Posted By:
JohnOk wow I can’t believe I’m going here but oh well no turning back now…
But this has really been eating at me for the past few days and not just me quite a few of my collecting pals as well.
So we have grading company’s grade cards to keep us safe from trimmed, altered cards etc. This is to provide a level of trust for the collector; I guess a bad analogy is PSA is like an FDA approval to know that my cough medicine won’t kill me without having to be a chemist etc. Only difference is cards won’t kill me unless my wife finds out how much money I spent.
We also pay a premium for this service not just in grading fees but in the overall price of the cards themselves once graded. So why do we do this?
Look I know it’s impossible to police everything especially in a hobby such as this, but after hearing first hand stories of grading companies bumping cards for big dealers or turning a blind eye on flaws that stuff isn’t really that much of a stretch anymore after seeing the above is it?
I even had my own experience a few years back in which I took a raw card (Cobb Bat Off) purchased on eBay to SGC during my very first Ft. Washington show. It was a super card even a bit oversized SGC proclaimed the card trimmed and explained their position on how they came to the conclusion I agreed then with their assessment and still do. I then took the card three tables down an offered a trimmed card in trade to a dealer for a card I needed. At the time I even offered to pay the cash difference etc. I was being 100% honest, I even handed him the slip from SGC saying trimmed I even went as far to point out the edge in question! The dealer said what an amazing looking card it was it’s a shame it was trimmed I agreed, he then excused himself for a second, 10 mins later he returned with a person wearing a Beckett grading polo they chatted for a bit the dealer turned to me and my wife and said you have a deal. I returned an hour or so later deciding to pick up a another card from the dealer only to see the same polo wearing individual return the trimmed Cobb in its new Beckett (6) holder. I was shocked and the dealer could tell, he turned to me and with a grin said “hey no hard feelings it’s the business besides he owed me one”. I later saw this same card auctioned in a PSA 6 holder on eBay a year later.
Seeing the above Nodgrass deal really hit home not only do we have an obvious fake encapsulated from the industry leader in grading, but we have a disclaimer from arguably the industry leader of auction houses stating in summary that think its fake and will sell it based on another companies opinion regardless of the fact that they themselves question it or have prior knowledge?
Wow at the risk of being disrespectful but WTF!
To me that’s like selling a house you know is riddled with asbestos admitting to the potential home owner in a description that says “older home that has asbestos from report from independent house inspection firm, asbestos is toxic to children, but seeing as no kids have died yet in the home were comfortable selling it to your family” huh?
How nobody has picked up on this is beyond me, I mean with all the discussions here about of altered cards and posts going into triple digits with those threads for nothing more than hearsay at best. Heck we have even had responses from Doug Allen on if he uses his grandmas flatware to “spoon” some real beauties in his free time over at Mastronet (I like to think in his free time he’s a secret agent)..but that’s just me.
However now no hearsay, a real head scratcher is before us that raises all kinds of questions let alone directly involves the integrity of the largest card grading service in the world, the integrity of largest sports auction house in the world and their business relationships with each other and not peep one from anyone from Mastro or even the net54 crew???
I’m shocked at the silence this thing is getting. I wouldn’t care per say if it was a genuine mistake you know fake card got holdered, fake card got pulled next story let’s move on. But that disclaimer is some scary stuff, read it again and let me know if you don’t scratch your head as much as I do?
Once again I would love to have some insight from PSA and Mastro on this one, but I won’t and don’t expect it.
Just a silly collectors thoughts, sorry for the rant.
"Please Note: This item has been examined, reviewed, and affirmed as genuine by PSA; the piece is being described and sold as a "Nodgrass" version on the basis of that company's determination."
Just let that sink in...makes one wonder if they already know or knew something about this lot prior to letting it hit the block, if not then why the legal disclaimer?
**edited to add pic and one liner below pic**