[Archive]

Posted By: davidcycle

Frankly, that PSA customers put up with PSA's act (for example, PSA promised to tell their paying customers the whole WIWAG story and still hasn't) is as much a comment on PSA customers as on PSA. I don't think it has yet dawned on many PSA collectors that PSA needs their customers' submissions and money more than the collectors need PSA. Without PSA, the customer's can go to SGC. Without customers, PSA goes bankrupt. That the customers don't exercise their power is the customers' choice and no one else's, not even PSA's.

Some collectors feel that the best way to "protect one's investment" and "preserve brand name" is to have everyone put their head in sand and keep it there-- in particular while prices are high. If the prices ever plummet, many of the same collectors will then complain about the problems.

As someone who's been around the a few years, I have witnessed where auction houses and authentication company's have changed practices because many collectors and clients have complained. When you see today a major auction house disclosing ownership of a lot, that's because hobbyists complained about lack of disclosure and the auction houses listened. Auction house presidents are smart enough to not want to offend their paying customers.