Posted By:
barrysloateGreg- that's actually a very fair point, as I feel very comfortable with my grading service of choice, SGC, and believe they get it right with tremendous frequency.
But let me take it a step further. It seems to me that given proper training, the right diagnostic tools, and a thorough approach to examining a card, it should be possible to get it right with near 100% certainty. To use a cliche, if they can land a man on the moon, they can authenticate a baseball card.
I think the real problem is that graders are sloppy. They have too much work, they don't spend enough time looking at each card, and it's quite possible they haven't received the proper training. The knowledge is out there, and each of the grading services has the ability to get it down so precisely that we should never have to be concerned that a bad card gets holdered.
Maybe we would have to pay a little more, but in fact we do. If I submit a T206 common, I pay $8-10. If I submit a 10K card, I pay $100. For that $100, I expect every diagnostic tool known to man to be implemented.
If they approached the issue with greater urgency, we wouldn't need to look outside the grading service for additional help. It's in their power to do a much better job and get it right.