Breaking down Beckett’s fall from grace 🪦

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Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Breaking down Beckett’s fall from grace 🪦

• People to follow in the hobby 👥

• Meme of the day 🃏

BREAKING DOWN BECKETT’S FALL FROM GRACE 🪦

If you’ve been involved in hobby for any meaningful period of time, you know that Beckett Grading Services (BGS) historically was one of the top two grading companies, competing neck and neck with PSA. However, over the years, BGS has lost its stronghold in the hobby, with PSA now significantly outpacing it, and CGC and SGC rising in demand over BGS. Just take a look at this chat from GemRate — BGS is very clearly the #4 option in the market right now.

This shift wasn’t sudden, but rather a gradual change influenced by several key factors:

• Grading scale complexity: Beckett’s grading scale is frequently critiqued for its complexity and inconsistency. Despite offering a Pristine 10 and a Gem Mint 9.5, the distinction between these grades and the arbitrariness of achieving a Black Label 10 have been points of contention. PSA and SGC aren’t perfect alternatives, but they’re viewed as more straightforward and easy to understand by collectors.

• Autograph evaluation: Beckett’s evaluation of autographs has been criticized for its leniency, which naturally leads to questions about the company’s grading standards. In contrast, PSA is known for it's strict criteria for grading autographs — getting a PSA Gem Mint 10 autograph is actually fairly difficult.

• Slab aesthetics: The design and presentation of Beckett’s slabs is viewed as less appealing compared to PSA’s simple design or SGC’s tuxedo slab. Some of the issues collectors have mentioned include glare when scanning cards, the thickness of the slabs detracting from the card’s visual appeal, and the distracting nature of subgrade labels.

• Misallocated resources: Instead of doubling down on their historical strengths, Beckett chose to go out and acquire companies like NoXX (collection management) and Due Dilly (computer vision grading). There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with making those acquisitions — but while they were busy doing that, they threw away decades of work they put into building up the Beckett Price Guide to get lapped by upstarts like Card Ladder and Market Movers.

• Controversies and scandals: BGS has had its fair share of controversy over the years, from fake slabs to the recent Alt lawsuit over a Steph Curry rookie card that BGS didn’t identify as trimmed. Each of these incidents has slowly eroded away at the trust and image they’ve built up over the decades.

• Social media presence: BGS has done a poor job engaging with the collecting community in the same way that their competitors have. Their social media activity is paltry compared to that of PSA and SGC.

• Service shutdowns: As a last-ditch effort to save their brand, BGS had an opportunity to recapture some of the market by taking advantage of the PSA shutdown in 2021. As expected, they faced their own service limitations and let SGC take full advantage of the opportunity.

Writing all of this out, it’s no surprise that Beckett is where it is today. The grading industry is competitive, and at the end of the day, any prominent grading company needs to be in sync with market demands and expectations.

Does this mean there’s no hope for Beckett? Far from it. There’s a number of things they can do to improve their cachet with collectors. Simplifying their grading scale, improving customer communication, and enhancing their social media presence, are just a couple of options. None of these will be easy, but they’re necessary if Beckett wants to be a relevant player in the hobby going forward.

PEOPLE TO FOLLOW IN THE HOBBY 👥

• SCV Sports Cards: Contentious personality with transparent and informative content.

• American Arbitrage Cards: Card flipper focused on in-person deals.

• Wayne Collection: Entertaining wax-ripping content.

MEME OF THE DAY 🃏