Beckett & PWCC Partner Up On Combo Grading And Auction Offering

We are seeing a massive consolidation and re-alignment within the card collecting universe. The parent company of PSA purchased Goldin Auctions, Fanatics bought Topps, PWCC and CSG partnered up.

How we’re hearing of a partnership between Beckett and PWCC. So, what’s the deal with the Beckett and PWCC partnership announcement?

READ: Beckett under new ownership

Who is Beckett?

Beckett has long been a big player in the hobby, from the days of the first card collecting “boom” of the 1980s and 1990s when their “Beckett Monthly” price guide because ubiquitous and the go-to price guide in the hobby.

Beckett has expanded its hobby presence over the years, most notably for this conversation with the introduction of Beckett Grading.

Who is PWCC?

PWCC is a large online sports card auction service. They are a bit of a problematic player in the hobby in many collectors’ eyes.

They have been involved in several hobby scandals (see here and here for two examples) and were banned from selling on eBay despite being one of the biggest sports card sellers on the platform.

That being said, whether you love them or hate them, PWCC moves a lot of cards and gets a lot of eyeballs on their auctions.

The Collector’s dilemma

Say you’re a collector who has a raw card that you want to sell. Maybe you just pulled a hot 1/1 or rookie card from a 2022 pack. Maybe you have some raw vintage you want to unload. Maybe you’re looking to cash in on David Ortiz recent Hall of Fame induction.

Getting a card graded will likely add value upon resale, but it also adds time and expense. Especially if we’re talking about a recent release that’s in high demand, this time and expense can cost you time and money.

Sending the card to a grading company (filling out paperwork, boxing it up, paying shipping both ways), waiting for grading (depending on company and submission level, days to months), shipping it to an auction house (or list it yourself on eBay), with time and shipping costs every step of the way.

That’s a lot of hassle to sell a card. Beckett and PWCC recognized this and have offered a potential better way.

Beckett & PWCC partnership offers a solution

Beckett and PWCC have partnered to offer collectors the option to ship the card once and have the rest of the process taken care of for you. For busy collectors looking to turn their raw cards into cash quickly, it’s an appealing idea.

The new Beckett/PWCC product details

The combo offer is beautiful in its simplicity. Send your card to PWCC. They send it to Beckett. Beckett grades the card and sends it back to PWCC. PWCC lists it in its next Sunday Auction and sends you the proceeds once the auction closes.

A few highlights:

• Simply ship your card to PWCC (no grading paperwork)
• Cost is $50 per card
• Cost covers shipping from PWCC to Beckett and back to PWCC, plus the grading cost
• Beckett grades the card with a 10-day business day turnaround
• Card is graded with subgrades.
• When the graded card is returned to PWCC they list it in their next Sunday auction.
• There is no up-front cost, with the $50 fee coming out of the final sale proceeds of the auction.

To submit your card to PWCC for this grading and auction combo deal, you must create an account with PWCC. Start here to get your submission started.

Is this combo offer for you?

If you’re looking to quickly unload a raw card at auction, this attractive offer may be for you. It offers a quick turnaround without much work for a reasonable price.

If you’re in no hurry, are selling a lower-value card, or are looking to maximize your return, doing everything yourself may save you a few dollars.

PWCC had an existing partnership with CSG grading that is similar to this offer but less expensive ($20 vs. $50), which we assume will continue. CCG is not as well-known a grading company as Beckett, however, and doesn’t provide consistent resale value like Beckett.

For most cards that are valuable enough to make the “grade and auction” path a reasonable one, cards graded by Beckett are likely to sell for enough over a CSG-graded card sale to make up for the difference in the price, and probably provide more value.

The final word on the Beckett / PWCC combo offer

PSA remains the king when it comes to resale value, but Beckett is closing the gap. It will be interesting to see if PSA announces a similar offering now that its parent company has acquired Goldin Auctions.

If you’re looking for a quick and convenient way to grade and sell your high-value raw cards, this new offering from Beckett and PWCC could be for you. As the hobby consolidation continues, we may see more offerings like this from other companies, but for now this offer looks like a good value.