Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

When it Comes to Graded Cards

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flygon_frank_66

New Member
I know that the majority chooses PSA for grading their cards. But has anybody here graded with Beckett? I have graded with them for 2 years now and are really pleased with their service and results. It just seems to me that people underestimate Beckett for grading Pokemon cards. They do a really thorough job! And I like the way Pokemon cards look, and are displayed inside a Beckett slab. I think that people should give Beckett chance, instead of immediately praising PSA and kind of throwing Beckett aside. Beckett is not as bad as people make them seem, Really.
 
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PSA is the most popular and everyone goes with them for Pokemon for a reason. Nuff said ;)
I do respect your choice of course and I'm not insulting you :)
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Beckett vs. PSA's standard 10 day grading is $14.00 vs. $15.00

Beckett you don't have to be a member, PSA you do, however with PSA the membership fee is made up for by free grading certificates.
 
It really just comes down to the companies history. PSA has been around the longest (since 1991). It is currently the largest company out there for authentication. However Beckett is not considered to be bad in any sense, it is just not as large/reputable as PSA.
 
I recently bought a PSA 9 MINT Riolu Staff card and was pretty disappointed. There were visible scratches across the front and a couple of spots of buffing. The back had several scratches, a couple deep, and three pressure dents. The edge had a 1 inch long noticeable whitening that culminated in a clean tear half way through the border. This seemed pretty lax to me. Kinda made me doublethink my opinion in their credibility.
 
Do you have pictures? That sounds extremely suspicious, not on your end, but that it might of been resealed before you purchased it.

I have never experienced anything like this with PSA. I have sent in over 1000 cards and I know before sending in each card what grade they will typically receive.
 
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If you are going to send your stuff in to be authenticated/graded, choose PSA.
Beckett is really only better when it comes to Beckett released cards, which mainly only occurs with sports cards. i.e. Beckett has the rights to Ken Griffey Jr., so all his signings are under Beckett, therefor leading to all of his autographs being Beckett authenticated. This also raises the price of Griffey's autograph because he is what is called a "Beckett exclusive." PSA does not do this though.

So, I'd go with PSA for grading (for the reasons already stated above). And also with autographs, as they have a larger autograph database.
 
smpratte said:
Do you have pictures? That sounds extremely suspicious, not on your end, but that it might of been resealed before you purchased it.

I have never experienced anything like this with PSA. I have sent in over 1000 cards and I know before sending in each card what grade they will typically receive.
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There was no evidence of tampering with the case, but no, I took no photos before I took out my frustration, lol! Still have the card though. I'll circle the original damage and send it to you if you like.
 
flygon_frank_66 said:
I know that the majority chooses PSA for grading their cards. But has anybody here graded with Beckett? I have graded with them for 2 years now and are really pleased with their service and results. It just seems to me that people underestimate Beckett for grading Pokemon cards. They do a really thorough job! And I like the way Pokemon cards look, and are displayed inside a Beckett slab. I think that people should give Beckett chance, instead of immediately praising PSA and kind of throwing Beckett aside. Beckett is not as bad as people make them seem, Really.
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I am on your side. I really like the Kingdra ex you traded me. But I only prefer the thick versions of Beckett not something in a thin case like PSA or BCCG.
 
Thank you everyone for your responses!

Pokeplayer101 said:
I am on your side. I really like the Kingdra ex you traded me. But I only prefer the thick versions of Beckett not something in a thin case like PSA or BCCG.
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That is what I'm trying to say. Just to me, it seems as tho PSA cases can be broken easily (as I think waynegg already demonstrated for us,) and just look as tho they'd snap in half if you dropped them by accident. (I may be wrong but I don't want to test it.) I just recently purchased a PSA graded Suicune holo and it is loose, and rattling inside the case. It's the first one I've ever had (and heard of) that's rattling inside, but it has already done damage to the card. I have mostly had a good experience with PSA but there's just something there that doesn't seem like they're right for my collection.....

I just feel like if you are paying to grade a card it needs to be:
1. Authenticated.
2. Protected.
3. Given a fair, and honest grade.
4. Well Displayed.

I feel like Beckett applies to all four qualifications.

It may just be preference, but I feel that if I send a card to be graded, I want it done honestly, and correctly.
 
