Posted By:
Gilbert Maines
Certainly the most valuable information in card evaluation is the authenticity of the card and identification of the degree of modification the card has undergone to yield its present state.
However, also valuable is the opinion of a third party on the present condition of the card. This opinion is useful in minimizing overestimates by sellers. Unfortunately, our hobby typically places too much emphasis on the opinion of third party graders. I believe that the degree of emphasis on their opinion is "too much" because I do not agree with the criteria being employed by these third parties, the weighting of their evaluation parameters, nor their overall approach to the grading of baseball cards.