Posted By:
Aaron M.Exactly -- that's what makes MEARS conflict of interest so insipid. They are the ones deciding if something is authentic or not. So all they have to do is stamp their own LOA on this baby and they can probably triple their money (at least). Who is to challenge them? Especially if the conflict of interest is undisclosed as is the case when MEARS sells its own items on Mastro?
Imagine if PSA did this with cards? There would be a huge outcry over it. PSA could simply ask itself, is a questionable card trimmed? Maybe, maybe not, but if we say it's not and encapsulate it, then we make a huge profit.
That's exactly what the MEARS guys are able to do, and as a collector you basically have to trust that they were honest in their assessment despite their conflict of interest which means they have hundreds or thousands (or more) of dollars at stake on seeing an item in a light that is favorable to themselves.