PSA: from Experts who thwart "wack jobs" to unappreciated, human-based opinion givers

[Yoda]

I still feel there is or was some kind of fix in place between Moser, PWCC and PSA. Exactly how it was organized or the mechanics of the operation, of course, I have no idea.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I still feel there is or was some kind of fix in place between Moser, PWCC and PSA. Exactly how it was organized or the mechanics of the operation, of course, I have no idea.

Agree...

Hopefully law enforcement can dive deep, sort it all out, and issue punishments that are commensurate with the respective levels of fraud and deception.

[Case12]

My career is in Artificial Intelligence (no, not robots). This sounds like a great business model. Thousands times faster, reliable and accurate. Google already has software and hardware availible for cheap (garage geek cheap). We just need some garage geeks at a TPA to do some work. This is not SciFi, it's happening today. For this application it would be no bigger than a home scanner. Gosh....where's my application for a patent :-)

[seanofjapan]

Originally Posted by Case12

My career is in Artificial Intelligence (no, not robots). This sounds like a great business model. Thousands times faster, reliable and accurate. Google already has software and hardware availible for cheap (garage geek cheap). We just need some garage geeks at a TPA to do some work. This is not SciFi, it's happening today. For this application it would be no bigger than a home scanner. Gosh....where's my application for a patent :-)

I've kind of wondered if PSA, etc aren't using (or developing?) AI because its a serious threat to their business model.

I'm under the impression that in the near future the technology will exist that will allow an app to grade cards (or something similar already exists as you say). Right now you need some actual hardware to make it work which prevents its use from being widespread, but possibly in a few years everything you'd physically need will come bundled with smart phones or tablets.

When that happens, we won't need slabs or TPGs anymore. You'll have an app that will grade the card and record every physical detail about it to the minutest level. Tiny variations in the grain of the cardboard or something like that can be recorded by the extremely high resolution cameras of tomorrow and act as a kind of "fingerprint" for the card, tying the physical card in your hand to the registered grade. When you sell the card on Ebay (or wherever) the seller can check the card on the App. Then when it arrives in the mail they can use the app to confirm the card is the same one in the same condition.

There are some issues with that business model, like what happens if someone damages a card after they've graded it using the app and then sell it without disclosing that change, but I think they could be dealt wit. It'd be way cheaper and easier to use than PSA or any other grading company and could put them out of business.