I’m new to the forum and a fairly new collector. Just started getting into more of the higher end cards. I recently stumbled upon a gold star charizard in NM condition. It seems to have very little flaws, great centering and I think potentially has a chance at a PSA 9 or 10. Would it best submit to BGS and potentially get a 10 with some 9.5 subgrades or should I try to submit to PSA to aim for getting a 10? I’m just wondering what would return the most value in the long run. I dont think I will be selling this card anytime soon.
PSA is the standard. I’ve never even considered buying a BGS card nor sending cards there for grading myself. Also, in your specific case, if it “seems to be” a 9 or 10 with PSA there is no chance in hell it gets a 10 with BGS. The BGS 10 is extremely precise and difficult to get (meanwhile the 9.5 ranges from near-flawless to weak PSA 9). I can’t tell you what to do with your card and your money but the general consensus of the market is that PSA is the clear winner. It’s why so many listings of BGS 9.5 cards hinge on having “PSA 10???” in the title.
Also think about this, you are more likely to have a 1% chance of it coming back a BGS 10, or maybe less. And a 10% chance for it to come back as PSA 10. BGS 9,5 is worth less than PSA 10 and that will be true forever. So why risk it to BGS 10 that it’s almost impossible when you can have a better chance on a PSA 10 that also it’s the standard for Pokemon? BGS 10 is a bit of a nitch. In other cardgames like MTG or Yugioh BGS is sometimes the standard, but not here.
You saw a card in Near Mint condition (NM) but you think it’s going to get a PSA 9 or 10? You may want to review the grading scale. A “Near Mint” card is considered to be a PSA 7. A PSA 9 is considered “Mint” and a PSA 10 is considered to be “Gem Mint.”
You may also want to think on if in the year 2020 there is really someone who would sell a raw (ungraded) valuable card that had a genuine chance to be a PSA 9 or 10. If they’re selling it raw then most likely there are some flaws you may not notice on the card, such as scratches that aren’t obvious from the pictures presented.
As for whether you should get cards graded with PSA or BGS, it just depends. BGS 10s are almost impossible to get with WOTC cards so they’re not really a factor unless you’re talking about modern cards. PSA 10s always sell for much more than BGS 9.5s. BGS 9.5s generally sell for more than PSA 9s but it depends on sub-grades. PSA 9s sell for more than BGS 9s. In all cases, the pricing is justified to the extent that the higher prices have higher standards.
But overall, Pokemon is a PSA market. You will have a much easier time finding buyers for your PSA cards. If your only goal here is maximizing the potential sales value of your card and you have a card that is truly worthy of being “gem mint” then your best bet value-wise is to try to get a PSA 10 and if it comes back as a PSA 9 then you can consider sending it to BGS to get a 9.5… and if that fails (BGS 9.0) then you’d probably want to send it back to PSA to get a 9 again. Of course, the idea of sending around a card this much between PSA and BGS is silly unless we’re talking about a card of substantial value in the first place.
Personally, I simplify things and just don’t bother with BGS, but not all people feel the same.
It’s all about risk vs reward. A Beckett 9.5 will be valued less than a PSA10. If you happen to get a black label Beckett 10, it will hold a considerable premium over a PSA10, sometimes up to tens of thousands of dollars for a high end card like the base set 1st ed zard.
Thanks for the advice, it was listed online as NM so I took a chance on it given the price. I personally think it will at least get a 9 but i’m not an expert grader so there may be imperfections I am missing. That’s just what I think now that I have the card in hand. I definitely am leaning towards going with PSA even if it does end up getting a 9 i’m OK with it.
