Gem Rate report reveals SGC grading falls off a cliff
The latest Gem Rate monthly report indicated SGC graded fewer total cards than Beckett for the first time in at least three years, falling to fourth among the major card graders. In Feb. 2024, PSA's parent company, Collectors, raised industry eyebrows when it acquired SGC, a well-regarded grader known for its expertise in vintage cards. However, in July, Collectors announced that they were planning to scale SGC down.
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Throughout the acquisition, SGC's grading numbers remained steady, even reaching all-time highs in July 2024. But when Collectors announced it would downsize SGC, grading numbers started a decline. Consider that SGC graded 143,000 sports cards in July, when the announcement was made, but only graded 56,000 sports cards in September.
"More than half of SGC's grading activity was for cards produced before 2000, and it’s likely that SGC’s mix continues to skew heavily toward vintage," Gem Rate founder Ryan Stuczynski told Collectibles on SI. "We continue to believe SGC will settle into grading 30,000–40,000 cards per month in the near future."
It appears that competitor CGC has benefited from SGC's decline. Since Aug. 2024, CGC has graded more cards monthly than Beckett and SGC. While CGC's numbers have been bolstered by Pokémon and TCG (trading card game), in September, CGC surged in the sports card category. CGC graded 97,000 sports cards in September, a 168% increase from August.
"TCG grading continues to thrive at CGC, reaching another record high in September," Stuczynski said. "Sports momentum also accelerated, supported by new partnerships and what appears to be a solid response to a recent grading special. CGC got a boost from what looks like a potential encased product partnership with Panini. The rest, which is still meaningful, likely was the result of their recent grading special."
As recently as August, SGC was second in the industry with 112,000 graded sports cards. In comparison, in August, CGC graded only 36,000 sports cards, an 8% decline from the previous month.
This month's Gem Rate grading report highlights how quickly the situation has changed. When Collectors acquired SGC, there was discussion about PSA potentially expanding its position in the vintage market. However, the latest numbers raise questions about SGC's future.
PSA President Ryan Hoge, who's the acting president at SGC, said SGC would become a "boutique" grading brand when announcing the company's shift. However, the latest grading numbers raise the question: What does it mean to be a boutique grader, and what will happen to SGC?
"With SGC, grading activity was down across the board," Stuczynksi said. "In August, about 48% of cards graded were from 2010 or later. That dropped to 41% in September. So they are grading fewer cards, and it is skewing more heavily towards vintage again."
Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
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