By Adam McFarland Back in April I wrote about how amazing it was that earlier that month Beckett had graded its first BGS 10 1986-1987 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie Card. I also commented on how Beckett ripped PSA and asserted themselves as the top grading company. The article on Beckett.com stated that: The owner delivered the previously PSA 10 graded card to BGS and requested that the card be "crossed over." The owner's aim with crossing this card over was to increase the recognized value of the card on the secondary market by having the recognized leader in the grading industry slab or encase the Jordan rookie card. BGS has been recognized by consumers for the last six years in a row as the industry's top grading company. I found the whole thing a little low brow, but nonetheless assumed that the Jordan card was still a worthwhile piece of news. That was, until I was contacted by longtime collector Bill from Hobart, IN. Bill and I exchanged several emails and I was absolutely in awe of his knowledge and passion for a hobby that he has been involved in for an astounding 56 years. I had originally planned on using Bill's emails to formulate an argument against BGS, but after reading through the emails a few more times, I realized that Bill tells the story better than I ever could (he's been a collector nearly twice as long as I've been alive). Below is a compilation of quotes from our email exchange. |
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To - Adam McFarland - I am new to your web site and have been researching this subject about BGS 10 Jordan Rookie. I personally talked with PSA at Sportsfest in Chicago on 6-11-06. I was hoping to talk with the President of PSA Joe Orlando but he did not make this trip this time. Anyway I talked with Carol Bennett who is a Manager and a friend as I have been a member with PSA for 10 years now.
Yes, I agree it was a slap in the face at PSA and I think this is a bunch of hog wash. Beckett never says about how many PSA Mint 9 Jordan Rookies make it into their BGS Gem Mint 9.5 holders and to my knowledge there have been at least 3. As a matter of fact the very fist one ever graded by Beckett was a PSA mint 9 turned in at the Anaheim National in 2000 (July) and that card came back a BGS 9.5 and the owners were Pristine Cards out of New Jersey. I saw and held this same card a month later at Sportsfest in Chicago and believe me it was not a Gem Mint card and PSA graded it correctly. So this is why I say hog wash to Beckett and their BGS 10 Jordan Rookie.
And don't believe about consumers choice of grading services - That choice of grading services comes from a select few hobby shop owners and not the general collectors and hobbyist. Just go to the hobby shows and look down on the dealer tables and you see that 90% of the graded cards on their tables are PSA graded with the rest being graded in order by SGC, GAI ,then Beckett. And I'm talking about the largest dealers in the USA who have hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in PSA graded cards and this has been the case for the last 10 years. So don't be fooled by what Beckett says as far as grading services.
And getting back to me talking with PSA about the BGS 10 Jordan, I did ask Carol to have Joe Orlando look at the article in Beckett Basketball Price Guide about what Mr. Anderson had to say about the card and about PSA. I sure hope Joe responds to this slap in the face of PSA, but personally knowing Joe for 7 years now he has too much class and dignity to lower himself and PSA to make any comments. He probably will just shake his head from side to side and say Mr. Anderson is entitled to his opinion. And it’s a wrong opinion.
I didn't know that Mark Anderson was anointed by the hobby as the all know it all of grading and his word was god. As you can see I have no respect of love lost for Beckett and its products (guides) and especially its always patting themselves on the shoulder grading service. I wish them nothing in this hobby. And I am not alone in this feeling about them in this hobby - just ask these dealers at the major hobby shows, they have no use for Beckett either. Too much of a conflict of interest and getting worse.
I've been a collector for 56 years now and really back in the hobby for the past 11 years and I have a pretty good eye still looking at cards and all I can also add to what I've said above is that Beckett and especially Mark Anderson are sure full of it and themselves.
PSA is a wonderful organization/company to deal with and what appeals most to me is what they stand for and how they have brought honesty to the sportscard hobby. I think a lot of collectors do not understand that the first and foremost thing PSA does is to authenticate that the card they are looking is a genuine pulled out of the wax pack card - no sheet cut cards - Then they follow their set grading procedures and standards and apply them to each and every card they look at. Another misconception I think collectors don't realize is that PSA has 3 expert graders individually check and grade each card and a consensus opinion of these graders must be reached before a grade is assigned to the card. The graders are in rooms by themselves The final check of the card after encapsulation is made by either the Director of Grading or Senior Grader or Assistant Senior Grader - so there are a lot of eyes that make sure the proper grade is assigned to these cards. Sorry to go on like this but this a good for this hobby.
And Beckett knows this and is no doubt trying to ride on PSA coat tails, and use their hobby presence with their price guides to influence young and new collectors with their skewing of setting higher prices on their graded product then "Other" grading company's same graded product. (Namely PSA - just check their Basketball Price Guide - under graded cards - especially the 86 Fleer Jordan Rookie Cards.
Another thing that really frosts me is eBay - Especially when a seller has a Beckett Graded card up for auction and tells you to send it in to PSA and it will get a higher grade - My response to them by email is - Why don't you send it in for grading and see what happens and re-list it on eBay and make more money - You would be surprised at the moronic answers I get back - Really shows the mentality of these sellers - Some even get sarcastic and I give it right back to them. I have even gone so far as to ask eBay when they have their "Town Meetings" you can ask them questions on anything about the auctions, to please stop these goings on by all the Expert BGS (Graders) Sellers and the comments they make about PSA
Incidentally, yesterday I visited a newly discovered Hobby Shop in a city next to where I live that's been there for three years. And I am very happy to see the gentleman I talked with that does the sports card side of the business has the same negative feelings about Beckett as I do and has absolutely nothing to do with them. And thinks there grading business is a joke. This dealer has submitted over 12,000 cards to PSA for grading and knows Joe Orlando very very well and PSA. So this just magnifies what I have said in my last two emails to you about Beckett.
Not being a huge card collector myself (I'm more of a figure fan), I was completely unaware that BGS had this reputation and am glad that Bill took the time to educate me on the subject. I hope that you were able to get as much out of that as I was.