Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyC
Long before there were even PWCC eye appeal stickers, cards with exceptional eye appeal for their grades would perform accordingly at auction. All it took were savvy, experienced collectors' eyes to be laid upon the cards, and the deserved fireworks would ensue. I know this because I was involved in many of those auctions. At that time, it's interesting to note that whenever such a card broke out of the then-sacrosanct VCP grids, some guys, I like to call them grade-queens who worship the sticker number, would lose their sh!+, wondering why on earth a 2 just sold like a 4, who were these morons that would bid up a 2 when they could get a 4, or a 6 when they could buy an 8, and so on. Others would get it. Different camps, whatever, the usual conflict and beef that breaks out among card people.
Then along came PWCC with their stickers, hanging lanterns on the sweeter-looking cards (in many cases also doctored cards from their big submitters, as we'd all later learn). Now, because so many people out there are insecure in their own opinion and eye, they start saying, "Well, if PWCC says this card is better than others in its grade or special, now, okay, I want it." So premiums for eye appeal become more commonplace, more mainstream perhaps one could say.
That's all this Baker diamond thing is, same as the PWCC stickers. The reason I spit on it is because it reeks to me of needing affirmation. If one's eye tells them a card is sweet, it's sweet. Then pay accordingly, because it's the specimen you want to enjoy looking at in your collection every day. Not because some random dude slapped some tiny sticker on the slab.
It's like if one got an A on an exam, doesn't the A suffice? Does one need a little puffy sticker from the teacher's assistant next to the A to make one feel better? Or if a guy went 4-4 at the plate, does he need some kind of extra affirmation from the coach or fans or his nana? You went 4-4. You know you did. In the same vein, we know if a card is pretty. We know if it's focused, centered, etc. Our eyes tell us that. So I don't get why we'd ever need a sticker from some random dude to tell us what our own two eyes know is a fact like the sun is in the sky. And then to PAY for that affirmation? Makes zero sense to me. Maybe if I didn't get enough love as a kid I'd go for it, I don't know. What I do know is I'll take my eye for free over paying for Baker's. And I'll bet a card I deem high end will sell for the same with no sticker as the same card with Baker's sticker.
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Ya, for me it's all about the eye appeal as well. I completely get the sentiment about not needing the Gold Diamond stickers too. I really do. I thought they were stupid at first too. But I happened to buy a card that had the little gold sticker on it, and for whatever reason I just liked it. I'm super OCD. As in remarkably so. When I was a kid, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night unless I got up out of bed and walked over to the light switch and flipped it on/off 3 times before going back to bed. In high school, after basketball practice, I couldn't leave the gym until I swished a 3-pointer, even if it made me late for class. If a card isn't well-centered, I can't stand looking at it. It's almost a physical reaction. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. An off-centered Mint 9 or even 10 card is pure trash to me. I can't change that. But for whatever reason, I really like how these Gold Diamond stickers look, particularly on SGC slabs (the silver stickers, not so much). So my OCD has decided I want more of them.
Again, I fully realize this is crazy. Hence my posts. Though I do find it interesting that the market does appear to place a value on the stickers that the data appears to suggest is in addition to centering alone. I think people interpret them as "this card is undergraded" and likely bid with the hope of cracking it out for a grade bump in mind. And to be fair, they probably succeed at a higher rate than they would with cards that don't have the stickers.
But overall, I'm very much in agreement with you. Buy the card, not the slab. And yes, these stickers are dumb. But what can I say, I like dumb shit sometimes.