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Posted By: Charlie Barokas

Barry,

I hate to disagree with the venerable Barry Sloate, but I will. I don't think any of the people that have bought pre-war graded cards have been victims. I think for the most part they have profited grately. I think this hobby or business is Caveat Emptor first and foremost. The fun of this hobby or business, is the hunt for the undervalued item. Whether it is an auction won cheaply, an undergraded card, a large raw deal that can be graded to realize a larger value etc.

There are many purists in every hobby that truly love the items they collect, the smell, the feel, the memories etc. The fly in the oitment is always the value of the collecitble. The vast majority of humans will put a price on their collectibles (not to disparage those who do not and will be buried with their cards). And because each person values cards or any collectible for that matter diffently, there is a market for cards, at a certain price a person is a buyer at another a seller.

Many people are surprised at the volatility they see realized at auctions? Why? Any given collectible is valued uniquely by a given person based on all the reasons I cited earlier. A Jewish Hall of Fame collector will pay more for Koufax cards than a Negro league collectors. Get two Jewish Hall of Fame collectors interested in the same lot in the same auction and you get volatility. Why is this bad?

Auctions have replaced many retail collecitble operations because there is an element of entertainment in following the auctions, bidding etc..

Barry, You want things to work perfectly, graders to get it right the first time etc. That provides opportunity for bargain and value hunters. A card that is mislabled or undergraded or listed incorrectly is equivilant to seacrhing high and low at a garage sale for the hidden gems.

If every card was graded accurately it would be like buying and selling bonds that trade at bar. Every graded baseball card trades at a discount or premimum to par based upon all the factors discussed earlier. It is the collector/dealers task to figure out for themselves is the graded card trading above or below par. For example, a collector/dealer must know that in general pre-war cards trade at a premium to SMR and 1970's topps cards sell at a discount. This is commensurate with the knowledge that in general a centered baseball card is more valuable than an OC card. And a card graded VG/EX with a technical problem that looks NM is worth more than a similar card graded VG/EX with severely rounded corners.

The joy in the hunt lies in the inconsistencies not the other way around. Opinions about grading, value, scarcity will always be imperfect and will always drive price action.

Trimmed cards should never be allowed to be in holders we can all agree on that. But, as a collector/dealer it would be smart to figure out what a trimmed card in or out of a holder looks like and avoid it. Instead of bemoaning the system for not cataching the trimmed card we should all share our knowledge (like Kevin) to help each other avoid the mistakes made by the grading companies regarding alteration.

CB

Edited somewhat for spelling errors, my 10 month-old is climbing all over my laptop as I opine.