Posted By:
Todd (nolemmings)Welcome to the forum. Once you've had a chance to read through several threads on this board (and the CU board too), I think you'll find:
1. PRO grading has the uncanny effect of making collectors both break out in chills and have their blood boil. Their stuff is at best overgraded, and at worst/usually altered, trimmed, etc. AVOID.
2. Any high dollar item that is run by private auction is suspect-- proceed with extreme caution. If a PRO card is sold by private auction, then refer to preceding admonition.
3. Any seller with any significant knowledge of the hobby knows that his PRO card, if genuine and unaltered, would fetch several times more if it resided in an SGC or PSA holder (perhaps others too, depending on the card and grading company). To not spend the extra $15 or so to have it re-graded with these companies shows the seller's own lack of confidence in the card's true condition.
4. SGC and PSA (not necessarily in that order) are preferred by the folks here. Other companies have their supporters, but PRO is roundly greeted with two thumbs down.
5. AAA, or whatever name Libertyforall and his ilk are self-grading under, make PRO look good (at least PRO almost always actually grades real cards).