Posted By:
JoannI think this is starting to lean toward a system-oversight approach.
The hobby agrees to certain guidelines for graded cards. Like Jay said, I'm not thinking that each individual card would be subject for review - but the grading companies could get certified as following certain practices. Kind of like the ISO standards, but please please please not as much waste and not so many requirements with zero value (sorry, editorial comment on ISO 9000 there). If kept within the hobby, and kept very very simple, it could work.
So the grading companies would get visited every so often by the committee, who would be looking for things like:
Are they following a common (industry agreed-upon) grading standard? (Have you noticed that PSA and SGC do not have the same published requirements for cards at the same level? No wonder they are inconsitent.)
Is the grading as anonymous as possible - graders do not know submittors?
Are copies of the guidelines close at hand for graders?
Are the graders trained, and is the training demonstrable?
Is there readily available senior help for a grader that is in between on a decision?
Does the company abide by the hobby/committee guidelines on what practices constitute alterations (pressing, etc) instead of setting their own internal guidelines?
Are there people with expertise specifically in the area of fakes and alterations that look at each card, in addition to the "condition" graders?
Is there a process to make sure that the card gets matched up with the right flip?
Etc etc. If the grading companies follow these practices, and others, they would earn the ability to display a seal or logo in their ads.
The role of auction houses, and even general hobbyists, would be to preferentially use grading services that had met these requirements. Then let the market forces take care of it.
As to cards graded before any type of system is in place ... let the market take care of that too. If an oversight program works, then cards graded prior to the program would have lesser value, and the owners would probably resubmit so the holder would carry the logo/seal. If the cards weren't different in value, then the oversight program would not be perceived to add value, not be perceived to "work" and would probably be abandoned.
Just my two cents worth - but I like the self-policing, outside review of practices by a board of hobbyists a lot better than any kind of legal regulatory scheme.
Joann