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Posted By: Tom Lawrie

Since neither company will allow you to put the other company's cards on their web-site, I think that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense in your case. But even if you pick just one, what happens if one of them ends up folding or merging with another company in a few years? At that point, do you break out your cards and send them to the registry 'du jour'?

But here are my main reasons for disliking the card registries:

1. It has the potential to drive up prices to ridiculous levels for nice cards. The coin hobby market is driven to a considerable degree by the two main registries, which has resulted in prices being completely out of whack for graded coins, especially nice ones. If you think high-grade cards are expensive now, just wait to see what happens if the registries take over.

2. Every time that people submit vintage cards for grading, there is the potential for damage to the cards (in packing, mailing, grading, returning, etc.), and collectors who already know the quality of their collections will needlessly submit cards just to get on the registry. Seems silly to subject expensive, vintage cards to a grading process that potentially can cause damage just to feed some ego.

3. Mediocre population reports will become even more worthless as individuals resubmit cards over and over just to try and top someone else on the registry. (My E93 set is best. No mine is better. No way, I just resubmitted my last card and got a 7. Well, I just resubmitted the whole set and I'm bound to move up on a few cards to top you, so take that you #2 E93 set collector, you...)

4. Have you ever been able to read the Collector's Universe web site (where they discuss set registries ad nauseum) and not had the urge to strangle one of those morons? Personally, I can't decide whether to puke or to scream after reading the inane congratulatory posts. You want to be part of that?

Just my opinion,
Tom