[Smarti5051]

I am also a little surprised how negative the reaction to the Authentication process has been from the vets on this board. I imagine many of the commentors have far more experience evaluating cards than the TPGs that are doing it, especially with the recent increase in card grading. But, it seems that many of the commentors can't put themselves in the position of a less experienced collector.

Even though I have collected since the early-80s (with long breaks over the past 4 decades), I do not consider myself anything close to an expert on authentication. I have read several threads over the past year on this site and Blowoutcards of PSA slabs on Ebay that a knowledgeable poster has been able to prove are counterfeit. Heck, there was even an Etsy seller that was selling "replica" PSA slabs of Trout and Brady rookies (among others) as counterfeits that did not have any markings they were "replicas." If an Etsy seller can replicate the process in a basement, I have to imagine more sophisticated operations could fool alot of collectors, especially since once inside a slab, things like feel, smell and weight go out the window.

Back when a really nice collection could be amassed with a lifetime budget of $50,000, being fooled by a counterfeit slab might have been a three to low four digit mistake. Now, when $50,000 is the budget for a few cards, the risk to a collector in getting it wrong is a potential 5 digit mistake. Not to mention, when you are spending $500 on a card you want, it is easy to accept the cost as an expense for a hobby. When you are spending $5000 for the same card thanks to the market explosion the past couple years, it is hard not to treat that cost as an "investment" (even if your motive is still to hold the card as part of your personal collection). If/when I ever get my hands on a CJ Shoeless Joe, I want to make sure that when I die my family does not discover that the $40,000 I paid for my dream card is a fake, and I was an idiot without enough experience in the hobby to avoid becoming a victim.

I can see the concerns over how the costs will be passed down and the negatives associated with it. But, there are ZERO consequences to counterfeiters faking these slabs (even once discovered), and the technology and "look" of fake slabs is getting close to indistinguishable from the originals to anyone that is not a true expert (and/or a company with sophisticated equipment designed to discover fakes). So, at least this process can slow down the criminals a bit and perhaps make the process too expensive for the effort.