[barrysloate]

As John said collectors have always been competitive, but what the grading companies have done is allow collectors to quantify that competition.

In the old days you and I could have both had raw T206 sets, and maybe I looked at yours and thought mine was better, and you looked at mine and felt your set was the better one. Who knew? We may have both been competitive but we couldn't really determine for sure who had the better collection because there were simply too many variables.

Today, if my set averages 5.1 and yours averages 5.3, the discussion is over. According to the rules of the game, you have the better set. And maybe that appeals to collectors a whole lot. They like to take the guesswork out of competing. Quantifying it makes things more precise.

Of course, the joke is that grading is so subjective to begin with that this illusion of precision is just that: an illusion that collectors buy into hook, line, and sinker. You can't blame the TPG for coming up with this incredible marketing tool for themselves.