| Sports Illustrated Blog # 153 on Our Way to 200 – PSA and CGC Census – Separate or Combined Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now. With the advent of two magazine grading companies now on-line, we have created a census report dilemma. CGC and PSA have graded and will continue to grade in the future, different magazines with the same publication, cover and date of issue. Sellers are already quoting the census of the grader without combining the census of the non-grader. To illustrate why this is important, the PSA Jordan SI 1983 which just sold for $229,000 is a None Higher, POP 1 in the PSA census. A different magazine with the exact same publisher, issue date, cover and grade also is a None Higher, POP 1 in the CGC census. If I’m bidding on this magazine, at these bid prices, I want to know ALL the relevant information, not just what the seller wants me to know. In this case, to me, there are two 9.6’s, not one! To me this a predicament. As a buyer as well as a seller, I want to know the total census on any magazine I buy and I want to give my customer an accurate census on what he is buying. If you agree with this premise, then it seems both census numbers must be combined for a complete disclosure at the time of purchase or sale. But, I am not naive enough to think that this kind of disclosure will be included in very many future transactions, unless you are dealing with the highest of integrity sellers. So, the answer for now is BUYER BEWARE! With regard to how run my business, I have tried in the past to state the census right up front so the buyer can get a fairly accurate sense of what he is buying, if it is relevant. However, census counts evolve and I don’t update all my listings after initial posting. And now, buyers must also be cognizant of, not one, but two grader censuses. This is another reason to deal with someone you trust. You know who they are. And in this brave new world of multiple graders, always do your own due diligence, in addition to what you can glean from the seller, especially when the dollar amounts suggest prudence. Great collecting to you! My Ebay handle is “sportsillustrated9.8” and sportsillustrated98.com on the internet, not to be confused with other similar tags. If you’re interested in one or more of my ebay auctions and you would like to purchase, email me at wylliejohn@yahoo.com to save on taxes, and shipping. Thanks for your loyal following. My readers always receive “first among equals” pricing/service. Many thanks for your continued support and patronage. On the web – Sportsillustrated98.com |
