Anyone looking at the T206s on REA?
 

Some are being disclosed as trimmed, but high graded...

What's a little trimming in the face of a slab and numerical grade?

Actually, when you type in "trim" in the search engine, you get quite of few hits, although many are graded authentic.

http://bid.robertedwardauctions.com/...&show=1&auc=23

Yeah they are in holders now so who cares agree...bid away. :D

I have always felt a large percentage of PSA 8 and 9 T206's are trimmed. Most auctions won't mention it if its in a holder. Good for REA to be honest about it.

Justin

Nothing new, REA mentioned their opinion of trimmed cards in last year's auction.

If I'm the owner of the grading company & I see a card that was graded by my people being presented as "likely trimmed" I would ask to see those cards & if indeed proven to be trimmed buy them back at any cost. They can either be put in a Authentic holder or even better destroyed so it doesn't get back into a holder with a numerical grade.
Just my opinion.

I remember bringing this up last year and no one gave a crap. Good to see they have bids..

The trim jobs on the numerically graded PSA cards are ridiculous. It seems that unless the trimming was done with a kindergarten safety scissors, PSA misses it.

LOL - Jeff, that was a good one.

:)

Good for REA! These "8"s look ridiculous and someone needs to say something. Seems it hasn't stopped bidders from putting thousands of dollars out there for these cards.

Anybody buying 100+ year old cardboard in 8s and 9s has to assume the very high risk that these cards are altered. With few exceptions (1915 CJ, E98 Black Swamp cards) the odds are very good that the cards have been doctored. That is why $0 of my collecting budget goes to this segment of the market.

Cheers,
Blair

I am with you 100% but I do collect the trimmed slivers:D

I guess I'll have to disagree with this. As the industry-leading auction house, I find it distasteful that they are pushing altered cards onto customers. The note about the card being trimmed is hidden away in between the note "Four razor-sharp corners" and "a very highly graded T206 example". I promise you that half of the bidders did not catch the disclaimer.

If an AH was selling fake autographs with authentication, but they made a similar disclaimer would you praise "Good for them!". Probably not. REA should stop accepting these cards as consignment.

I can see where you're coming from. My biggest concern would be that the next time these pop up there probably won't be a disclaimer at all. I don't think you can really blame REA though. In the end they're a business and businesses need to make money. At least they were ethical enough to put a note in the listing even though it could end up costing them money.

Good thing most of my cards are beaters.

These cards have been pushed through REA's auctions for a few years now; whenever they are resold via ebay/another AH it is ALWAYS without the disclaimer. If they are aware that the collectable is compromised, why accept the consignment? Why are they knowingly acting as the middleman in the sale of altered goods?

It just looks bad.

This is my point. Hardly any other sellers/auctioneers will state that they don't agree with a high grade from PSA/SGC, but REA will.

I'd rather see the card sold by REA with an express disclaimer than have it sold by someone else with no mention of the possible trim.

Who knows how many consignments REA turns away by saying to a potential consignor: "yes, your card is in a PSA 8 holder, but we think it might be trimmed and we will not sell it without saying so"...and consignor goes down the road to the next place...

And I agree with REA - these are opinions. From the images, I agree with REA's view that these cards look trimmed. Others either disagree or don't care.

Cheers,
Blair

In my cynical opinion, people who buy T206s in 8s likely know most of them are trimmed and don't care. So while I think it's good that Rob discloses, at the same time it likely isn't costing him or his consignor much.

PSA is run by clowns. Joe Orlando is a joke. Yes, they bought back over $700 worth of trimmed 1975 minis when I complained and sent them to Joe's attention. But then they BANNED ME from using their set registry after I spotted a bunch of obviously trimmed "PSA 10" 1975 minis (supposedly worth thousands) on eBay and alerted the seller. On my advice, He called Orlando, mentioned my name and blammo, I couldn't log onto PSA anymore because I was now banned. Apparently my refund check was "our little secret", like Mr. Joe groped me and I wasn't supposed to tell. That was about eight years ago and they will never get a dime of my business ever again. PSA can rot. Dav.id Baz.ini

http://91.208.224.4/dynimg/img-phr-a...mgType=gallery

REA is also selling mint Ramlys while noting that they probably all stem from a guy who owned a sheet and cut them out himself--very neatly--in the 1970s. They are not labeled handcut by SGC....bidders do seem to be showing some restraint, not pricing them, so far, any higher than 7s and 8s....

Interesting David...I'm sure Joe is going to lose a lot of sleep....

Welcome to the club.

Many years ago Joe Orlando made a very telling statement on the Collectors Universe Message Board . He said it was his belief that only 1% of the card collectors read message boards. So in other words, 99% of the collectors are completely unaware of the many problems involving PSA. So banning the complaining few of the 1% still doesn't amount to didley squat as far PSA is concerned and because of that don't expect any improvements anytime soon.

What's really interesting is this tip: An extra layer of clown makeup will conceal dark circles under the eyes. Sleep or no sleep, we will be none the wiser.

Dan- That statement about 1% reading boards does not mean that 99% are oblivious to issues relating PSA, and have no knowledge. There are many other avenues as far as knowledge in the hobby goes. Where did you get this info? Also, what does "many years ago" refer to? How long ago?

Priceless....Where have you been for so long on these boards??

Kevin, I'm pretty sure he loses some sleep when he's at the US Attorney's Office or testifying in front of a grand jury. Just ask him.

Kevin - I'm only recalling what Joe said probably 10 years ago - not that it was actually true. I'm just trying to give some insight into the thinking process of Joe Orlando.

I was just a reader of threads until I finally became a member a few months ago. It's a fun site with lots of information.

I do own lots of PSA-graded cards. I submitted over a thousand cards in a three year period. I just won't send any more their way. They do an OK job most of the time. They dropped the ball on the 1975 minis for sure, though. There was a lot of controversy among us mini geeks. Many collectors became disillusioned and sold their minis. Some guys looked the other way because of their high standing in the registry. The original Collectors Universe 1975 mini thread was hundreds of pages long and Joe had the whole thing removed due users like myself posting side-by-side scans of trimmed and untrimmed PSA-slabbed minis. A new, less controversial 1975 mini thread took its place. Anyhow, I completed my mini set years ago and now I'm mostly interested in old-timey cards. SGC is the way to go on those, so I don't miss PSA.

I think some collectors put their collective heads in the sand when buying highly graded pre-war cards. Kudo's to REA for giving their professional opinion.

Agreed! Well done REA......

Good news, everyone! Yesterday I won the auction for the vampire frog I use as my avatar. It's a candy dish and it set me back $6 + $7 shipping. Can anybody here say they ever scored a vampire frog candy dish for $13?

I definitely can't say that, but I can ask why you posted this on a T206/ REA thread. :confused:

PS- Nice pick-up.

Sorry, Sean... I looked for a vampire frog candy dish thread and couldn't find one. I had to post it somewhere because keeping the good news to myself had become impossible. It's been over 24 hours since my eBay win and you guys are the first I told.

You could have started a thread (even though off topic it's not against any rule).....Now you know. I am usually around and answer PM's quickly....if you or anyone ever has a question about where to post, board operations etc......I am glad to help