Mike Baker Authenticated

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If the sticker enhances sale value that only says to me the market is gimmick-oriented and misinformed. As a collector, MB's opinion as to eye appeal doesn't mean anything to me, even assuming he is being completely candid in his assessments and not doing favors for cronies. But it's a weird service to me. At least with PWCC you aren't paying them extra for their assessment and in theory they are reviewing their whole spectrum of cards and sticker only a small percentage. Here, sending cards and money to MB is only well spent if he stickers a high enough percentage of what you submit. What's MB's incentive to grade harshly? He'll dry up his own business.

Stop making sense like a few of us have and just get with the ANCOVA model.

I cannot speak to Mike's reputation but have heard good and bad however our snowman states the following:

Originally Posted by Snowman

Sometimes the grading companies just get it wrong. And if Mike Baker agrees that they "got it wrong" or that it's a premium card of that grade

I think we would all agree that being able to truly render an opinion on a card, especially if we are giving it a "trophy", it needs to be outside of a holder...that is why graders view cards outside of the card savers they are sent to them in. I would expect there is much that cannot be determined rendering an opinion on a card inside of a sealed holder.

Originally Posted by Snowman

I would much rather have a card graded by Mike Baker than I would one of these Cheetoh chomping new hires at PSA who thinks that Gretzky RC above is a 6.

Earth to data scientist...Mike is not grading your card. Your card is already graded. Mike is rendering an "opinion" like all of us can do.

Ok so we get that you need more than just another collector telling you your card is sweet. You need something more tangible to be convinced. Why is that so important if these cards he is certing are just for your PC? Then why keep presenting arguments about increased value if the cards are not for sale?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

I think we would all agree that being able to truly render an opinion on a card, especially if we are giving it a "trophy", it needs to be outside of a holder...that is why graders view cards outside of the card savers they are sent to them in. I would expect there is much that cannot be determined rendering an opinion on a card inside of a sealed holdernot for sale?

Kind of hard to detect the clues to trimming that visualizing the edges can provide (see the Net 54 link on this for example) if you can't see the edges because they're against the slat or gasket. Then again, I think a whole generation of collectors does not understand this.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Kind of hard to detect the clues to trimming that visualizing the edges can provide (see the Net 54 link on this for example) if you can't see the edges because they're against the slat or gasket. Then again, I think a whole generation of collectors does not care about this.

I fixed it for you. Just give them their cards and the assumption is that since it is in a holder it must be good!

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Kind of hard to detect the clues to trimming that visualizing the edges can provide (see the Net 54 link on this for example) if you can't see the edges because they're against the slat or gasket. Then again, I think a whole generation of collectors does not understand this.

Go Mike Go!

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showpo...&postcount=880

So much for trophies!

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by JustinD

I perfectly trust that you have more statistical skill than myself and I did like to hear the defense of the variables that most would not take into account as in my mind the addition or subtraction of these variables is why statistics are generally garbage. Is there a greater chance of a gun injury if one exists in the home… well no crap, will there be more stair falls in a multistory home versus a single level ranch home? Yes! Wow, that was a useful study.

My question lies on this, after listing a plethora of variables needing analysis you state “a few hundred sales is more than sufficient”. Seems it would not be as that group of a few hundred may contain single examples of many of those items, two, or be excluded completely as it is being culled from many areas used by new or less informed collectors such as PWCC and eBay and has no access to private sales.

The idea that this is a statistical fact requires a large leap of faith and should not cause some stone wall statements of hyperbole touting the need for this. I’ll let you enjoy the service, my personal opinion is that the cards you used as examples were well graded based on the chipping and corner wear. Yes, some other areas were exceeding but the grades are a sum of the parts. If the sticker makes you pleased and happier as a collector then please do.

I consider these services snipe hunts and it’s not changing. I do not believe in a hobby that has no real price stability and changes daily that a market of constant end value flux can be measurable without faith.

So after all that time wasted in my ramblings… do what you want for yourself but please understand the sales pitch is not going to have any true impact. You are a corvette salesman pulling over an Amish buggy to make a sale. It’s not going to be easy.

Not sure why this point isn't getting through, so I guess I'll just say it again? These are for me. I'm not sending these cards in to flip or make money from the stickers or anything like that. I just like them.

As far as your concerns about the limitations of modeling goes, you would need to have a sufficient number of examples of cards for each variable you're instead in evaluating in the model. So if you want to understand the impact that something like tape stains has on sale prices, you'll need to have a sufficient number of cards with tape stains in your data set. How many cards that number needs to be in order to be "sufficient" depends on how large of an effect it has. If that feature is something that nearly doubles the value of a card, then you might only need like 20 or 30 examples in your dataset that have this quality. However, if it's something that only adds or subtracts say 5% to the value of a card, then you'll need a lot more examples in your dataset in order to demonstrate that the effect is statistically significant. If you only have a few cards with tape stains in your dataset, then you won't be able to say anything about its impact regardless of how many total cards are in the model. Also, you should probably just exclude those few cards from your dataset if that's the case because you'd be introducing unnecessary variance to the model, and the whole point of building a model to begin with is to explain the variance in the sale prices.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

Go Mike Go!

