncertainties regarding the deal.
eBay today announced that it would be restricting PWCC from selling on its marketplace due to allegations of ‘shill bidding’.
For those not familiar with the term, shill bidding occurs when fake buyers submit bids on items in order to intentionally drive increased activity to a listing.
The full statement from eBay:
As one of the world’s largest marketplaces, eBay has policies in place to protect our buyers and sellers. eBay was founded on trust, and we work every day to ensure a fair and positive experience for the entire eBay community.
Recently, it was determined that individuals associated with a trading card seller, PWCC, have engaged in “shill bidding,” which is prohibited on eBay. As a result, eBay has restricted PWCC’s selling privileges and listings, effective today. eBay’s policies and standards were designed to ensure a trusted marketplace where our community can transact with confidence. If we determine that a buyer or seller is not acting in good faith, eBay takes this seriously and takes action. Our customer service team will work directly with anyone who has a question about a recent PWCC transaction.
eBay is the destination for buying and selling trading cards – built over 25 years with our passionate community of collectors and sellers, as partners, on that journey. Trust is the cornerstone of eBay, which is why we felt it was important to share this information with our community. We assure you that eBay will continue to take actions to deliver on our commitment.
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