Quote:
Originally Posted by jchcollins
It's entirely possible I'm just too laid back about the whole situation, but to me at the end of the day, all slabs are just holders with opinions. They will always exist in some form or another at this point, whether that is SGC, PSA, CGC, or some as of yet unknown future entrant to the market.
If one or the other falls out of favor or ceases someday to exist as a brand, it will be entirely possible for me to get my most valuable cards re-graded or slabbed again with someone else. If I even feel like doing that, and not just leaving them in their current holders - or as I've been known to do sometimes - just busting them out to enjoy the raw card in a toploader or card saver.
The cards, barring some unforeseen event - will be the objects that retain the value over the long term. At least if I am betting. The rest to me quickly just becomes semantics.
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I think where things get real is for some of us who have a lot of value tied up in our collection, particularly if the value is in some way connected to the number on the slab. Certainly if you have a lot of mid-grade or low-grade stuff, then it's less of an issue. If you have some really high grade stuff where the difference between an 8 or a 9 or a 10 can be gigantic, then the number on the slab matters, and cracking it out to go commando isn't a great alternative.
And when the value in your collection of those "rare for the grade" pieces climbs to 5 figures, 6 figures, or even 7 figures, then it gets real in a hurry, because the ongoing faith in the slab is a big part of the ability to continue to get that value if the time ever comes to sell.
All of which, I suppose, highlights the silliness of the whole business, and the potential fragility of those values for high grade vintage stuff.