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showpo...&postcount=880

So much for trophies!

I didn't watch this video, but in general, I think it's funny that anyone in this hobby finds it even remotely dishonest for someone to resubmit a card for grading when it was previously rejected for being "trimmed", absent any actual evidence that it indeed has been. The irony is that it's always the exact same people who complain about PSA's incompetence that cast these judgements, as if PSA's incompetency could only possibly apply to one particular vector in a hyperspace of all possible ways a grading company could fuck up. I've had cards that I pulled myself straight from packs get rejected for "trimming" and vintage cards that I've had since childhood get rejected for trimming as well. Of course, none of them had actually been trimmed.

I have a Jackie Robinson card that I bought from a guy who pulled it from a pack in 1955 and who kept it in a shoebox ever since. He was an octogenarian gentleman who didn't know anything about grading cards, but he decided to sell his collection so that his kids wouldn't have to do it after he's gone. Someone told him he needed to have his cards graded if he wanted to get fair market value for them, so he sent them off to PSA. The Jackie card got rejected for "trimming". He didn't understand why. He knew the card had been in his possession for the entirety of its existence and that it had certainly never been trimmed. So he sent it in again. Again, it came back "trimmed". He was devastated and furious. He disclosed the full story to me before I bought the card. He even gave me both of the rejected flips. I examined the card closely and just laughed. There was zero evidence of trimming. I bought the card and submitted it for grading. It came back in a 5 holder like it should have the first time.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Kind of hard to detect the clues to trimming that visualizing the edges can provide (see the Net 54 link on this for example) if you can't see the edges because they're against the slat or gasket. Then again, I think a whole generation of collectors does not understand this.

According to the lemmings over at Blowhard, the telltale sign of a "trimmed" card is that it has a gap between the card's edges and the bumpers in the slab though.

Conveniently, Lemming's Law is also commutative: "gap = trimmed" and "trimmed = gap".

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Snowman

I didn't watch this video, but in general, I think it's funny that anyone in this hobby finds it even remotely dishonest for someone to resubmit a card for grading when it was previously rejected for being "trimmed", absent any actual evidence that it indeed has been. The irony is that it's always the exact same people who complain about PSA's incompetence that cast these judgements, as if PSA's incompetency could only possibly apply to one particular vector in a hyperspace of all possible ways a grading company could fuck up. I've had cards that I pulled myself straight from packs get rejected for "trimming" and vintage cards that I've had since childhood get rejected for trimming as well. Of course, none of them had actually been trimmed.

I have a Jackie Robinson card that I bought from a guy who pulled it from a pack in 1955 and who kept it in a shoebox ever since. He was an octogenarian gentleman who didn't know anything about grading cards, but he decided to sell his collection so that his kids wouldn't have to do it after he's gone. Someone told him he needed to have his cards graded if he wanted to get fair market value for them, so he sent them off to PSA. The Jackie card got rejected for "trimming". He didn't understand why. He knew the card had been in his possession for the entirety of its existence and that it had certainly never been trimmed. So he sent it in again. Again, it came back "trimmed". He was devastated and furious. He disclosed the full story to me before I bought the card. He even gave me both of the rejected flips. I examined the card closely and just laughed. There was zero evidence of trimming. I bought the card and submitted it for grading. It came back in a 5 holder like it should have the first time.

Was not going to invest the time into the video. I was referring to the screen cap of the text which indicated the card had been given a trophy by MBA. You and I will never agree on the value of an MBA trophy but my post was to illustrate that there is a lot that cannot be assessed once a card is encapsulated. I feel paying for the opinion of an MBA or worse, paying more for a card that has an MBA type of cert, is simply not wise. It is not even duplicitous. It is a far from complete evaluation.

And to your other point, we might agree for the first time which is a statistical impossibility. If you or I were to send in the same card 5 times to PSA there is a very good chance we would end up with at least 3 different results in grading. That someone resubmits a card that was rejected that they in good faith disagree with, I totally support. Nat does not agree with that decision based on his interviews but they get it wrong far too often.

