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Posted By: runscott

I called KitYoung cards once to ask about a 'vg' t206 Cobb advertised in their catalog. The person who answered pulled the card and seemed annoyed when I continued to ask detailed questions - I was patronized a bit and told that the card was a solid 'vg'. Well, I bought the card, and it quite obviously WAS NOT 'vg'. SGC verified this for me . Now I always subtract a grade from whatever their catalog says.

It's funny how most of us are very clear about what the various grades mean, but we also know that when dealing with some of the older dealers we have to subtract a grade. It's really a shame that they can't use the same grading scale that we use, but it's probably more profitable for them to tack on a grade and get that incorrect grade's associated price, knowing that very few people will return a card advertised as 'exmt' that turns out to be 'ex', especially when it's part of a big lot, than to simply advertise the card with the correct grade in the first place.

I buy from auction houses all the time, but I have very seldom received a multi-item lot of cards or publications whose grade was accurate. This doesn't mean I haven't been happy with my purchases - I've almost always been - it just means that I down-grade before bidding, knowing how they grade.