Quote:
Originally Posted by 68Hawk
I don't want to be rude, but if you don't understand the VALUE you receive from having cards graded, memorabilia authenticated, etc., then getting your pants knotted in this thread is the last thing you should be worried about.
There is enormous value in nearly everything you can acquire these days, should it fit your needs.
From the food you eat, the tv you watch, the car you drive, the music you listen to...all are produced at costs just pennies on the dollar to what would have been necessary in the past, due to automation and delivery services and methods.
If you had to put your own hours into learning, perfecting, and producing any of the above it would likely cost you a hundred times as much in whatever your hourly work value would be worth in your own profession.
If you view such things as grading cards in a poor light to begin with, for whatever reasons they are, your prejudice informs you to think of a plastic slab and an 'experts' opinion as not valued at todays costs.
If however, you value the grading service because it allows widespread confident trade in trinkets you have a fondness for, and that such grading will regularly add 50% to it's value and in cases double or triple its value, it's really not all that difficult to understand where many see value.
Again, pay to play or don't play.
Complaining about the cost when you don't HAVE TO go graded to enjoy this hobby is DUMB.
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I think the problem wasn't the grading in general, but that there was an unannounced upcharge to place the silks in a plastic sleeve as part of the process. And that that upcharge seemed unreasonably large.
Just going with it as a labor item, how long does it take to get a silk into a sleeve? Maybe a minute? Lets be generous and call it two minutes. Someone could easily do 30 cards an hour. At $20 per, that's basically charging 600/hour to place a card in a sleeve.
If that sounds totally reasonable to you, I'm happy for you. You must be doing very well.
I also have a fantastic bargain for you! I'll send you a vintage card from my collection for free! I just want $20 to put it in a sleeve AND toploader plus the postage. (Don't go getting all excited, it's a 48 Leaf common that would grade a 1.5 on a good day.)