[Archive]

Posted By: Joann

Jim,

Oh - OK. I get it. I was thinking of it more as a return privilege at some undetermined time after purchase - so the dealer may have committed the money elsewhere, passed up another sale, etc while it was being reviewed.

Tom,

I think the answer to each of your three questions, and also the answer to all three collectively, is that the market will decide.

Is it practical? I guess I don't know - I don't run in those financial circles so I'm not sure what is considered practical for a $5000 card. It definitely seems practical to at least one person - Jim - who intends to go that route.

Does it fill a hobby need? Again, I don't know. But intuitively I think it at least gets at a hobby need, if not filling it. There is a general sense that the grading (and authentication) industry needs something that is higher dollar and higher focus in terms of service and review of high end cards specifically for alteration and not just grade. I definitely feel like there is a niche out there that is not being filled by the current players.

Is Kevin the person to do it? Well, this may surprise you, but I don't know. Actually, this question goes along with the first question. If there is a need to be filled, is this the way to go about it and is Kevin the person to do it?

Which brings me back to the market sorting it out. I can't answer the questions, but the market will sort it out.

Personally, I think that the best shot to have it work is to get it to the point where sellers seek Kevin's endorsement. To get to that point, there has to be some value established. If the seal can start to take on perceived value the same way slabs do now, then the selling community will start seeking out the seals and at that point it will take off.

The trick is to get Kevin to that point before the major grading companies decide that there is, in fact, a niche here and offer their own high-end-close-review-super-expert-extra-attention service.

J