[Mark17]

Could some entrepreneur who wanted to make some decent money with very low investment and risk set up a "hybrid" registry?

Set up a LLC, launch a website, come up with a "cross-grade" table that determines equivalent grades across TPGs, such as:

SGC 10 = BVG 10 = PSA 9
SGC 9 = BVG 9 = CSG 10 = PSA 8

And so on.... whatever comparative valuation makes sense.

Then, each card in a given set is given a relative value weight. For instance, common low numbers are 1, high numbers might be 5, HOFers 20-50, and super HOFers like Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Clemente and so on, even higher relative values. Make that table easily viewable on the website too. This is done for each individual set.

And then accept submissions where collectors can provide evidence of the graded cards in their set, that info can be loaded into a database, calculations can be run, and the set then given an overall score which can then be ranked against other sets in the registry.

Advantages to collectors:
1. Have your high-end set recognized in a public registry for a relatively small fee.
2. Do so without being 100% tied to PSA
3. Be able to have your registry cards graded by one or several recognized grading companies - don't have to all be PSA graded cards.
4. Point 3 means, no need to cross over cards graded by BVG and SGC.

Advantage to the guy who establishes such a registry:
1. Put a little thought into it, set up the website and database, do some basic advertising - starting here - and sit back and watch the cash roll in.
2. Never have to grade a card or get caught up in grading./altered/counterfeit issues because your service makes no guarantees or judgement calls in that regard - if a card has been graded by a TPG, then as far as your registry goes, that's the grade, period.
3. Enjoy the satisfaction and undying love from the collecting community for freeing everyone from the clutches of PSAs exclusive registry.
4. Point 3 means, free ticket into heaven, eventually.