Due to a backlog of orders, Beckett Grading has suspended its 10-day guaranteed service for trading cards. A message on the company’s website reads, “Due to a historic number of orders/cards being submitted, and our growing wait times with our non-guaranteed service level, Beckett Grading will temporarily suspend their 10-day service level starting June 7, 2018.” With … [Read more...]
Notes: Mantle Hits a Million; Topps & Trump; Beckett’s China Trip; Mattingly Auction
The eventual winner of the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle graded PSA 8.5 will pay more than $1 million for it. Bidding in the sale being conducted by Heritage Auctions has now hit $900,000. With the buyer’s premium factored in, the card is assured to sell for at least $1.075 million but will likely push higher before the auction closes at the end of next week. The card … [Read more...]
Beckett Hires 2; Opens Autograph Authentication Division
Beckett is now in the autograph authentication business. The company said Wednesday that it had hired former PSA/DNA authenticators Steve Grad and Brian Sobrero and would begin accepting submissions immediately. Grad left PSA/DNA at the end of September after 15 years with the company, including the last several as principal authenticator. He will continue in his role … [Read more...]
BGS to Offer Single Grade Option
Beckett Grading Services (BGS) is offering to grade your modern era cards without sub-grades. The company announced Monday that it would offer the new single grade option at a lower price than its usual service that features separate sub-grades for corners, edges, centering and surface. Those ratings are used to determine and help explain the overall grade of the card. The … [Read more...]
Ramblings: A Few Stories from Recent Show Travels
Odds and ends from my travels over the last couple of weeks… When you go to a show, you never quite know what is going to occur. During the National I went to drop in on the Beckett graders who were behind the curtain (yes, I had permission from the head grader to do so especially since I had no cards being graded). Many of these guys are collectors themselves and some are … [Read more...]
New Record Price for BGS 9.5 1984-85 Star Company Jordan Rookie
One of the great hobby ironies is that the most popular basketball player of all-time doesn’t have a true rookie card from a wax pack. Michael Jordan made his NBA debut in 1984, three years after Topps bowed out of basketball card production and two years before Fleer picked up the torch. Jordan does have a card from that first NBA season, though, and it may finally be picking … [Read more...]
Rich Klein: Volunteers Invaluable at Show
Plano III is in the books and yes the show on Sunday was again quite a success. We did have a few bumps along the way but fortunately nothing which took away from the collector or the dealer experience. We were a bit shorthanded because some of our Adat Chaverin Brotherhood board members were away for various reasons. We had some rain early in the day and we were coming … [Read more...]
NY Postal Service Supervisor Charged With Possessing Stolen Baseball Cards
A United States Postal Service supervisor from New York has been arrested for selling sports cards federal prosecutors say had been stolen from the mail system. John Bu was arrested Thursday and appeared in White Plains federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy, who released Bu after he posted bail. According to the allegations in the criminal … [Read more...]
News & Notes: Beckett Opens Asian Office; Broncos Card Giveaway, Tennis Anyone? And…Um…Something Else
Beckett Grading Services is opening a new office in Asia. The company says it’s hired an Asia Regional Sales Manager (now that’s a big territory) to oversee things. He’ll be based in Seoul, South Korea. Dongwood Lee has already started his new job after covering the sports card market for a magazine in South Korea. Beckett says “Lee will be in contact with the many … [Read more...]
Rich Klein’s Ramblings: Beckett Grading’s Debut Was One to Remember
Beckett Grading Services (otherwise known in the hobby as BGS) has now been around and successful for more than 15 years. One show I especially remember which really showed just how much of a player in the grading field BGS had become was the 2000 National in Anaheim. Beckett had big plans for the 2000 National both in terms of a corporate presence as well as for grading. The … [Read more...]