[MattyC]

Long before there were even PWCC eye appeal stickers, cards with exceptional eye appeal for their grades would perform accordingly at auction. All it took were savvy, experienced collectors' eyes to be laid upon the cards, and the deserved fireworks would ensue. I know this because I was involved in many of those auctions. At that time, it's interesting to note that whenever such a card broke out of the then-sacrosanct VCP grids, some guys, I like to call them grade-queens who worship the sticker number, would lose their sh!+, wondering why on earth a 2 just sold like a 4, who were these morons that would bid up a 2 when they could get a 4, or a 6 when they could buy an 8, and so on. Others would get it. Different camps, whatever, the usual conflict and beef that breaks out among card people.

Then along came PWCC with their stickers, hanging lanterns on the sweeter-looking cards (in many cases also doctored cards from their big submitters, as we'd all later learn). Now, because so many people out there are insecure in their own opinion and eye, they start saying, "Well, if PWCC says this card is better than others in its grade or special, now, okay, I want it." So premiums for eye appeal become more commonplace, more mainstream perhaps one could say.

That's all this Baker diamond thing is, same as the PWCC stickers. The reason I spit on it is because it reeks to me of needing affirmation. If one's eye tells them a card is sweet, it's sweet. Then pay accordingly, because it's the specimen you want to enjoy looking at in your collection every day. Not because some random dude slapped some tiny sticker on the slab.

It's like if one got an A on an exam, doesn't the A suffice? Does one need a little puffy sticker from the teacher's assistant next to the A to make one feel better? Or if a guy went 4-4 at the plate, does he need some kind of extra affirmation from the coach or fans or his nana? You went 4-4. You know you did. In the same vein, we know if a card is pretty. We know if it's focused, centered, etc. Our eyes tell us that. So I don't get why we'd ever need a sticker from some random dude to tell us what our own two eyes know is a fact like the sun is in the sky. And then to PAY for that affirmation? Makes zero sense to me. Maybe if I didn't get enough love as a kid I'd go for it, I don't know. What I do know is I'll take my eye for free over paying for Baker's. And I'll bet a card I deem high end will sell for the same with no sticker as the same card with Baker's sticker.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

If you or I were to send in the same card 5 times to PSA there is a very good chance we would end up with at least 3 different results in grading.

Nat does not agree with that decision based on his interviews but they get it wrong far too often.

This is dead on. Back when I would submit, crack, submit, I would often get 2-grade deviations on the same card. 7s to 9s, 8s back as 6s, all over the place. That's all you need to see a few times, to see the grading game for what it is, not take the grade stickers so seriously. As that old saying goes and holds so true: Buy the card, not the holder.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Snowman

According to the lemmings over at Blowhard, the telltale sign of a "trimmed" card is that it has a gap between the card's edges and the bumpers in the slab though.

Conveniently, Lemming's Law is also commutative: "gap = trimmed" and "trimmed = gap".

We know that's not even close to all you need to know about a card, especially older ones.

Many modern cards though are die cut and should all be the same size.
What will eventually become a problem with some sets is that they're partly die cut and knife cut on the same card. If I didn't have a stack I bought in packs I'd think most of the cards in any A+G set are trimmed.

I don't know enough about that basketball card, but if that set is die cut and is accurate at 2.5x3.5 for that card any smaller should be EOT.
We'd also have to assume the bumpers in a Beckett case are accurate at that size as well.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

Was not going to invest the time into the video.

For reasons I may never understand, I decided to give the video a listen while I was getting some work done...

This is a classic example of the type of content that drove me nuts over at Blowhard. Here I was thinking from the clickbait/screenshot that this hobby hero blogger had uncovered another major scandal! He buries some "card trimmer" who supposedly submitted a card he knew was trimmed to PSA 4 times, then decided to try BGS and they slabbed it for him. Then he sent it to Mike Baker to get a gold diamond sticker to try to further hide his crimes. Then he is "associated with PWCC" and tries to sell the card through them, but PWCC gets informed that this card is "TRIMMED"!, as does Beckett. Then Beckett supposedly decertifies the card because they are informed of PSA's evidence of it being trimmed [lol]. Then PWCC supposedly removes the card from their sales history because it was either shill bid or they wanted to hide their crime from the "ongoing" FBI investigation.

Of course, however, this is ALL NONSENSE. Here's what ACTUALLY happened...

