Just when it seemed like CGC had solidified its near monopoly on the comic book grading business, another grading giant has announced plans to enter the fray: PSA. Most famous for being the industry standard for grading sports cards, PSA announced on July 18th that it would expand its grading and authentication services to comic books and magazines beginning in 2025.
Will this be good for comic book collectors?
Is CGC vs. CBCS even a debate anymore?
Several years ago, there actually seemed to be some debate among collectors as to whether they preferred CGC or CBCS (no one prefers PGX). While CGC has always generally been more popular with collectors, CBCS has its defenders. Many think CBCS's grading is more consistent and appreciates the minimalist designs of its labels which places more emphasis on the comic itself as opposed to the label. Still, you hear less about this debate today mostly because CGC slabs sell for more than CBCS slabs. In addition, CGC now provides services that, in the past, only CBCS provided such as the authentication of unwitnessed autographs.
While I personally don't mind the design of CBCS's slabs, I stopped sending my books there years ago simply because of the ROI. My CBCS slabs simply don't sell as well. I suppose most collectors simply enjoy a consistent look across their collections or prefer buying what other collectors tend to buy?
At the same time, it's better for competition in a market like ours to exist. CGC provides great service, but some legitimate competition is good for them too. Competition for customers can lead to price wars, improved products and services, as they fight for our business. In fact, CGC has already responded to PSA's announcement by stating that CGC "will continue to be the hobby's first choice by listening to the community, upgrading our services and adding value more than any other grading company."
Can PSA parlay its dominance in sports cards grading to comic books?
While I personally no longer see CBCS as a serious threat to CGC's hegemony, PSA certainly has the pedigree to be such a challenger. Grading of collectibles is clearly PSA's core competency. Although PSA does have some competition (e.g., BGS, SGC, and yes, even CGC) in the sports cards industry, PSA is the CGC of sports card grading. According to GemRate, of the 1.53 million cards graded in June, PSA slabbed 1.16 million of them. Like CGC's dominance of comic book grading, most sports card collectors prefer to use PSA because of its higher resale value.
PSA will grade comic books from any era including the Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Ages. And like CGC and CBCS, PSA will grade its comics using 0 to 10 decimal scale providing consistency across the three companies. Its slab for comic books looks a lot like PSA's slab for its cards (except a lot larger, obviously). To me, its minimalist design reminds me of a CBCS slab; it doesn't distract from the collectible itself (unlike, for example, how CGC custom labels do). According to PSA, the design of its comic slab was the result of feedback from industry experts and collector feedback.
It'll take years to see whether PSA can acquire a substantial amount of marketshare, but collectors will soon have another company to choose from.
