What Would It Take to Beat PSA? + Is Today’s Grading Model Obsolete? + SPA Grading Goes Corporate
Sports Cards LiveShow Notes
What would it actually take for another grading company to seriously challenge PSA?
Grai Miller, David Chase, Joshua Adams and I close out the show by digging into one of the hobby’s biggest competitive questions.
Is a recognizable name enough? Does it have to be a trusted hobby brand? Could a company like Fanatics enter the space and immediately become a legitimate player? Or would the real threat to PSA have to come from something completely different?
We look back at why Beckett was once able to become a major competitor so quickly, why so many grading companies have failed to seriously threaten PSA since, and whether the next major disruption will even resemble the grading model we know today.
Technology, consistency, population reports, set registries, grading guarantees and the power of the PSA brand all enter the conversation.
And because apparently no serious discussion about grading can happen anymore without it, SPA Grading returns with more details about its revolutionary approach to the hobby, its highly questionable population reports and the continued miracle that is Hart’s Hog Care Sports Card Formula.
We also wrap up Graig Miller’s debut as the first Sports Cards Live guest co-host.
Subscribe to Sports Cards Live on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Discover where you fit in the hobby at thehobbyspectrum.com.
Search auctions across the hobby at AuctionWire.ai and use promo code SCL for 45% off your first year.
Check out Pops & Comps on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Sports Cards Live
When is it appropriate to comment on someone else's collecting decisions? And where do we draw the line between expressing an opinion, constructive criticism, and simply being a jerk?
What brings people back to the sports card hobby? Is it nostalgia, the excitement of collecting, the potential to make money, or some combination of all three?
What makes a sports card truly iconic? Is it the price, the rarity, the player, its historical significance, or simply how many people recognize it?
On this episode of Sports Cards Live, Jeremy Lee and David Chase are joined by Al Crisafulli of Love of the Game Auctions and Joshua Adams for a fascinating discussion about eye appeal, third-party stickers, grading consistency, and the most important cards in the hobby.
Al Crisafulli of Love of the Game Auctions joins Jeremy Lee and David Chase on Sports Cards Live for a fascinating conversation about vintage cards, auction history, and some of the hobby's most iconic collectibles.