This guy bought the Kobe Bryant card already in it's BGS 9.5++ holder with the Gold Diamond sticker on it. He thought it would/should cross to a PSA 10, so he tried to send it in as a crossover. PSA rejected it for "evidence of trimming". His dumbass then supposedly tries to send it in AGAIN as a crossover IN THE SAME SLAB WITH THE SAME SERIAL NUMBER to PSA because he's an idiot who doesn't realize that PSA asks for the serial number in the crossover submission form for a reason. They enter that number into their system and log the results. If someone submits that same card again with the same serial number, instead of doing the honest thing by informing the customer that they've already looked at the card and rejected it, they just take your money and the card and then send it right back to you with the same reason for rejection. That card never even makes it to a grader's desk the next time it gets sent in. This card probably hasn't even been trimmed. This "trimmed card" opinion is from ONE GUY (probably one of those near-minimum wage teenage graders) from PSA who looked at a card in a competitor's slab and said, "it's trimmed" despite it having passed both BGS's and Mike Baker's eyes. That "trimmed" tag is then forever associated with that serial number in PSA's database. The owner of the card, now surely furious as he's basically just been ripped off by PSA multiple times, decides to sell the card. He lists it with PWCC, not because of anything whatsoever to do with some trimming scandal of which this card does not apply, but because it's probably the best marketplace to sell a high-end Kobe RC on (despite the lemmings saying otherwise).

Meanwhile, the guy making this video claims that the card's cert was taken down by BGS. He even shows himself logging in to their website and entering the serial number only to have it say "No match found"! "AHA!" he declares. "See, I told you so!". Nevermind the fact that he's looking it up on the BAS lookup site, and not the one for BGS lol. I checked the cert number myself. It's still there. The card is not tainted. He also claims that PWCC purged the sale from their records. Again, not true. I looked that up too, and it's right there on their website. Sold for $120k.

This is entirely a nothing burger. There is zero evidence of anything even remotely shady about this card. It's just a Kobe RC that PSA rejected as a crossover. Happens every day. But these conspiracy theorist lemmings over at Blowhard are just all over this type of nonsense all day long. It's absolutely insane.

The real crime here is that this card is going to keep getting passed around from one person to the next and every single buyer is going to send it in to PSA expecting it to cross over to a PSA 10 because it is a BGS 9.5 "true gem plus plus" with a 10 subgrade for corners and a 10 subgrade for edges, and it has an MBA Gold Diamond sticker on it. But since one random guy at PSA thought it might be trimmed (despite the fact that the card is in a BGS slab with inner sleeve that PSA themselves admits they just can't see through well enough to accurately asses the card), it gets forever tainted in their database. But meanwhile, PSA will just keep taking everyone's money on this card over and over and over (to the tune of $5,000 a pop), handing out the same (and quite possibly bullshit) rejection reason.

Here are screenshots of the record of the sale at PWCC and proof that the cert is still valid at BGS.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by Snowman

For reasons I may never understand, I decided to give the video a listen while I was getting some work done...

This is a classic example of the type of content that drove me nuts over at Blowhard. Here I was thinking from the clickbait/screenshot that this hobby hero blogger had uncovered another major scandal! He buries some "card trimmer" who supposedly submitted a card he knew was trimmed to PSA 4 times, then decided to try BGS and they slabbed it for him. Then he sent it to Mike Baker to get a gold diamond sticker to try to further hide his crimes. Then he is "associated with PWCC" and tries to sell the card through them, but PWCC gets informed that this card is "TRIMMED"!, as does Beckett. Then Beckett supposedly decertifies the card because they are informed of PSA's evidence of it being trimmed [lol]. Then PWCC supposedly removes the card from their sales history because it was either shill bid or they wanted to hide their crime from the "ongoing" FBI investigation.

Of course, however, this is ALL NONSENSE. Here's what ACTUALLY happened...

This guy bought the Kobe Bryant card already in it's BGS 9.5++ holder with the Gold Diamond sticker on it. He thought it would/should cross to a PSA 10, so he tried to send it in as a crossover. PSA rejected it for "evidence of trimming". His dumbass then supposedly tries to send it in AGAIN as a crossover IN THE SAME SLAB WITH THE SAME SERIAL NUMBER to PSA because he's an idiot who doesn't realize that PSA asks for the serial number in the crossover submission form for a reason. They enter that number into their system and log the results. If someone submits that same card again with the same serial number, instead of doing the honest thing by informing the customer that they've already looked at the card and rejected it, they just take your money and the card and then send it right back to you with the same reason for rejection. That card never even makes it to a grader's desk the next time it gets sent in. This card probably hasn't even been trimmed. This "trimmed card" opinion is from ONE GUY (probably one of those near-minimum wage teenage graders) from PSA who looked at a card in a competitor's slab and said, "it's trimmed" despite it having passed both BGS's and Mike Baker's eyes. That "trimmed" tag is then forever associated with that serial number in PSA's database. The owner of the card, now surely furious as he's basically just been ripped off by PSA multiple times, decides to sell the card. He lists it with PWCC, not because of anything whatsoever to do with some trimming scandal of which this card does not apply, but because it's probably the best marketplace to sell a high-end Kobe RC on (despite the lemmings saying otherwise).

