[ngnichols]

1. When you have as much money as you have exchanging hands for certain cards i.e. T206 Cobb, 1952 Topps Mantle, 1951 Bowman Mantle, etc. you are going to have to have some sort of 3rd party involved to independently verify/take on some sort of liability. Grading/certifying things isn't exclusive to sports cards/trading cards. It's also usually required when insuring an item of that nature as well.

2. If there is money to be made, you better expect for there to be numerous hoards of unscrupulous people ready to take advantage of the uneducated and untrained. Card grading has greatly reduced the ability of crooks to take advantage of unwitting buyers who have money, but no idea as to what they are looking at in regards to condition or even legitimacy. It's not a 100% fool-proof thing because humans are involved, but the ability to know you're buying something that's 100% legit and in a specific condition is almost worth it's weight in gold to most.

3. Just because you collected cards as a kid and see it as a hobby only doesn't mean those who have more money than you or others and can afford higher-ticket items and/or treat it as a business are bad people. Should I be pissed at millionaires because they can go buy rare fully-restored classic cars that I can't afford because restoring classic cars is a "hobby." Hell no.

People like the OP are just full of sour-grapes because the hobby/industry passed them by and they simply aren't able to effectively operate in the climate of today. Sorry, but things change and we progress as humans (well, most of us anyway).