Posted By:
T206CollectorDan,
I know you were smoked. And we both agree PSA is a poorly run grading company. But grading makes the hobby for me, and for plenty others of us, who make most of our purchases via ebay and other internet auctions/sites. When SGC grades a T206 card, I have a pretty good idea what it looks like now, having had 150 of my T206 cards graded by them. They provide an invaluable service to me and to countless others. When you say grading is a joke, the value of your criticsm is sort of lost on me. Hell hath no fury like a collector scorned, so to speak...
With respect to the pricing tier, it is eminently reasonable for a tier structure depending on the value of the card. If they ding a card on site, you can sue them to be sure. Will you win is less important than how much PSA/SGC/GAI have to pay in legal fees to defend such suits. Once you get them to court, then it is "he said, she said," but if you have good scans/documentation, you should be alright -- especially if the card going to SGC is coming from PSA or GAI. Someone having a PSA 5 crossed over into an SGC 3 is a lawsuit just waiting to happen. Naturally, SGC purchased insurance to cover this risk. That they have passed some or all of this cost on to the buyers is one factor to consider in choosing a grading company. Like I said, I suspect SGC is shouldering as much of this burden as they can from a business stand point.
PSA is another story, but to be sure, they get sued from collectors like you all the time. And they have insurance to cover the cost of hiring lawyers to defend those suits.
I'm all for saying down with PSA (indeed, down with them already!), but I love my SGC graded T206 cards. I really do.
Paul (aka T206 Collector)