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Posted By: mike wrenn

I attended the L.I classic this past weekend on Long Island, New york. To try to find out info from dealer's on why they love PSA. After browsing many tables and listening to dealer's chat with each other and customers. I kept hearing the same tune over and over agian. As dealer's chatted away I kept hearing them discribing there graded PSA cards to each other as this card is over graded that card is over graded. There answer to each other was I don't care if it's over-graded or not I'll just make more off the card. After hearing this, I ask one of the dealer's what happens to the person who buys the over-graded card from you and I was told that I don't grade the cards I just sell them and as long as I make more money off a over-graded card, I'll sell them all day long. Then I ask him that the customer get screwed then correct, He said any body who buy's PSA graded cards
is going to pay top dollar and that the way it is. He then continued to say sucker's are born every-day. After
a 10 minute conversation I ask him to give me his honest
opinion about grading. I was then told that the grading business is a business and the three majors are in it to make money, there first and major priority. I was then told that the sad reality about the card business is that, The grading industry is rasponsible for the rising cost of all graded and raw cards. I found it very difficult to find any card at this weekend show in the RAW
that were in ex-mt to nr-mt example 7 and 8 (grade scale).
Me my self have no problem with the grading industry I don't like the business, but I can see how it makes things easier to buy pre-war card over the web. But to pay 10-20x and up for cards that a veteran collector can
grade himself or he can pay for a third party to tell you it's a 7,8,9,10 doesn't justify any of these inflated prices. Before any grading company came along quality dealer's charged a little over book, but not like they do know. I pesonally believe that it's a way for grading companies to make money and convince collector's it's neccessary to buy graded cardsonly. This info is based on information that I heard directly from the source PRETTY BIG DEALER'S.All opinion are welcome. I'm just sharing what I heard from as many as 10 different vintage dealer's Blast off at the industry not at me.