I agree that a service of identifying forgeries would have merit. But the authenticators would have to really know their stuff. Currently there is NO ENTITY in the entire hobby who is looking out for the customer. Who is in our corner when it comes to identifying and eliminating fraud in the hobby? The Auction Houses? The Dealers? The TPGs? Sloan's Letters are a clear indication that its only about money and pleasing shareholders.
The answer is no one. We are left to do it ourselves. If not for a couple of tech-savvy sleuths on Blowout, this entire mess would’ve gone completely unnoticed. And even on Blowout, the moderator is now compressing threads and minimizing the scandal’s exposure. This, within the one remaining form of communication we consumers have (the forums). The recent revelation of the 31 card PWCC/PSA submission was combined into the Mantle thread, where it won’t be viewed by nearly as many people.
It would actually make for a great movie, in which a few individuals have to combat an entire corrupt industry. But to get back on point, there would be a need for a trustworthy and knowledgeable entity that would simply deem Cards as altered or not. As for this “looks good for the grade sticker” nonsense, there is just no need. Collectors are perfectly capable of determining what looks good and what they want in their collections.
|