News
NATIONAL SPORTS COLLECTORS CONVENTION: SGC grading makes welcome return; DraftKings enters hobby; Upper Deck betting on Bedard
ROSEMONT, Ill. – SGC is back.
For the first time since the 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC), Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC) is grading on site at the biggest card show of the year.
The 2020 National was cancelled due to COVID and at the 2021 and ’22 shows, SGC made the decision to set up a booth, but it opted not to grade. With a flood of cards coming in, SGC President Peter Steinberg didn’t want the company to get backlogged and have its customers waiting for extended periods of time to get their cards returned.
NSCC Coverage: Allen Iverson pulls Jordan rookie card
SGC — widely considered one of the top three grading companies in the industry along with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and Beckett Grading Services (BGS) — wanted to give collectors the option for on-site grading this year.
“It’s unbelievable to be back,” Steinberg said. “At the end of the day, this is what we should be doing. We should be servicing the hobby in the way the hobby wants SGC to kind of fit their collecting needs while they're at The National, and there’s no doubt about it that that’s grading on site. The past few years we would have loved to as well, the issue is circumstantially in the hobby with what’s happened with obviously this explosion of grading submission and backlogs and things like that. With just the growth of SGC, it really wasn’t the responsible decision to uproot a large percentage of our employees and equipment and make the trip here for a five-day show and at the end of the day we could risk so much of that customer satisfaction that we’d been working very hard to build.
“Today, I’m happy to say our brand is maturing by the day. SGC is here to stay and we’ve already taken in thousands of cards on site and we’ve gotten cards back primarily same day they’ve been dropped off, which I’m really proud of.”
SGC enthusiasts were happy the company was back to grading at The National.
“I like seeing them all the time,” said collector Alex Tymchuk, who has been grading with SGC for over 15 years. “It’s nice having them on site. I think it’s good for them, it’s good for the industry.”
In the first few days of The National, Steinberg received a lot of feedback from happy collectors getting their SGC cards graded.
“I’m getting a lot of handshakes and people thanking me for what our company has been doing, if I’m being totally real about what’s gone on at this show,” Steinberg said. “It’s very humbling every time it happens. It brings me a lot of happiness, honestly, and it means a lot to me. At the end of the day at SGC, that’s what our mission is. It’s to make this grading company just the preferred grading company of the hobby and not for any other reason than the fact that we do it the best, we’re kind, we’re grateful, we’re helpful.”
SGC, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year as a company, used to be known amongst collectors as a grading company that specializes in vintage. Now, Steinberg said interest has really grown with collectors getting modern and ultra-modern cards graded.
“Today, the SGC holder, everyone that I talk to, it’s the best holder on the market,” Tymchuk said. “The presentation is just amazing. Love it. The best thing that ever happened to SGC was PSA going away for a year and a half or two years. It was huge, because I always knew SGC did quality work, but it forced people to try them out during that down period for PSA. Now I see SGC holders everywhere, and it’s modern, ultra-modern, vintage, everything. It’s great. It’s good for the hobby.”
DRAFTKINGS STARTS BREAKING
Sports betting company DraftKings has made its way into the hobby with DraftKings Marketplace adding live box breaks as well as auctions.
DraftKings, which launched physical trading cards this past spring, is always looking for new ways to engage with its customers and tap into the latest industry trends.
“It’s a big fit for our audience,” said Matt Kalish, DraftKings co-founder and president of North America. “Every year we’re acquiring millions of people onto our sports betting platform and fantasy sports. If you just ask around the room, people shoulder tap us all the time and they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re big DraftKings people.’ … There’s a lot of overlap I think between people who like to play fantasy sports betting, collectibles and pretty much anything that’s like risk/reward that has a little speculation to it.”
In connection with The National, DraftKings hosted its first live in-person break at the new DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field on July 27-28.
“It’s not just DraftKings doing it independently, but also really reaching out and engaging with some of the biggest breakers in the industry, getting them on the platform as well,” Kalish said. “It’s not anything other than just wanting the best talent, the best people involved in our project.”
Kalish said breaking through DraftKings is a seamless process for its customers.
“The whole experience is integrated with your same account and the wallet you already have,” Kalish said. “We have over 10 million people who we have had put money on the site in the past and they play fantasy and sportsbook, so it’s just like another thing. Same as if you’re entering a fantasy league, you can jump into a break and a good experience is really the key. It’s just easy with an account you already have.”
UPPER DECK INKS BEDARD
Over the years, Upper Deck has been hockey central for card collectors of that sport.
Now Upper Deck has signed an exclusive trading card and autograph deal with the player it hopes is the next face of the NHL: Connor Bedard.
The No. 1 overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this month is considered a franchise-changing player.
“He’s the most touted prospect since Auston Matthews in 2016,” Upper Deck President Jason Masherah said. “I think his challenge is that team is in rebuilding mode and for his sake I’m a little concerned whether he has enough pieces around him to be successful. I think they’ve added some pieces in the offseason, it will be interesting.
“The hockey rookies have been really interesting to watch the last few years because you’ve seen really highly-touted prospects go to good teams and they don’t have a spot for them or need them. Here you’ve got the complete inverse where they desperately need a star player. I think they’re going to lean heavily on him and it will be interesting. He could have a very big season.”
Recently, Snoop Dogg came out and said Edmonton Oilers star center Connor McDavid should have “commercials everywhere,” implying the star isn’t marketed very well by the NHL.
Masherah agrees that McDavid deserves more publicity.
“To me right now, Connor McDavid is the best athlete in all of sports,” Masherah said. “In the U.S., a lot of people don’t even know who Connor McDavid is. There’s no doubt to me, watching him right now is very similar to watching Wayne Gretzky in the ’80s. He is so much better than basically every other hockey player in the NHL, it’s insane. He showed that with his statistics this year. He is a completely different level and tier of every other hockey player, and it’s frustrating when you see people celebrating second-tier athletes in other sports and they don’t know who Connor McDavid is.”
— Greg Bates is a freelance contributor and editor-at-large for Sports Collectors Digest. He can be reached at gregabates@gmail.com.
