The BCCG grading problem - DON'T OVERPAY FOR CARDS

Where it gets tricky is when collectors consider the purchase of a Beckett-graded card. Beckett, which has a well-known name in the hobby, offers a wide array of grading services, but only two of them may be considered equal in quality control to PSA and SGC. Those two Beckett services are BVG and BGS only. A third Beckett service, BCCG, attempts to capitalize on the well-known numerical grading scale collectors are familiar with (1 through 10) as a way to make it appear to novice collectors that the card is in nicer condition than it actually is. Please be advised that a BCCG 8 is not equal to a PSA 8, far from it. In fact, a BCCG 8 card will declare right on its flip (or holder label) that the card is only "EXCELLENT OR BETTER" whereas a PSA 8 means the card is truly high grade, or NEAR MINT-MINT. The Beckett description is just a sneaky way of saying the card is in excellent, or mid-grade, condition. The "or better" part of the statement is meaningless. So if you buy a BCCG 8 card, you need to know that what you are buying is a mid-grade card that will exhibit flaws such as four worn or fuzzy corners, very bad centering, print defects, focus and registration problems, staining and miscuts. I have even seen cards in BCCG 8 holders with minor creases on them. So really if you purchase a BCCG 8, you should only be paying the price of a PSA 5, which also means "EXCELLENT." Similarly, if you buy a BCCG 9, you should be paying about PSA 6 or maybe 7 prices. If you buy a BCCG 10, calm down, you haven't found a super-rare card or the finest condition specimen known to man. What you've found is a card that is PSA 8 caliber, or more likely PSA 7, or only NRMT, so you must pay accordingly. NRMT cards are pretty common, and your BCCG 10 is common, so don't pay uncommon prices.

So how are some sellers using this to their advantage? Let's use the example of a 1981 Topps Football Joe Montana RC. A Joe Montana RC graded PSA 7 will sell for about $70 on eBay. Now if we see a different Joe Montana RC, graded BCCC 8, should we pay more than a PSA 7? Should we pay about the same price as a PSA 7? The correct answer to both questions is NO! We should pay about the price of a PSA 5, or $37, because the card is a mid-grade card guaranteed to exhibit one or more of the flaws I mentioned above. Now some sellers, of course, will list their "Buy It Now" BCCG 8 Joe Montana at or above the price of a PSA 7, in hopes that a novice collector will see it, be confused and purchase the card at the Buy-It-Now price on the basis of the "8" numerical grade. Sometimes, the price will be lower than what a PSA 8 sells for, so the buyer may think the $85 Buy It Now price for a BCCC 8 is a good deal because it is less than the $100 average selling price of a PSA 8. But NO - that buyer actually just threw some cash down the toilet because he paid $85 for a card that's really only worth $37. Further compounding the problem is that some sellers will add terms like BVG and BGS to the auction title in an attempt to capture eBay search traffic, but if the buyer looks at the actual card they will see it's been graded by the inferior BCCG service. So beware if you see a listing like: 1981 Topps Joe Montana RC #216 BGS BCCG 8. The seller is trying to confuse you!

Make sense? Still with me? Now some of you may be thinking "Well, how can anyone fall for that?" or "Only an idiot would overpay for a card with obvious flaws like that." But I can tell you it happens every day on this site. That's why I'm writing this guide. One infamous and well-documented example involves the 1949 Leaf Satchel Paige RC. Years ago, a low-grade Paige in a SGC 20 holder (or PSA 2) sold in a major auction house for about $3,200, which is the accurate market value for a card in that condition. A few months later smart collectors documented that the very same card, featuring major back damage, was cracked out of its SGC holder and encapsulated by BCCG as a BCCG 6, then listed on eBay. The selling price? $8,000. Did the winning bidder get a fair deal? Was he scammed? Is a fool easily parted from his money? I'll let you be the judge.

So what's the most obvious way to not get taken? Look at the card itself. Look HARD for flaws. If you see worn corners or bad centering - then just pay accordingly! If you have 3 bad corners, that card is not Near Mint despite what the holder says. Buy the card, not the holder - it's that simple. It's not my intention here to write an endorsement of either PSA or SGC, but rather to provide some guidance and help for beginning collectors. Some other grading services really aren't even worth mentioning, other than to say you probably shouldn't buy them due to well-established and major credibility problems. Those are MINT, PRO, GEM GRADING and GAI. If you purchase a card graded by one of those companies, don't be surprised if the card within the holder has been trimmed.