[Cozumeleno]

Originally Posted by raulus

My understanding is that some goons are faking slabs, or replacing cards with lesser graded pieces and resealing them. So this protects from that.

As a seller, it also prevents a buyer from claiming that you didn’t ship the right card and demanding a refund.

As a buyer, it prevents the seller from shipping garbage and claiming they shipped the $100,000 card that you actually purchased.

Assuming it’s done right (admittedly a big assumption), it should help to reduce goons from committing fraud.

Agree completely with this. If I bought a $10,000 graded card, I'd love for it to go through that program -- yes, for the authentication piece, but also to ensure I wasn't getting a Randy Johnson 1989 Topps card shipped to me. It provides protection when you buy from sellers you don't know. And as mentioned, it protects legitimate sellers from scam artist buyers.

The one thing I'd change is that it would be nice if the buyer could decline the service at their discretion -- at least for graded cards. If I buy a PSA-graded $300 card from a dealer I know, the risk is pretty minimal. I would love the option to bypass the authentication on a card already slabbed by PSA or whatever. At least stuff up to like $1,000 or something.

The program is useful. I just wish there was an opt-out option as a buyer. The majority of my purchases there come from people I already know or have bought from and trust.