Lately I’ve been starting to love BGS more than PSA.
Collectors on Instagram inspire me a lot, I just want to mention a few names:
@gengar_gang
@black_label_crazy_asian
@newagecardsales
These guys are truly monster, the amount of BGS 10 and Black Label that these guys can get is incredible!
I find collectors who choose BGS instead of PSA very courageous!
I noticed that 90% of collectors in this forum are more towards PSA, some of you surely already follow them, but if someone doesn’t, I hope they do and that they manage to convey the passion for BGS to you too!
1 Like
People here dont like bgs. I use bgs pretty much exclusively but i find trying to convince people to swap is a waste of time and doesnt really accomplish anything. My use of bgs came from their simple label and with the swap of label incoming im gonna have a lot of thinking to do for my pc goals, they have sorta betrayed my trust recently. I think i will stick with them, but i will have to reconstruct my collection a lot more than i was planning on
I think the label swap could get people whove never used bgs into some bgs slabs in the short term but people aitting on dozens of bgs slabs are in a weird place
2 Likes
Pokemon is a psa hobby at large so its pretty much impossible to get people to switch over to someone else in the long term. Psa could shoot themselves in the foot though…
The wonderful part about collecting is that there is no “right” way to do it. If you like PSA, then you should collect/grade through PSA. Same goes for BGS and CGC. As long as your collection is coming from a reputable source, I think you are in good hands. The choice only becomes contentious when you want to sell.
5 Likes
I kind of like that BGS is underrated or not loved. I’ve gotten some nice deals on the 9.5s and the Pristine/Black Labels can be really nice too. I think where people have a problem with BGS is the grades < 9 compared to PSA mainly, you have to really review some of those closer at times specifically with Pokemon cards.
1 Like
CGC gets a lot more hate here than BGS. For most people, BGS is basically an afterthought. They just have very little market share in Pokemon, not to mention relatively little influence in the rest of the collectibles world. PSA dominates sports and Pokemon cards, CGC dominates comics, whereas BGS really only dominates vintage MTG (which is a tiny, very insular market compared to sports cards, Pokemon cards, and comics).
I wouldn’t say there’s anything “courageous” about collecting BGS, although there’s of course nothing wrong with collecting it either. Ultimately, the company slabbing your cards should matter a lot less than the cards themselves. BGS, PSA, and CGC are all legitimate companies – there’s nothing “wrong” with using any of them.
1 Like
Problem is most people just see psa as the most used and dont try the others to see if another company aligns with their values
2 Likes
True. I think people often lose sight of the fact that we’re (fundamentally) card collectors, not plastic collectors. At the end of the day, BGS/PSA/CGC all produce solid products and are relatively accurate graders at the high end of the grading scale.
4 Likes
The biggest reason is value. The higher prices get, naturally it makes sense to want the most value for your item. If I were grading my mtg cards, they would go to beckett. If I’m grading pokemon, they are going to PSA.
I can only speak for myself, and I’m sure this is most peoples sentiment; I couldn’t care less what company people use. However, I do care when people who worship one over the other try and proselytize how its better, even though the data and metrics disagree. The forced value is off-putting.
15 Likes
I think the main use for BGS in Pokemon is getting a pretty gold 9.5 label on cards that would otherwise not reach a PSA 10 but are nicer examples than a PSA 9. I’ve always loved BGS. I think they are easily the sturdiest case, most secure in their holder, but of course every grading company has it’s flaws. I think CGC gets more active hate simply because they are the newest, but BGS has always been the butt of the joke in years prior. I cherish my BGS slabs but understand I am in the minority
1 Like
I’m actually at the point now (or at least I was up until a few days ago) where, if money was not a consideration, I would rather send my things to BGS than PSA.
Up until quite recently the inner sleeve has been the bigger problem to me personally, I prefer everything about their cases compared to PSA except that one thing. But over the last year, after endless mental massaging, I came to the conclusion that I’m willing to go along with that. The obfuscation caused by the curved inner sleeve is not as problematic when you have the slab in hand, and I keep all my cards in cardsavers or toploaders anyway so it’s not like a double layer is the problem. I couldn’t care less about number cohesion or label color cohesion for that matter, so those are non issues as well.
But then of course reality kicks in and I have to tell myself that “you don’t collect graded cards, you don’t care about slabs, you do this because you want your cards to be worth their maximum potential at any given moment, slab aesthetic is not the primary concern here.”
2 Likes
I like BGS, but the black label is too controversial. I’ve had a few BLs graded, but I don’t think for a second if I cracked them and sent them back they would get a BL again, and thats a problem. I understand many graded cards MIGHT not get the same grade as its objective, but I would wager most of my 10s at PSA, I could crack and open and id say 80-90% would retain that grade. As for the BL, I would wager that you have around a ~30% chance of getting that BL again. Its more of a lottery to me, will they give it a 10 or decide to knock down .5 for that centering! The difference between a 9.5 Quad++ and a BL is nothing in most cases.
Thats why I don’t really deal with BGS anymore, 9.5-10 is essentially 5 different grades that are the same card quality. No one can tell me with certainty that they can tell the difference between a 9.5+ and a Pristine 10, its just not enough to be consistent. BGS is a fine company, I just can’t buy into the BL.
7 Likes
I completely agree, and might even put that number lower. I can obviously only speak from personal experience, but from the 500-600ish mint cards I’ve subbed and middlemanned since 2019, I’ve only had 6 come back as black labels. With maybe around ~120 Pristine 10’s in that mix, it feels like the Black Label premium is almost entirely RNG. BGS has always focused a lot more on eye appeal than other big name graders, and I appreciate that sometimes. But it often feels like they’re throwing at the dartboard.
It’s almost as if the black label is a scam and you can get them at high rates if you are cool with BGS employees 
7 Likes
That blowout post is nuts. Totally believable imo
2 Likes
@wisewailmer I specifically thought of you and your collection goals when I seen the label change. You probably would have been done by now but I know you want everything in a even 9. No 8s, 8.5s or 9.5s so I already know the different label would mess with you. If you was buying already graded cards it wouldn’t be too bad but I know you grade most of them yourself. Which I have no idea how you’re even still coming up with mint cards. I don’t even bother looking anymore because it’s the same old over priced story everytime on raw Wotc singles
1 Like
Yeah i have a lot riding on the old label currently. If i allowed 8.5s or 9.5s for myslef there is a chance id be complete now but I like the 9 flat.
Its not exactly that I like to grade them all myself, more like even popular eseries holos have maybe pop 10 maximum for bgs 9 no subs and then subtract 99.99% of that pop from people who are not selling or are delusional about what a bgs 9 means. It becomes easier just to do it myself
2 Likes
I used to start liking more BGS too until they decided to change their premium look for a cheap new grading company look, now I won’t ever consider sending anything for grading there they have shot themselves
3 Likes
Just when I have decided to focus more on bgs they decided to drop the bomb. I really hope the final, final design is much more detailed, classy, than what they show. The fact that they feel that a “rebranding” is necessary in place of working harder to improve their pop report, website, accountability (letting people know their package had been received etc), is already trying to solve an existing problem with a wrong solution.
2 Likes
Just going to leave this here. It’s unclear if PSA or BGS is more accurate in this scenario but it’s just another reminder of the arbitrariness of grading
11 Likes