Meanwhile, the guy making this video claims that the card's cert was taken down by BGS. He even shows himself logging in to their website and entering the serial number only to have it say "No match found"! "AHA!" he declares. "See, I told you so!". Nevermind the fact that he's looking it up on the BAS lookup site, and not the one for BGS lol. I checked the cert number myself. It's still there. The card is not tainted. He also claims that PWCC purged the sale from their records. Again, not true. I looked that up too, and it's right there on their website. Sold for $120k.

This is entirely a nothing burger. There is zero evidence of anything even remotely shady about this card. It's just a Kobe RC that PSA rejected as a crossover. Happens every day. But these conspiracy theorist lemmings over at Blowhard are just all over this type of nonsense all day long. It's absolutely insane.

The real crime here is that this card is going to keep getting passed around from one person to the next and every single buyer is going to send it in to PSA expecting it to cross over to a PSA 10 because it is a BGS 9.5 "true gem plus plus" with a 10 subgrade for corners and a 10 subgrade for edges, and it has an MBA Gold Diamond sticker on it. But since one random guy at PSA thought it might be trimmed (despite the fact that the card is in a BGS slab with inner sleeve that PSA themselves admits they just can't see through well enough to accurately asses the card), it gets forever tainted in their database. But meanwhile, PSA will just keep taking everyone's money on this card over and over and over, handing out the same (and quite possibly bullshit) rejection reason.

Here are screenshots of the record of the sale at PWCC and proof that the cert is still valid at BGS.

Damn. Well done. Good write up, good read. Just goes to show, we all gotta buy the card and not put stock in what the stickers say one way or the other.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Wow, your many lengthy replies addressing the slightest question of the value of these ill reputed stickers shows a deep insecurity. Now I understand why you are a sticker guy!

[Peter_Spaeth]

It certainly sucks for the individual when they reject a good card, but I am guessing those mistakes are infinitesimal compared to the number of bad cards they've graded.

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

I don’t mean to offend, but I have to call bull on this one. I worked previously with the BLS, that’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who’s tag line literally is, “We have a stat for that.” A guy with a spreadsheet recording a few sales and various odd pieces of descriptive data does not a data model make. You won’t convince others that this path is meaningful. For that matter, No need to justify to others who don’t agree that these “certificates” hold any special value. You like them, that’s fine. Seriously, enjoy.

By the way, if Baker kept 22 of your cards when he failed in his attempt to reinvigorate GAI, you might feel differently about his reputation.

Plus one on this. I hear robust model and I have to laugh just a little.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Long before there were even PWCC eye appeal stickers, cards with exceptional eye appeal for their grades would perform accordingly at auction. All it took were savvy, experienced collectors' eyes to be laid upon the cards, and the deserved fireworks would ensue. I know this because I was involved in many of those auctions. At that time, it's interesting to note that whenever such a card broke out of the then-sacrosanct VCP grids, some guys, I like to call them grade-queens who worship the sticker number, would lose their sh!+, wondering why on earth a 2 just sold like a 4, who were these morons that would bid up a 2 when they could get a 4, or a 6 when they could buy an 8, and so on. Others would get it. Different camps, whatever, the usual conflict and beef that breaks out among card people.

Then along came PWCC with their stickers, hanging lanterns on the sweeter-looking cards (in many cases also doctored cards from their big submitters, as we'd all later learn). Now, because so many people out there are insecure in their own opinion and eye, they start saying, "Well, if PWCC says this card is better than others in its grade or special, now, okay, I want it." So premiums for eye appeal become more commonplace, more mainstream perhaps one could say.

That's all this Baker diamond thing is, same as the PWCC stickers. The reason I spit on it is because it reeks to me of needing affirmation. If one's eye tells them a card is sweet, it's sweet. Then pay accordingly, because it's the specimen you want to enjoy looking at in your collection every day. Not because some random dude slapped some tiny sticker on the slab.

It's like if one got an A on an exam, doesn't the A suffice? Does one need a little puffy sticker from the teacher's assistant next to the A to make one feel better? Or if a guy went 4-4 at the plate, does he need some kind of extra affirmation from the coach or fans or his nana? You went 4-4. You know you did. In the same vein, we know if a card is pretty. We know if it's focused, centered, etc. Our eyes tell us that. So I don't get why we'd ever need a sticker from some random dude to tell us what our own two eyes know is a fact like the sun is in the sky. And then to PAY for that affirmation? Makes zero sense to me. Maybe if I didn't get enough love as a kid I'd go for it, I don't know. What I do know is I'll take my eye for free over paying for Baker's. And I'll bet a card I deem high end will sell for the same with no sticker as the same card with Baker's sticker.

