Quote:
Originally Posted by steve B
Unfortunately, most collectors think what they're told to think.
In this hobby, either by Beckett, or by someone who learned from Beckett.
The grading companies standards are pretty much the same.
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Yes for the most part the standards are somewhat the same, as you say, but there are still perceived and apparently actual differences in how much of an effect and weight one TPG will give to certain card defects and issues versus another. And thus, though these grading standards are sometimes close, they are not all exactly the same. IMO what would be best for the hobby community as a whole would be if the standards were all exactly the same, which they aren't.
Why else would you sometimes see threads on this forum asking for advice on which TPG to send a card to for grading, and different people responding that if it has these types of issues/defects to send it to this TPG, but if it has different issues/defects to send it to a that other TPG, and so forth. And not all the TPGs will even grade certain cards and issues (Fro-Joys, S-74s, etc.), indicating further differences amongst them in how they look to review, authenticate, and grade items.
With the overwhelming effects the pandemic has had on the hobby in general, and specifically on how the TPGs have operated and been affected, you don't currently see threads like that asking about which TPG to send cards to because of the specific issues/defects they have. Now the threads have been focusing on and asking questions like which TPG is even accepting submissions right now where they won't need a second mortgage to pay for the grading fees, and they can actually get their cards back in less than a year. The current focus on the questions now being asked about differences amongst TPGs may have changed for now, but all the differences, including grading standards, are still there.