Posted By:
AnonymousWilliam,
I guess $15,000 cards are not available to me at all as they are multiple orders of magnitude past my top spending range. I remember buying raw cards on the Prodigy message boards (before grading took off) and although I had some good experiences I also had some ones that soured me a bit. The selection at local shops is typically limited and making the jump from modern to vintage through shops or shows can be intimidating for someone who is just starting out (not to mention those expensive mistakes that I would imagine most folks make along the way).
I've been in and out of the hobby several times and one of the things that got me into vintage was the sheer variety of items made available on the internet and the presence of professional grading standards. I buy both raw and graded and personally find that the grading services are reasonably consistent. Obviously there are mistakes made, as many around here like to point out, but I believe they account for a relatively small number of total cards graded. Granted, I am not buying high grade/high dollar items but it is nice to purchase a PSA 3 or SGC 40 card and have a reasonable idea as to condition (not to mention a level of protection from the holder). Does this add to the cost of the hobby and benefit the card investors; I would imagine yes. Has it opened up the hobby to more people and provided some base-line level of grading standards for collectors to reference; in my opinion yes.
Adam B