Ya, for me it's all about the eye appeal as well. I completely get the sentiment about not needing the Gold Diamond stickers too. I really do. I thought they were stupid at first too. But I happened to buy a card that had the little gold sticker on it, and for whatever reason I just liked it. I'm super OCD. As in remarkably so. When I was a kid, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night unless I got up out of bed and walked over to the light switch and flipped it on/off 3 times before going back to bed. In high school, after basketball practice, I couldn't leave the gym until I swished a 3-pointer, even if it made me late for class. If a card isn't well-centered, I can't stand looking at it. It's almost a physical reaction. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. An off-centered Mint 9 or even 10 card is pure trash to me. I can't change that. But for whatever reason, I really like how these Gold Diamond stickers look, particularly on SGC slabs (the silver stickers, not so much). So my OCD has decided I want more of them.

Again, I fully realize this is crazy. Hence my posts. Though I do find it interesting that the market does appear to place a value on the stickers that the data appears to suggest is in addition to centering alone. I think people interpret them as "this card is undergraded" and likely bid with the hope of cracking it out for a grade bump in mind. And to be fair, they probably succeed at a higher rate than they would with cards that don't have the stickers.

But overall, I'm very much in agreement with you. Buy the card, not the slab. And yes, these stickers are dumb. But what can I say, I like dumb shit sometimes.

[MattyC]

Hey man, if you dig'em, you dig'em, and enjoy. The cards you showed are all great-looking and I'm sure all collectors would agree they are. My friendly advice as a fellow collector would be just save your money and the risk of shipping them and just make your own; you clearly have a good eye so your sticker would be no different than the one that costs you money is all!

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by steve B

We know that's not even close to all you need to know about a card, especially older ones.

I'm with you there. I was being facetious.

Originally Posted by steve B

I don't know enough about that basketball card, but if that set is die cut and is accurate at 2.5x3.5 for that card any smaller should be EOT.
We'd also have to assume the bumpers in a Beckett case are accurate at that size as well.

These Topps Chrome cards do have a bit of variance in size from the factory. Not a ton of variance like some of the older Topps cards, but definitely enough that a simple measurement is usually not sufficient for determining EOT.

The bumpers in the Beckett case are just heat pressed into the inner sleeve. They are adjustable based on the size of the card, though perhaps they usually just keep it set at a standard size for most cards? I don't know.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Hey man, if you dig'em, you dig'em, and enjoy. The cards you showed are all great-looking and I'm sure all collectors would agree they are. My friendly advice as a fellow collector would be just save your money and the risk of shipping them and just make your own; you clearly have a good eye so your sticker would be no different than the one that costs you money is all!

It's not a terrible idea. It's just that if putting an MBA Gold Diamond sticker is already stupid to 85% of the hobby, then how stupid is a Snowman sticker? lol. I could put a little gold foil Snowman on there, hahaha.

FWIW, I don't like the PWCC stickers. Nor do I like the Silver Diamond MBA stickers. I only like the Gold Diamond stickers lol.

[Snowman]

Here's a fun card from this weekend's auctions that I know you'll appreciate MattyC.

I've been looking for a nice Roberto Clemente in a 4 or 5 holder to go with my 1955 Topps set. There were a few on auction this weekend that I was interested in. They usually sell for between $3500 to $4000 as a 4 (though it has been trending upward). The one I was most interested in was well-centered at Heritage. It ended on Saturday with a hammer price of $5760. I was the underbidder and I gave up at that point. I ended up settling on the one I liked 2nd most for another SGC 4 that sold on PWCC last night. It's centering isn't ideal, but it's still better than most 55 Topps cards (as most know, these are notoriously difficult to find well centered).

Here are the two cards that sold this weekend. $5760 for the centered one on Heritage, $3600 for the off-center one on PWCC. I won it for nearly half the price, but I'm still not happy about it and will eventually look to upgrade it. But it will do for now. I bet Mike Baker would slap a Gold sticker on that Heritage copy! Hahaha

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Meanwhile, the guy making this video claims that the card's cert was taken down by BGS. He even shows himself logging in to their website and entering the serial number only to have it say "No match found"! "AHA!" he declares. "See, I told you so!". Nevermind the fact that he's looking it up on the BAS lookup site, and not the one for BGS lol.

This part actually made me laugh. The rest I assumed which is why I was not about to watch the video.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It certainly sucks for the individual when they reject a good card, but I am guessing those mistakes are infinitesimal compared to the number of bad cards they've graded.

PSA more than the other TPG seem to lean towards rejecting crossovers as a matter of routine practice. It is throwing away money people. Either break the card out and submit it naked or keep it in the plastic it is in.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

PSA more than the other TPG seem to lean towards rejecting crossovers as a matter of routine practice. It is throwing away money people. Either break the card out and submit it naked or keep it in the plastic it is in.

