Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny Cole
Given all this we get cards graded because ..... ? It can't be trust, which is what PSA purported to sell. It can't be experience -- that ship has sailed. Protection? Maybe, although I don't know why an already altered card would need much protecting - how does or can its condition get worse than already altered? That leaves ... money and ego, which was EXACTLY what was actually being sold -- my card is better than yours. I hated grading when it started, exactly for the reasons stated here, kind of bought in to it later, and am now having to rethink it again. As Jeff said, having Stevie Wonder as the grader isn't designed to inspire too much confidence.
Man, this thread is depressing (but necessary) at so many levels. I guess I'll go look at some of my graded cards and try to figure out which ones don't deserve the grade they got. Reality sucks. At this point, I imagine I'm about as competent to do that as PSA's graders. That's really a sad commentary on the existing situation.
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I also struggled with it for a long time. I always saw collecting as an extension of my childhood where we certainly didn't have slabs. I could also never come to peace with the aesthetics. My eye would immediatly go to the flip, then based on the grade, my mind would then start looking for the flaws responsible for the given downgrade(s). It just got to the point where I wasn't enjoying the actual cards anymore. I agree with you about ego and money. I've never had much of an ego but the money part was a concern for sure.
Then, several years ago, I was finally able to cut the cord with my concern of value. It took a while, but I got there, and it was extremely liberating. I cracked every single card I owned, including, but certainly not limited to, a '33G set and theT3 set I'm about half way done with. I started with the lowest dollar cards and kept working my way up. I realized that if I got up to a certain monetary value of card to where I just couldn't bring myself to crack it, then I couldn't comfortably afford that card and shouldn't own it.
It's really easy to get caught up and start collecting beyond your means. Now my entire collection is raw and I've never been happier with it. Would it be hard to sell raw? Probably. Would I get a lot less? Sure. But those are monetary concerns, which I can't care about anymore. The cards are the same, in slabs or out. I've since met a lot of collectors who think the same (yes, they're out there!). Do I have some altered cards (oh, i mean conserved assets) in my collection? Probably. But if I can't tell, and I can let go of the monetary piece (I.e. collect within my means for pure joy), do I even care?
If TPGs do nothing else, it's monger fear. Don't collect scared.