[Rad_Hazard]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

What you say is true, except for the "guarantee." Collector's seem to have agreed that they will accept what the slab label says as the gospel. And they are willing to pay for that peace of mind. Thus it really doesn't matter whether the label is accurate or not. The authenticator's have created the accepted "truth."
But if the label is ever proved wrong), it's just too bad for the owner. There is no guarantee, and no making up for the value lost.

Agreed, which is why I said that the guarantee isn't foolproof. If you have a good eye and have been in the hobby for a long time you can use the slab in conjunction with what you know and feel pretty confident in your purchase. I mainly rely on the slab to help me with trimmed cards as I can assume all day, but I'm not great at being able to tell a really good trim job. I also like slabs, they are aesthetically pleasing to me.

I like buying PSA 1's of higher end cards, but focus on getting nicely centered copies with defects that I am ok with. The slab gives me the peace of mind that, yeah the card is nowhere near perfect, but it presents well and is authentic. I liken slabs to the second opinion of a doctor, I was the first doctor, and if the second doctor likes it then I feel much better about the purchase. Can both doctors be wrong, sure, but getting a second set of eyes on something is invaluable.