I would think the worst case scenario is probably some corner damage which might affect the grade but would not affect whether they grade.

Sorry if this has already been brought up...

It seems to me that this new company/product will become a likely target for scammers. If someone can sneak a few fake/altered/compromised slabs through the system, they would be able to (fraudulently) profit from doing so.

Please note, I am NOT saying the person running the business would be doing this. I am merely stating that there will almost certainly be a non-zero amount of crooks looking to exploit this somehow.

I agree

If I want to start a company that graded a persons natural toenail “quality” and place a sticker on them such that they get a hotter date..... none of you SOB’s are stopping me!!!!

Let the man do his thing... it’s called Capitalism

We'll let him do his thing and you can put your full name out here. thanks

The big thing in CAC's favor is that it was started by John Albanese, who is a long-time and well respected member of the numismatic community. He has the "credentials"; coin collectors know who he is, and they respect his opinion.

In the case of "Purple Label LLC", who is Greg Campbell? I've been a member of the baseball card community since the 1970s, going to shows, subscribed to Sports Collectors' Digest, The Trader Speaks, Baseball Hobby News, Baseball Cards Magazine, Beckett....., I've been a member of both the CU and Network54 message boards for several years, have bought from/placed bids with most of the major auction houses/dealers, and I have never heard of Greg Campbell anywhere until this thread.

It seems to me, to start something like CAC in the sports card community, and be successful, you should have immediate name recognition; someone like Brent Huigens, Steve Hart, Kit Young, Levi Bleam, Bill Goodwin, Dave Kohler; i.e., someone who has been around for years/decades, and who is known and respected in the community. To me, this Greg Campbell doesn't fit the bill.

Steve

I've always been under the impression that within a capitalist system, the principle of free speech was very, very important. I guess you disagree with that. Interesting.

Well, the thing that really confuses me is if you have a '6' with a purple sticker, that implies that it's possibly undergraded, right? So maybe a '7', but not quite. Well, isn't that what the PSA half grades are for? So a '6' with a sticker means that the card is actually a '6.25'? Seems like a stupid idea, and I'd actually pay less for a purple sticker card since I'd have to spend effort removing that ugly purple piece of crap.

In theory I don’t think it’s a bad concept. Not every 5 is the same not every 6 is the same etc. I see people on eBay and on BST say their cards are undergraded. So if you don’t want to regrade here is the alternative. My question is how is the sticker determined. Does the company have flaw preferences? Does a card that is centered get a sticker despite having dinged corners and a small wrinkle versus an oc card that has nicer corners and no wrinkles?

The other thing I’ll say is I don’t think this works as a mail in service. I mail in 10 cards I feel are undergraded and get 3 stickers. So I pay $50 for these 3 stickers. Plus shipping etc. seems to me this would work better as an in person service. Charge $1 or $2 for rejects and $5 for the sticker. Not sure if that is profitable enough. Plus you might get a lot of pissed off people who disagree with the rejection of their undergraded cards.

I don’t think I’d personally use the service but based on some of the complaints I see for TPGs I understand the concept.

Two questions:

1) How can you ensure you will only sticker say 1% or 5% or any % of the cards submitted. For instance, I submit a card to you on day 1 that you deem to be of high grade and sticker it, day 247 someone else submits another card you also deem is high for the grade and sticker that, etc, etc, etc. To ensure you properly sticker only say 1% you would need to know beforehand how many cards truly exist at the top end of the range for that particular grade. I don't see how thats possible beforehand especially since existing cards are being graded every day thereby increasing the total graded population at any grade. It could end up that a high % of the cards in a particular grade for that player in that issue receive a sticker which ends up causing this selectivity service being self defeating.

2) Assuming you are reviewing the card thru the slab (i'm too lazy to go and see if thats how you review the card) and don't have the raw card in hand so you can't see all the flaws, ie, wavy edges, discolorations, types of stains, etc. As a result I might buy a card that has been stickered but if I submitted it for review to say PSA it might not truly be high end for the grade.

I would think this process could actually de-value a card.


Seems gimicky I will pass.

purple sticker
 

Could we have a yellow sticker for every overgraded card. Or perhaps multiple colors. If the card got a 7 but deserves a 6 it could be yellow. If it deserved a 5 it could be orange. If it should have been graded authentic altered it could be red with the letters WTF printed on the sticker. Now that would be a valuable service.

Here's an idea lets slab the slab with a purple label rather than purple sticker so it can't be removed. Then in a few years we can make it a black label rather than purple to require resubmission of the slab-slab. Then make a different slab size to require another re-submission for slab-slab, etc. Oh the HUMANITY. This is ridiculous.

You forgot.....then introduce QUARTER grades.....and then the ever elusive 9.5!!!

CAC stickers are certainly popular in the coin hobby and typically garner a premium. I look at a lot of coins and those that are stickered always have nice surfaces and very good eye appeal. So it does have some credibility.

In the baseball card hobby, cards with perfect or near perfect centering could easily be stickered, as well as those with exceptional eye appeal.

That said, IMO less is more, and we as collectors are relying too much on the opinions of third party graders. In a perfect world we would learn to grade our own cards, and do it accurately so that others would accept our opinions. But slabs have taken over many hobbies, and they have become among the most incredible marketing tools ever.

Nobody is going to submit if there is only a 1 in 20 or worse chance of getting the sticker, IMO. And in any event this seems doomed to end up being arbitrary, or political, or both.

That's a really interesting point Steve.

I've collected coins longer than I've collected cards, but with a lot more and longer "vacations" from the hobby. Started coins as a kid, figure around 1970, maybe/probably a bit earlier. Didn't start cards until 73-4 and got more into it in 77. Actually did both plus stamps plus other stuff off and on for a while. Without much budget of course.

