Posted By:
HankronIt becomes ever more comical (to me) under further examination.
Collectors will not only judge the worth of the card, but accuracy of the grade and even the authenticity, based on the style and other superficial qualities of the holder .... Realize that for this post, I am talking about the exact same seller selling the exact same card in the exact same grade, but in different holders.
Some essential qualities that all collectors look at when judging a graded card.
Style of holder: PSA-style = top dollar. Screws in corners = less legitimate (How many of us have chastised a grader becaude it used a screw down?). Top loader of course is no good.
Style of sticker: PSA-style = top dollar. Oval shaped or abnormal shape = less desirable. Certainly has to be pasted on and not scotch taped on.
Bar code, serial number: Of course any legitimate grader has to use a bar code and serial number.
Name: Three letter acronym = top dollar (PSA, SGC, GAI, BGS). 'Bob & Jenny Grading Service' or 'Hoboken Cards" can be as legitimate, and their grades are neccesarilly suspect.
An econonmist/socialogist could do an interesting study to see how much collectors pay for these and other non-card qualities. For example, for a $200 card, $50 of that is for the style of holder and sticker, $3 for bar code, $5 for serial number and $20 for company's acronym.
Folks like PRO are more than well aware that people pay top dollar for these types of qualities. In fact, that's how they make their livings.
If the collector was less shallow, just think what kind of item he could buy with the money he or she saved at the end of the year: a T205 Christy Mathewson? A sharp Mickey Mantle autoraphed bat with PSA/DNA LOA? For the weekend spenders, perhaps fancy dinner with wife?
I don't know about anyone else, buy you can keep the bar codes and I'll take the Mantle bat.