Posted By:
SolomonThe irony is, I remember when GAI first opened their doors...that was what they were preaching. "We're not looking to grade a million cards - we want to grade premium items, and we'll be the premium service."
Unfortunately, the problem becomes economics. There just aren't enough of those cards to grade. Look back to grading 10+ years ago, when you had PSA as the dominant force and SGC just starting. People graded cards that needed to be graded - i.e. high grade vintage, and some very rare items for authenticity more than anything (any Ruth, etc.) Nothing was effectively graded post-70, and little was graded (or carried a premium worth grading) pre-70 that was less than NM/MT, or NM for most vintage. Grading companies, and dealers, did a wonderful job expanding the desirability for grading to:
1) Modern cards in 9 (70s and 80s) and 10 (80s and 90s)
2) Vintage 50s to 70s commons (8s to 9s)
3) Prewar - anything 7 and higher
4) Any valuable card almost regardless of condition - i.e. any regular issue Mantle, etc.
If you eliminate these above four categories, NONE of which justify a payment over $5-10/card - how much of the market would disappear? 90%? 95%? If PSA grades 100,000 cards/month now (I have no clue what the real number is) - do they get 10,000 cards/month of high grade star vintage?
Look at a Mastro auction. How many total cards in the entire auctions truly should be graded by a higher standard? Now ask...how many are ones that he freshly submitted? And if Mastro doesn't have the stuff, it's not coming from weekend warriors.