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@ waynegg that sounds like nothing I have seen before! I have seen two cards of questionable grade in all those I have had graded by PSA. Even in those cases I thought one was a half grade too high and I thought another was one grade too high. One came down to centering and the other to very slight surface damage on a mint 9 card. Your card doesn't sound anywhere near a 9 that is crazy!
 
flygon_frank_66 said:
Thank you everyone for your responses!




That is what I'm trying to say. Just to me, it seems as tho PSA cases can be broken easily (as I think waynegg already demonstrated for us,) and just look as tho they'd snap in half if you dropped them by accident. (I may be wrong but I don't want to test it.) I just recently purchased a PSA graded Suicune holo and it is loose, and rattling inside the case. It's the first one I've ever had (and heard of) that's rattling inside, but it has already done damage to the card. I have mostly had a good experience with PSA but there's just something there that doesn't seem like they're right for my collection.....

I just feel like if you are paying to grade a card it needs to be:
1. Authenticated.
2. Protected.
3. Given a fair, and honest grade.
4. Well Displayed.

I feel like Beckett applies to all four qualifications.

It may just be preference, but I feel that if I send a card to be graded, I want it done honestly, and correctly.
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PSA does an honest correct job and meets all of those requirments. Even if there are mistake situations as wayne pointed out, there are countless consistently good examples that eclipse them. Also, you never know the entire story behind why a card is damaged in a case.

Beckett also has examples of inconsistency. They are less frequent as Beckett is no where near as popular/the size of PSA.

The most important point to why PSA is the most popular/reputable is because they have consistency. If they were not consistent the people who collect high end sports cards would not invest their money into their grading system.
 
smpratte said:
PSA does an honest correct job and meets all of those requirments. Even if there are mistake situations as wayne pointed out, there are countless consistently good examples that eclipse them. Also, you never know the entire story behind why a card is damaged in a case.

Beckett also has examples of inconsistency. They are less frequent as Beckett is no where near as popular/the size of PSA.

The most important point to why PSA is the most popular/reputable is because they have consistency. If they were not consistent the people who collect high end sports cards would not invest their money into their grading system.
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I agree with your points about PSA. I just prefer Beckett as an all-around grading company that's all. I'm not trying to put one above the other, just saying that I've had a good experience grading with Beckett. That's all. I've also had a good experience with PSA. Just a few pet peeves is all.

Beckett also has examples of inconsistency.
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If you don't mind, I would like to hear about your experience with Beckett. I value everyone's opinion and try to learn from them.
 
I just got some PSA results on Beckett regrades, here's how it went if you're interested in a comparison:

Beckett 9 1st Base Chansey (9.5, 9.5, 9, 8.5) got a PSA 8
Beckett 8.5 1st Base Blastoise (9, 8.5, 9.5, 8.5) got a PSA 8
Beckett 8.5 1st Base Venusaur (9, 9.5, 8.5, 8.5) got a PSA 8

Very disappointed in the results, based on this PSA was harsher on the grades that Beckett was. To be fair, I think Beckett overgraded the whole lot! The 8.5's really did deserve 8's, I thought the 9 would get an 8.5, unfortunately it was even worse.

Take it as you will
 
Both companies have slightly different grading standards, that's all.

If both companies were exactly the same how would they both stay in business?
 
Consistency is what separates the two. You have to remember that Beckett is very reputable. Just because it is not the most reputable does not mean it is worthless.

Jason's post is good as it shows the critical standard PSA has. I have a good idea what most of my cards will receive since their system is very consistent.

Another element that might help better understand the consistency argument is doing some research with sport cards. Pokemon is still an underrated/under-appreciated non-sport card hobby. What drives both PSA and Beckett are the sports cards. When you are spending thousands on a single card you want the highest consistency. While experiences with pokemon are certainly relevant, PSA's consistency is best illustrated in how consistent they are in grading sports cards.
 
Just to add onto Scott's post a little bit, while interest (in terms of all cards) in pokemon is small and it is underappreciated, take a look on EBay or check POP reports. It's clear that PSA has graded way more Pokemon cards than Beckett. Grading is a human thing, there is no formula to it so results and consistency come down to experience. PSA graders have had much more overall experience grading and more importantly they have way more experience in Pokemon card grading. Consistency and expertise come from experience, PSA has the necessary experience.

Don't get me wrong, not saying anything bad about Beckett but that is my analysis of PSA
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