I never understood how they could cross a high value vintage card without being able to see the edges, but whatever.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

PSA more than the other TPG seem to lean towards rejecting crossovers as a matter of routine practice. It is throwing away money people. Either break the card out and submit it naked or keep it in the plastic it is in.

Ya, I'm with you there. I'm done trying to cross cards over without cracking them out first. But it can definitely bite you. I have 4 Michael Jordan RCs that are all graded SGC 9. I tried crossing over the nicest one and PSA rejected it as "min grade" in the holder. So I cracked it out and sent it in again and they just rejected the card outright as having been "altered" (which is utter nonsense). So I sent it back to SGC and they gave it an 8.5 this time. So I cracked it again and sent it to BGS. My goal is to eventually pay more in grading fees than the card is worth. I'm getting close. Who knows. Maybe by the end of its journey it'll be in a CSG 10 slab with a MBA gold diamond sticker on it lol.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Ya, I'm with you there. I'm done trying to cross cards over without cracking them out first. But it can definitely bite you. I have 4 Michael Jordan RCs that are all graded SGC 9. I tried crossing over the nicest one and PSA rejected it as "min grade" in the holder. So I cracked it out and sent it in again and they just rejected the card outright as having been "altered" (which is utter nonsense). So I sent it back to SGC and they gave it an 8.5 this time. So I cracked it again and sent it to BGS. My goal is to eventually pay more in grading fees than the card is worth. I'm getting close. Who knows. Maybe by the end of its journey it'll be in a CSG 10 slab with a MBA gold diamond sticker on it lol.

Don't forget the purple sticker too!
.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Leon

Don't forget the purple sticker too!
.

Only a desperate insecure shell of a man would place a purple sticker on his cards. The same people who put 45" tires on their lifted F250 trucks and have to climb into the cab with a ladder and a pull rope. But I only have 43" tires on mine, and I don't need a rope, so I'm afraid I'm the not target audience for the purple stickers.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Remora (noun): Remora spend their lives clinging to a host animal such as a whale, turtle, shark or ray. Although it was initially believed that remoras fed off particulate matter from the host's meals, this has been shown to be false; in reality, their diets are composed primarily of host feces.

Sound about right?

Adam, that is sort of a mean analogy. However, I love it!

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Ya, I'm with you there. I'm done trying to cross cards over without cracking them out first. But it can definitely bite you. I have 4 Michael Jordan RCs that are all graded SGC 9. I tried crossing over the nicest one and PSA rejected it as "min grade" in the holder. So I cracked it out and sent it in again and they just rejected the card outright as having been "altered" (which is utter nonsense). So I sent it back to SGC and they gave it an 8.5 this time. So I cracked it again and sent it to BGS. My goal is to eventually pay more in grading fees than the card is worth. I'm getting close. Who knows. Maybe by the end of its journey it'll be in a CSG 10 slab with a MBA gold diamond sticker on it lol.

Yes breaking out is risky even if the card is not altered. I have done it and done ok but there have been times I break open the holder and find something that I could not see when the card was in the holder. Again the number of altered cards in slabs should be much less than the actual number so in a perfect scenario there would be little to no risk. Not in this hobby. Grading Roulette!

[Yoda]

Despite all of the technical aids and cross-referencing employed by the TPGers, grading still remains the subjective final decision by the grader. Human nature will always play a role with the exception of Superman, Jesus and perhaps Karl Marx.
Travis, could you provide a scan of one of your PSA graded cards in your PC with a Baker good housekeeping seal of approval. I have never seen one and am curious after this cogent discussion on a polemic subject. Tks. John

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Oh well… He knows cards, but is 15 years away from being relevant and ruined His reputation at GAI then GA. Many collectors never got their cards back as a result of his and his partner’s actions. First hand information.

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Digging up this old thread because I'm about to send off some cards to MBA that I think are under-graded. I realize that it sounds ridiculous to pay someone to "grade the graders", but this does address/solve some of the problems with grading today. So many cards are now being criminally under graded by PSA; as well as SGC, although I would argue less so. I have recently graded cards in PSA 6 slabs that look like they belong in an 8 holder. Also, centering and overall eye appeal are extremely important with vintage cards. And while, yes, you can see the centering on a scan, you often can't see other minor flaws that greatly affect the eye appeal of a card in hand. How many times have we all bought that nicely centered VG-EX 4 card thinking we found a diamond in the rough only to have it show up with a surface crease/wrinkle that you couldn't see from the scans? That's just the limitations of buying and selling cards online, which is where the vast majority of cards trade hands nowadays.

