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warshawlaw Had an interesting meeting with Steve Rocchi of GAI at a truly horrendous show in L.A. over the weekend (Advertised as 60 tables of the finest, etc.; had two freakin' tables of cards, about 18 tables of photos and other autograph crap, and that was it. The show from hell. On the other hand, if you wanted to shoot the breeze with HOFers and other ex-players, it was easy since there was virtually no one there). They've got some interesting ideas and some decent policies:
1. They are willing to buy back any mistakes. Rocchi said they have a Lloyd's of London policy backing them on this guarantee. As you all know, this is waaaay more than any other service offers.
2. According to Rocchi, they had their holder and inserts tested by an independent lab using ASTM standards to certify that the materials would not react with the cards.
3. They will be grading, authenticating and encapsulating autographed cards other than the certified autographed cards from the current manufacturers, so you can get your signed cards graded and authenticated. Since all I collect in the autograph field is autographed cards, this will be welcome.
4. They plan to branch out to other collectibles soon, including tickets (which I would like to see, personally).
Their holder is pretty solid looking and presents pretty nicely (although the insert is a little hard to read and slips around a bit; SGC still looks better).
Now, I have no idea how good their work is or how good their service will be, or how it will be received, but I am glad to see that my two main "bitches" (lack of accountability and materials questions) are being addressed. BTW, I have no affiliation w/them, just passing on what I heard.
I also heard that Joe Merkle (of T206 Doyle infamy) is SCD'S chief grader. Anyone know if this is true?
07-16-2002, 04:15 PM
GAI
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