CSG to Begin Sports Card Grading in February; Releases Fee Structure
Certified Collectibles Group will launch its sports card grading division next month.
Last year, the company announced its intention to launch CSG in the wake of unprecedented backlogs at established graders PSA, SGC and Beckett Grading Services. A large, global company with nearly 400 employees and headquartered in Sarasota, FL, CCG is already well-known for grading comic books, magazines, concert posters, coins and paper money. In July, CCG launched its CGC Trading Cards division, which has quickly become a major grading service for Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards.
Late last year, they hired former Beckett graders Andy Broome and Westin Reeves to head up the new sports card division.
CSG says it will make use of artificial intelligence to automate many of the more time-consuming aspects of grading, such as measuring its centering and attribution. CGS graders will be equipped with forensic devices that reveal alterations and hidden details through infrared and UV lighting, ultra-microscopic inspections and non-destructive ink and paper analysis.
The CSG holder and labels include a detailed description of the card, its grade, its unique CSG certification number and a QR code to facilitate verification. CSG says its holder and label “feature extensive security elements to prevent against tampering and counterfeiting.”
CSG’s grading fees range from $8 for bulk submissions of 50 or more cards to $15 for a 15-day Express service and $100 for a 5-day “Walk Through” service. There’s also a higher tier for exceptionally high value cadrs.
Sub-grades can be added for an additional fee of $10 per card.
CSG will offer a guarantee of authenticity and grade that it says “will be the strongest of any third-party sports card grading service,” providing recourse for the owner of a CSG-certified card if it is determined to be altered, not genuine or overgraded.
“We are extremely excited to launch CSG,” says Steven R. Eichenbaum, CEO of CCG. “There is a tremendous need in the sports card collecting hobby for an advanced, fast and independent certification service, and we will be ready to meet — and exceed — all expectations.”
CSG continues to hire for grading and other positions for the new division.
