My experience at the Chicago Sun-Times Show

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Posted By: vorthian 

I was there Friday and Saturday. Looking for vintage cards, I found the show quite disappointing - it reminded me of a normal eBay week. Jumping right in...

SUPERIOR: There was a badly overgraded 1955 Bowman Mantle PSA 10 that was heavily chipped sitting in their case. About the time I was looking at that card, I overheard someone nearby speaking of an upcoming auction...

In essence, the person in charge was speaking to a dealer saying how he/she wanted "High dollar items" and that the auction was geared toward those not in the know, but had deep pockets. When I heard that, I immediately thought of BCCG in the fact that, I feel, Beckett is going to effectively confuse those new collectors thinking the "10" grade is something different than what it has been known to be. Prime material for HSN in which the excessive hype will appeal to the novices and potentially harm the hobby.

BECKETT: They didn't offer on-site grading, however they did offer a "raw card review" and a cross-over service. They both cost $5 unless the card gets put in a holder, then it's a bit more. The "raw card review", you submit a card and they will hand the card back to you in a card holder with the grade and a protective seal. With this you can then submit it via mail, at a show where they do on-site gradings, etc. The cross-over service is when you submit a card graded by any grading company (even Beckett) and
if the card meets the grade you want, it gets put in a Beckett slab.

I submitted a 1928 Yuengling's Ty Cobb for the "raw card review" and when I came back on Saturday, I was told the head grader was not present and they would have to bring the card to Dallas before a grade could be assigned. I'm thinking to myself, this is a decent sized show - where is the HEAD GRADER?

For the cross-overs, I had more SGC cards that would have crossed over than PSA cards. However, many experienced dealers/collectors have no confidence in Beckett's ability to spot the altered and trimmed vintage cards so crossing over a high-grade Joe Jackson wasn't a bright idea.

SGC: Consistent. I don't have to flip a coin to figure out what my grades will be. The "buzz" about SGC was the confidence that large dealers and experienced collectors have in their grading/authentication ability.

PSA: Their following is immense and thanks to the set registry, they have picked up steam. What they gained from that they have lost in customer confidence. Ever since Mike Baker left, according to some dealers and hobby veterans, they are letting way too many "whacked" cards slide. This will result in more "buy backs" down the road and bad karma unless something is done. Expect more cases like the M101-5 Babe Ruth PSA 1 that was recently bought back because it was a simple reprint.

GAI: Mixed emotions about this company. On one hand, why do we need another grading company? On the other, they have one of best graders in the business - Mike Baker (the other being Derek Grady of SGC). There have been allegations that Baker's practices in the past were shady, but people trust his grading ability. And after looking at many GAI cards - they look like they are accurately graded. Many are confident in Baker, but until the masses embrace GAI - it looks to be a struggle.

SCD: I met Bob Lemke and showed him several T213-3 overprints, including the only known Ty Cobb (SGC 50), which will be put in the new catalog. He ended up taking a few pictures of the Cobb and explained a little bit about the issue.

TOOL AT THE TOLL-BOOTH: On my way there Friday, I asked this tool if he could throw some trash out for me. Much to my chagrin, he refused saying "I can only throw my trash away". Thinking about conformists, he handed me my change and I wasted $20 worth of BFGoodrich as I exited.

I ended up purchasing nothing and selling some choice vintage cards. And to the delight of my stomach, I was offered a free dinner at Gibson's the next time I am there.

vorthian@aol.com

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Posted By: MW

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