Yes, those of us who have collected baseball cards for 40+ years and still prefer to have cards graded are pretty silly - maybe even stupid, eh? It's a good thing REAL collectors like you are around to remind us of our foolishness on pretty much a daily basis. Maybe we'll eventually get the message.

I was just showing my wife my PSA-graded collection last night, as I just filed to start a pension in January and thought it would be a good time to review our finances (I don't collect for investment, but my collection has significant value). My wife thought having the cards encapsulated, authenticated, graded and registered was an awfully good idea, since it will make it much, much easier to sell the cards for a good price if I die first. She said that honestly, were it not for the grading, she'd probably just give the cards away in frustration.

My insurance company likes the idea also.

And, since I collect cards I like regardless of the numerical grade, and since the cases are protective and, I think, somewhat attractive, and since the cards are fully visible within the cases, I haven't really come across a downside yet. Well, except for the scorn of true collectors such as yourself.