General Forum

Apparently a new grading company launched (kinda out of the blue) called HGA (HybridGrading.com). Slabs look colorful and they color match to the card or team if you want. A couple of them have found their way to ebay already (link for Zion sale).

Early reviews I've seen on YouTube seem to favor the colorful labels though are unsure if the BGS-style grading system will set them apart enough. They also promise that their grading is based on Computer AI, eliminating human bias (I guess thats cool, if true).

Submissions get locked each week to ensure turnaround time guarantees. I played around with a submission but can't actually submit until 9 PM EST on Friday. Thinking of submitting some lower-end PC cards that I likely would never bother with for PSA just to see how the process goes. Competition in this field is nice, but they are a long way from what PSA has established and it doesn't seem you can submit any off-the-wall card release, they only seem to have the major brands listed and you have to type out most of the card details. 

Still interesting to see as we wait for more news from CSG. 

Seems interesting. Please report back when you receive the cards.

Just to bump and give an update on my experiences so far. I've noticed most of the HGA slabs on ebay are selling quite well and there seems to be positive feedback on some of the Youtube videos I've seen of people getting their slabs back. However, I haven't seen any cards older than 2018 in slabs yet...

Sub #1 (Fri, 2/5): 7 cards, 60 day turnaround, $20 per card. Pretty much a test run. Sent in some vintage football PC stuff (stuff that would grade 6-7 probably on PSA), a decent looking low-end Brady rookie (Skybox Dominion) and a couple new cards. HGA opened for submissions right at 9 PM EST and sold out of their 1400 card slots in about 15-20 minutes. I got an e-mail today that they received it, so I imagine I'll be getting these back in early April (or hopefully earlier). 

Sub #2 (Fri, 2/12): 5 cards, 10 day turnaround, $55 per card. 1500 card slots opened at 9 PM EST on the dot and sold out in about two minutes! Since the slabs seem to be gaining a lot of traction and interest, I decided to pony up for a five-card, 10 day submission. I had planned to send these into PSA but figured I'd roll the dice since I need to cover all my card expenses for the last two months. I got a 1986 Fleer Olajuwon that I'm optimistic about (not enough to express to PSA). Also sent in a 1995 Topps Garnett RC and am going to really test them with a 1982 Scanlens Cricket sticker that not even PSA has catalogued yet (HGA actually has Scanlens in their dropdown menu, but mispelled it Scanelens - something I'll ask them to correct with a note). 

Will keep you all posted! 

I'm watching this thread with great interest. Thank you for the update! 

Not a fan of grading personally but certainly following this with interest. Will be particularly interesting on the Scanlans sticker as you say.

4/13/21 - From HGA's website "We are currently limiting customers to 5 cards per order and 4 paid orders in 30 days." 

I tried getting in last Thursday, but was randomly placed in line about 2700th. With the limit of 5 cards per submitter and the maximum of 3000 cards, I knew I had no chance of getting in. We'll see what this week holds.

One other part they exlained to me in a limited chat session was you can submit cards even if the set name is not in the drop down list! Fill in as much as you can for your card then after printing your submission sheet cross out and properly write in the set name and any other needed info.

I have a 10 card submission that arrived with HGA in early March but it's 60 day so I won't have it back until late May (it's 60 business days). I'll report back once I get them. Most of the cards in my submission were from the 80s/90s.

Also, I'm in a facebook group where people post their HGA slabs and I've seen a few issues with centering of the labels, miscalculated grades based on the sub grades, and a couple typos on the labels. It looks like every time this has happened HGA paid for the person to ship the slab back and have it corrected at no charge. Their owner also posts frequently in the group and answers peoples' questions. Their customer service seems to be really good but we'll see how that goes as they continue to ramp up submissions. It looks like they are going to start taking Pokemon cards soon too.

So just to update where I'm at...

I sent in two submissions pre-lottery (wish I had sent in more, esp. my ultra-modern stuff, seeing as how popular they've gotten since I created this post).

I'm still waiting on my 60-day I sent. Counting business days only I've got about 10 days remaining. One drawback is you basically have no idea what stage of the process they are on and I don't believe you even get notified when they ship. I did get an e-mail that they received my cards way back when.

I followed up with a 10-day and have since received those. I sent in an 86 Fleer Olajuwon (got a 7.5), 95 Topps Garnett (got a 9.0 with one 9.5 sub), 2012 Prizm Beal RC (9.0) and a 2018 Topps Update Juan Soto RC (9.0). I also sent in an old Scanlens Cricket sticker (very similar to Panini) and they e-mailed me saying they don't grade stickers yet. Grades felt harsh-ish in comparison to other companies but fair if that is their baseline. I felt I did ok with the Olajuwon (was chasing an 8) and was disappointed I didn't get at least one 9.5 on the others (esp. the Beal and Garnett, the Soto did have the slightest white on a corner). Soto and, for now, Beal, are part of my PC. I sold the other two with tepid results. The Olajuwon went for 300 even and the Garnett was around 150. Olajuwon was a major bummer considering I bought the card raw for a bit more ($450). Garnett was a freebie since I pulled it years ago. It seems HGA is popular with the ultra-modern collectors and not going to add much to your older stuff, which isn't too surprising.