If you were to start a NEW grading service...

[jsconscum]

Originally Posted by D.P.Johnson

When I'm buying a card I want to know two things:

1. Is it authentic?
2. Has it been altered?

I can personally assign my own "grade" and determine the price I want to pay for the card.

I would support a company that used a simple concept like this...

+1

I don't need a monkey to tell me my card is mint.

[Theo_450]

I didn't read all of the posts.

My card grading company would have 3 categories.
1. Authentic Original
2. Authentic Altered = soaked, trimmed, erased, marked, restored, otherwise tampered with.
3. Fake

Let the buyers decide value/demand.

At the end of the day, it is what it is, and they are what they are, and the grading companies are a middleman that are capitalizing on telling us what "it" is.

I want to know that it is authentic and unaltered, or otherwise. My eyes can do the rest.

After all, it is art and nostalgia. It is kind of like buying an antique coffee table.

Refinished = < value, faked = NO value, and "came from my family" = "I bet you made that up".

edited to add: I just read a few more posts, and I feverishly stand by my concept. Don't let the grading companies dictate what you will collect, or how much you will pay for it.

[toledo_mudhen]

• Lose the Half Grades - Seriously? What a scam.....
• Simple foil seal around couple of edges to show if tampered with
• Integration with the other top 3 TPGs for an accurate population report and registry
• I measure centers with JRuler - I'm sure it wouldnt be that hard to have a computer calculate L/R and T/B - Maybe noted on back of flip
• Grades like Beckett on back for Center, surface, corners
• No membership fees for submitting
• Customer service like SGC

I'm ready - who else is in?

[WWGjohn]

As a collector of low grade cards, I've always hated TPG's but I also like the concept of authentic or altered as designations. As others have said I can assign my own grade to what I buy.

John

[nolemmings]

I used to be among the crowd who wanted just an authentic-unaltered notation-- in fact I probably posted to that effect 10 years or so ago. Upon reflection though I prefer having a technical grade assigned, for it helps alert me to flaws that are difficult to see, especially in a scan when scanners have such variable settings.

I hate wrinkles or creases, certainly more than most other defects, and am no fan of even minor paper loss or stray pen marks. Oftentimes these are very difficult to spot in scans. I would be unhappy to buy an otherwise real nice looking card graded simply "Authentic-Unaltered" only to find these defects when I had the card in hand. I probably wouldn't want the card at all and certainly would not have paid anywhere near as much. I suppose I could inundate the seller beforehand with all sorts of questions as a preventative measure and return it if unsatisfied, but these are major hassles to me. Instead, give the card its proper grade and let me decide when I buy the card not the holder, with a lower grade number serving to tip me off to look more closely.

[nolemmings]

I would internally track who handles which cards and how many complaints emanate from each grader's work. Heads would roll...

I would go even further-- assign a unique number to each grader and make sure that number appeared somewhere on the flip. I don't need to know his name, but I can then establish which graders are associated with what I consider questionable grades and steer clear (or at least take heed) when I see that guy's work.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by D.P.Johnson

When I'm buying a card I want to know two things:

1. Is it authentic?
2. Has it been altered?

I can personally assign my own "grade" and determine the price I want to pay for the card.

I would support a company that used a simple concept like this...

I don't do graded but this is spot on. I find much more value in the opinion of authenticity and alterations than I do in the grade assignments. My company would have no assigned grades. I'd also make a cheaper grading option for commons, like in a top loader with a small sticker/seal over the top. The space/weight of all those bulky slabs is a real drag and one of the many reasons I only collect raw. I think current TPG's are missing out on a ton of potential money from people who want their $2-$20 cards looked at, but can't justify paying for the full monty.

[begsu1013]

I would:


1. find a good state for tax credit purposes.

a. hopefully, one w/ no state income tax.
b. a city w/ a direct fedex/ups hub.

2. establish said llc or llp.

3. find a reputable and established IT guy.

4. formulate a computerized scientific program for grading/measurements

a. a lot of cards would get kicked back for measurement discrepancies alone
b. grades would be more consistent
c. this would cut down on labor costs dramatically.

5. quality control check.

6. develop and patent a true tamper proof case.

a. maybe w. a die insert "ring" that changed colors if cracked (not spill out all over the card naturally)

7. establish a user-friendly registry

a. said registry would also track pedigree/provenance
b. notify date graded.
c. allow private messaging option of previous owners, if so wished.

8. construct an aggressive marketing campaign

a. wait for a true beauty to hand out 1st cert
b. hand out 100 free subs at national to each paid entry.
c. extend another initial free subs offer electronically for said amount of time
d. charge a minimal price (in the beginning) for crossovers.
e. kids 15 and under would get 20 free subs a year under $100 declared value.


9. continuously strive for the quickest log in and turnaround time possible

10. customer service would be bar none.

edited to add: you would also get a high resolution scan emailed to you once encapsulated.

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

I used to be among the crowd who wanted just an authentic-unaltered notation-- in fact I probably posted to that effect 10 years or so ago. Upon reflection though I prefer having a technical grade assigned, for it helps alert me to flaws that are difficult to see, especially in a scan when scanners have such variable settings.

I hate wrinkles or creases, certainly more than most other defects, and am no fan of even minor paper loss or stray pen marks. Oftentimes these are very difficult to spot in scans. I would be unhappy to buy an otherwise real nice looking card graded simply "Authentic-Unaltered" only to find these defects when I had the card in hand. I probably wouldn't want the card at all and certainly would not have paid anywhere near as much. I suppose I could inundate the seller beforehand with all sorts of questions as a preventative measure and return it if unsatisfied, but these are major hassles to me. Instead, give the card its proper grade and let me decide when I buy the card not the holder, with a lower grade number serving to tip me off to look more closely.

As much of a beauty it would be to have just "altered" or "authentic" on the slab, I think I'm with Todd...I want a number on the slab. There's too much info that that number represents. With all of the good that having no number on a slab would bring, I think it may be just as bad without a number. Sometimes it's hard to tell the defects on a card through a picture on the internet...imagine if you didn't have a slab number to give you some direction And you think people are crooked now...just take the number away! I believe there are ups and downs to both, but I prefer some direction instead of playing the guessing game.

That being said, I believe there should be an option on whether or not you want a number grade assigned to your card and with that, it needs to state whether it was requested or not so people know it was by choice and not because of an alteration, etc.,

There are three things that need to be a priority IMO if you are starting or running a card/memorabilia/auto authentication/grading business:

1. competent graders...the ones that can give no excuses for absolute shit grades. I know there will always be the human element factor as long as they are doing the grading, but some grades I've seen are inexcusable...can't happen.

2. top notch customer service (duh ). The kind that realizes that we the customers are the reason they are staying in business and treat us as so.

3. a tamper proof slab (kudos to Beckett). And if Beckett could grade pre-war a little better, I would be sending them all of my business. I like all three and I feel like Beckett's holders are probably in last place (I don't hate their holders tho) among the three as far as appearance goes. Their slabs are bomb proof tho and they get bonus points for that!

I know there would be a lot more I would do if I started a grading company, but this is where I would start. Good thread, Pete!

[mark evans]

I think a 1-10 system with alterations identified is fine.

Given the inherent subjectivity in grading, finer distinctions are silly. Fewer grades would be ok for in-person transactions, but I think a 1-10 system facilitates internet transactions.