[orly57]

Ford and Chevy CREATE their own product. In the case of grading companies, they EVALUATE an already existing product. And unlike Ford and Chevy, the decisions made by these graders as to the condition of a product could mean tens of thousands of dollars on one card. I didn't mean in my post to imply that they should conduct their businesses identically. I am saying that us collectors are putting too much stock into their opinions by putting too much value on flips. Their divergent grading policies and arbitrary means of valuation was at the heart of my post. It has gotten to the point where we ship cards to particular companies depending on the particular flaw. Trimmed? Send to BVG and cross your fingers. Paper loss? Send to psa. Handcut? Sgc is your company. We are hungrily feasting on their opinions, rather than judging the cards for ourselves. We are paying 200k for a 52 Willie Mays 9 that looks virtually idenntical, and in some cases not as nice, as many 7s or 8s. This Green Cobb was one of many of my observations about the insanity of grade-worship. I, for one, WISH that Cobb were a 2; I would buy it happily at a fraction of the price that it will inevitably sell for.