Less than 48 hours after introducing changes to the upper end of its long-standing grading scale, Beckett Collectibles backtracked amid backlash from its customers and, at least for now, has scuttled its plan.
The announcement acknowledged that the proposed changes weren’t popular with customers.
Among the most widely criticized changes was the lower designation of a gold-label 9.5 grade from its current Gem Mint designation to “Mint Plus.”
“After listening carefully to the feedback you all shared, we have decided not to make any changes to our grading scale at this time,” the company stated through its social media channels on Saturday. “We will keep you updated with an official announcement later next week regarding improvements to our grading scale.”
In its initial announcement as the Mint Collective kicked off in Las Vegas last week, the company said it would expand its qualifications for a Gem Mint grade, allowing a card with just one 10 sub-grade and three 9.5 sub-grades to qualify as a Gem Mint 10. The move was meant to align Beckett with its competitors, who only give the Gem Mint designation to cards receiving a 10 grade.
For more than 20 years, Beckett considered its 9.5 grade equal to other companies’ grade 10 but that perception, at least in the minds of some collectors and dealers, depended on the subgrades. The market often saw a card with multiple subgrades of 9.5 didn’t equal the 10 rating assigned to cards by its largest competitor, PSA.
In the video, since taken down on Beckett’s Twitter timeline, Chief Visionary Officer Scott Roskind said, “We spent months and months and months talking to all sorts of hobby participants going through this and believe that this is the best thing for the hobby.”
After hearing and reading comments from customers after the announcement, however, company officials met and decided to delay moving ahead with its intended plans. That reversal was announced on Saturday.
— Beckett Collectibles (@beckettcollect) April 1, 2023
The change to align Gem Mint grades with its peers was one of the moves meant to recharge Beckett’s grading service which faces not only strong competition from ever growing PSA as well as long established SGC and emerging competitor CSG.
One of collectors’ biggest concerns about the proposed changes was the value retained by the 9.5 Gem Mints already in circulation. But beyond market price reactions, there were other questions:
- Can I get a 9.5 re-slabbed to get a 10?
- If so, would it come at a reduced price for active Beckett customers?
- Would cards submitted to be re-slabbed be subject to a new grading inspection?
- Would a new inspection jeopardize a card already graded a Gem Mint?
According to its most recent statement, Beckett will have more to say about its plans later this week. By then, company leaders could be better positioned to answer more questions about the rollout of any changes the company ultimately decides to implement.
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