Posted By:
LarryThe last posting above mine hit it on the nail....
There are many of us oldtimers that have come around to accept the concept of grading and it has added many collectors and collections to the hobby, it has legitimized the dealers that were overgraders and has also made some people wary.
This is not to say that grading is a cure all or does not have its errors and this does not change the fact that there are many of us that know how to grade and always did, I agree with an earlier poster that a near mint front with a blank back that has a small initial or pen mark on reverse should not be down graded to a 2, that is ridiculous and SGC is EXTREMELY conservative when it comes to miniscule problems yet centering they are more lenient with, PSA is totally inconsistant and GAI makes some errors but all three are necessary to the hobby to preserve the integrity of rare cards and create demand.
Bottom Line, those that do not accept grading are living in the past, even if tehy are partially correct about the ridiculous variances between grades and the fact that SMR is a joke... but I respect those "oldtimers" that have knowledge and integrity, they were and still are important to the hobby.
Mr. Sloate really nailed it, we are passing the torch(and someday the cards) to future generations and they will accept these "values" we put on cards only if there is a demand, if my daughter fails to learn who Joe DiMaggio or Mickey mantle was, then someday their cards graded or ungraded will have no value to all of us oldtimers and newtimers, collectors and dealers better fess up to the fact that we need to pass the torch to the current generations, even if it is for selfish reasons partly.