With all the time I've taken off from coins, I don't really know who anyone is aside from maybe a few of the really long term people that write for the magazines.

That instant credibility vs relative obscurity is probably going to be a key thing going forward. And it may end up being regional, someone well known in Mass might not be well known in Cal.

We need a facebookesque "like" button.

How do you do it? I could never be that concise and on point.

Steve B

I'm a man of few words.:)

I can just see Levi adding 707-HE stickers. :eek:

But to me the issue isn't whether Greg is known, I believe from what has been said that he has the credentials, there are many experts who have flown under the radar. For me, the question is whether this service really adds value and I'm just not in favor of 4th party grading whether it's done by Brent, Greg, or anyone else.

This sounds similar to an audit. That can be somewhat painful.

Leon, can we add a purple sticker to threads? Then we would all know which ones are worth reading and which ones are not.

:D

/head explodes

This guy clearly has no idea what he is doing and has already failed.

Seeing as how he is labeling his own product with wild abandon (whether it truly deserves it or not) while you got a 1 out of 20 shot of getting one yourself tells me all I need to know about this venture.

I predict we will see more from them soon. And I think they will make a good run at it. A lot of people use CAC for coins? We shall see.....

What is the point of applying a purple label to a card Beckett already has graded Gem Mint?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-Bowman...4AAOSwFUxa7lS9

I will let them answer questions for themselves. I spoke with the owner very recently. He understands the uphill battle. I told him I don't need his services and a lot of board members don't either. That said, there are more coin collectors than card collectors and CAC seems to be doing fine. Maybe the 9.5 is a high end 9.5?

A high end Gem Mint? Head explodes, as Bill G. said.

If this business wants to succeed, IF it starts getting popular, the #1 thing he should do is hire an impartial grader. After seeing this sticker on the Johnny Bench PSA 1 with all the numerous flaws it had leads me to believe he IS NOT impartial. Like Leon, there might be a need for this in the future. PWCC already got the ball rolling with their HE stickers. When you are trying to get yourself established NOW is not the time for half measures.

Possible bump to a psa 10?

Hey, I used to do the same thing with my girlfriends...used to....


:mad::cool:


.

I hope these guys don't quit their day jobs.

who, the comedians or the sticker guys? :D

Purple Stickers
 

They posted a bunch of cards with stickers on their facebook page. They actually look pretty nice.


https://www.facebook.com/purplelabelcard/

I see a 1960 Fleer Jack Kemp PSA 8 that's off-center with bad registration.
A 1966 Topps Mantle PSA 4 with a diamond cut and moderate corner wear.
A 1978 OPC Murray PSA 8 that's off-center.
A 1960 Topps Yaz RC PSA 5 with significant PD.

All cards that I would consider average for the grade.

Does not inspire confidence.

That's what I am saying. It cheapens the brand when these stickers are handed out willy-nilly. They should ONLY be reserved for top tier items. I do want to see this person succeed. He needs to take the advice he has been given here to heart though.

I still would like a answer to my questions.


I’ll ask one of them again . How can a 10 or for a better example a BGS 9.5 get a purple sticker ? Is it better then most 9.5s? How ?

Better centering, free of minor print defects or other small flaws that are still permitted on a 9.5 or 10.

And how many BGS 9.5 Mariano Riveras do you think you would have to examine before you could say with confidence that a particular one was the 1 in 20 that merited the purple sticker?

Not sure if this question has been asked or answered yet. However, what provisions are made if a "purple label" holder does not crossover or get a better grade through re-submission? Are only PSA, SGC and BGS holders evaluated? What about GAI?

Yea I'm not saying I felt that Rivera deserved a purple sticker. And I already stated I think this idea is pretty ridiculous and unnecessary. But there are cards I've seen that have had noticable difference between one 9.5 or 10 and another. I have seen off center psa 10s, and others with focus issues or print defects. Look at a few 86 Jordans for example.

Well sure Beckett 9.5s explicitly have different subgrades so sure you can get ones with better surface, centering, corners, etc. PSA 10s should have less variance but yes I have seen that as well. But as you know we don't need a purple sticker to tell us a card is centered.

Why would a purple sticker guarantee a better grade? I never seen this anyplace, did you?

If you go to the website it will answer your questions on what companies they work with.

Right , I don’t think a 10 can get a purple sticker. If it does then I would also question the grading company. Your telling me this card that is graded ABOVE MINT condition can be better then other 10s? I feel like I’m studying string theory. I get it but is it really possible?

Yes.

I think we're in agreement Peter. I dont need a purple sticker to tell me a card looks better than its grade either. But to discount this company simply because they put a sticker on a bgs 9.5 or psa 10 card would be a mistake in my opinion. There are plenty of other reasons to do so.

I see these guys are advertisers here now. Good luck to them...they're going to need it.

+1 Believe me, I told them they would need more than a lot of luck, maybe a miracle? LOL Stranger things have happened and my guess is CAC got the same treatment when they started. I am with the rest of the board on this one though and only playing some devil's advocate for conversation.

ps...they will need to tighten up their standards at the very least, from some things I (and others) have seen.

Purple Label
 

Thank you Leon for the advertising opportunity. Also, thank you to
everyone who had comments or suggestions. Everybody has been
heard loud and clear. Your critique [good or bad] is actually vital to
the growth of our service. I say that with absolute sincerity.

Thanks to everyone again,

Greg

Can't wait to start my new business. Just need to get my website up...www.gradinggradingcards.com. Also, working on my new "blue labels" and my advertising campaign. "Not happy with your Purple Label review? Send your purple label cards to us for a truly independent review and we will tell you which purple labels really are the best in their purple label grading class by issuing our Blue Label stamp of approval! Just call us the guys who grade the guys who grade the guys who grade your cards!" 😂

New guy coming in hot! But seriously, welcome.