[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Yes, folks like me and you will continue using the auction houses and PSA and SGC. But honestly I'm using them a lot less. And I'm buying few if any huge items. And when I see a card like a beautiful Cracker Jack PSA 7, for example, all I now think about is how was precisely it altered. And by whom. And I look at it ten more times wondering why a 100 year old card that was in a box of caramel coated candy is obviously whiter than the teeth in my mouth. I end up buying something on eBay for $125 and I don't lay in bed at night wondering if I was ripped off. And while I can imagine sending in something to get graded, most of the time I think about for a bit and the mood passes, and I just say fk it. Takes forever to get my order processed. So while, yes, most of continue to use these places, I'm guessing I am not the only one whose bidding habits have changed dramatically in the last 9 or so months.

I don't want to spend $20,000 on a card only to have someone expose it as doctored on the board a week later.

Steve, I get your point, but I believe you picked an erroneous example. It is my understanding that the 1914 CJ cards were only distributed in boxes of CJ, whereas the 1915 CJ cards were also available as a complete set via mail order, as stated on the backs of the 1915 cards. Hence, legitimate 1915 CJ cards that are "whiter than the teeth in my mouth" are frequently seen. Here are the backs of both of my CJ WaJos (both of mine came out of CJ boxes), but you can see the mail-in offer on the 1915 example.