Posted By:
T206Collector<<I hope you’re not comparing the advent of the automobile, airplane or personal computer to the advent of grading companies.>>>
It's a paradigm shift, more than it is an efficiency improvement.
<<I use to be able to buy nice un-altered cards before grading companies popped up.>>
Grading companies brought a lot of people into the hobby, making your nice unaltered cards worth a lot more today. You can still buy nice un-altered cards. The only downside is cost, but that's high because of the competition.
<<population charts>>
I agree are an absolute waste -- a distraction at best, misleading advertising at worse.
<<guys who buy common cards worth a few hundred dollars for thousands with little or no chance of re-sell.>>
The flip value is still high in this area, and getting higher, isn't it? I do expect the bubble will burst at the high end, however.
<<Why because we have created a whole new breed of collector, the collector who collects and educates them selves more on the plastic containers the cards come in more than the cards them selves.>>
That is a negative offshoot. Eventually, I would expect that the plastic container collector will dig a bit deeper than the cases their cards are slabbed in.
<<I’m tired of bashing grading companies too, but I’m even more tired of hearing how they have saved the hobby, and made it such a safe and more pleasant place for the collector!>>
I think there is a fair balance to be drawn here. People who say that grading companies are a joke forget that they have made it safer and more pleasant for many collectors. Again, I admit that PSA and PRO have done a good job of fouling this up, too. But the SGC's and the GAI's are on to a good thing.
<<I would have continued to buy cards and collect, regardless if grading companies were ever invented. I did it before they arrived and I’ll continue after they have gone.>>
That's good. But the only way they're ever going anywhere is when people stop collecting cards. A better way of saying that is while we populate this good green earth we will be sharing it with good and bad grading companies. And I believe that the good ones will win out over the bad ones.
<<t206collector, tell you what, you get all your cards slabbed, and I'll buy every card you get back that grades a 20 or 50 that looks like these cards. Only catch is, I'm only gonna pay you according to the technical grade the cards got. I'd love to have a collection of cards that looked like these 2.>>
I don't buy or sell the slab. I buy and sell the card. Grading companies provide guidance along the way, that's all. I trust SGC and so far have never been burned by them. I keep one of every T206 card front. I once had two PSA graded Chief Benders (a 5 and a 4). I sold the 5 because I liked the 4 better. Happens all the time. But if I purchase a raw card advertised as EX-MT or better from you, and I find even the slightest fart of a wrinkle on it, you better be ready to send me a refund. You can buy all the SGC 20's you want with faint wrinkles, just don't delude yourself or others into thinking that card is better than VG.
<<Grading should drop the numbers and just grade authentic/unaltered. This would solve alot of problems, still protect the online buyer from scams, and have true collectors stay in the hobby. Anyone paying $3K for a common T206, I don't care if it is in an 11 holder, needs their head examined.>>
I basically agree with this, but I think the numbers provide guidance especially when the card's scan looks mint, but there's a stain, hole or wrinkle that can only be detected under close inspection. That's when the number tells you, "watch out... there's something here you won't see on first glance." It is like having an expert with you on a purchase of something expensive. It makes a ton of sense to me.