I think this service addresses some of these challenges, and the market clearly agrees. The data is in on MBA Diamond stickered cards, and they sell for a significant premium, often bringing the price of a full grade bump higher for the Gold stickers. And no, it's not just the premium that a well-centered card would have otherwise gotten. It definitely adds value (I ran an ANCOVA model with the data and the stickers are statistically significant even after accounting for cards being well-centered). Sure, you could risk cracking your "under-graded" cards out and sending them back in for grading again, hoping to get a bump, but with grading fees as high as they are today, and with PSA and with how ridiculously harsh they're being with many of their grades now, it's often just not worth it. Plus, I think the Gold Diamond stickers look nice. They're subtle and classy looking. Especially on the newer SGC tuxedo slabs.

Here's an example of one of the cards I'm planning to send off to MBA. This Gretzky RC is laughably under-graded. This is not an EX-MT card. Anyone selling this card raw would describe it as NM or NM-MT and no buyers would ever question that description upon receiving it. I could crack it and send it back to PSA. Maybe they give me a 7? Perhaps an 8? Who knows. But perfectly centered, under-graded cards with great eye appeal are very difficult to find in this hobby. I say they deserve an award, and I plan on giving mine little gold diamond stickers because I like how they look. It's like the trophy shelf of my collection. And they display nicely too. Plus, now I can tell that clown who says, "comps for a PSA 5 are about $5k" to take a hike just that much more easily without having to defend why I'm asking above "comps" if I ever decide to sell.

Don't get me wrong, I fully realize why many collectors have no interest in this service. But this is why I like them and why I plan to send off many of my favorite cards to MBA. Sometimes the grading companies just get it wrong. And if Mike Baker agrees that they "got it wrong" or that it's a premium card of that grade, then I'm definitely willing to pay a significant premium as a buyer over some random eBay listing where the seller writes "LOOKS BETTER" in the title only to have it show up with a crease and 7 indents on it.

RE; The PSA 6 Gretsky..."Looks Like a strong SGC 4.5-5 to me". That should be in the title, IMHO. Baker is a taint.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

Oh well… He knows cards, but is 15 years away from being relevant and ruined His reputation at GAI then GA. Many collectors never got their cards back as a result of his and his partner’s actions. First hand information.

I was one of the lucky ones who got their cards back. It took several emails over a few months. I got them back just before they closed down the website to non-members. My membership password quit working at that time. The cards never did get graded and they never gave me a refund, just happy I got the cards back.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Fuddjcal

RE; The PSA 6 Gretsky..."Looks Like a strong SGC 4.5-5 to me". That should be in the title, IMHO. Baker is a taint.

Would you like to place a side bet on that opinion? I can submit it to SGC. If they grade it a 6 or higher, I win. Any lower and you win. I'll give you 2 to 1 odds. If it gets a 7, then you owe me 2 to 1. $1000 wager. You in? This could be fun!

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Would you like to place a side bet on that opinion? I can submit it to SGC. If they grade it a 6 or higher, I win. Any lower and you win. I'll give you 2 to 1 odds. If it gets a 7, then you owe me 2 to 1. $1000 wager. You in? This could be fun!

The 79 is a nice card but at the risk of upsetting you, I think it is graded accurately. Lower right is showing quite a bit of paper loss for even a NM. I would agree it has better than EXMT eye appeal, overall, but all 4 corners have wear.

Just curious if that was a card you submitted to PSA, if you care to answer.

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

The 79 is a nice card but at the risk of upsetting you, I think it is graded accurately. Lower right is showing quite a bit of paper loss for even a NM. I would agree it has better than EXMT eye appeal, overall, but all 4 corners have wear.

Just curious if that was a card you submitted to PSA, if you care to answer.

I've been waiting for this since the first (new) post showing the Gretzky card. IMO this is the elephant in the room that nobody is talking about.

Border chipping, weak BR corner, and the Oil Drop is somewhat askew. It's a 6 in many people's views.

Not the first (or last) time the submitter believes the card is undergraded. Nice eye appeal, but technically accurate.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Would you like to place a side bet on that opinion? I can submit it to SGC. If they grade it a 6 or higher, I win. Any lower and you win. I'll give you 2 to 1 odds. If it gets a 7, then you owe me 2 to 1. $1000 wager. You in? This could be fun!

Leon, I believe this should be taken off the board and made a private message between the two protagonists.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Leon, I believe this should be taken off the board and made a private message between the two protagonists.

Doesn't bother me as long as names are out there...
.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Leon, I believe this should be taken off the board and made a private message between the two protagonists.

Threads where the snowman post sometimes get heated but it is all good and clean. Snowman always brings his A game and makes threads exciting.

[drcy]

I find it very hard to believe that an MBA sticker would add market value to a card

[glynparson]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Would you like to place a side bet on that opinion? I can submit it to SGC. If they grade it a 6 or higher, I win. Any lower and you win. I'll give you 2 to 1 odds. If it gets a 7, then you owe me 2 to 1. $1000 wager. You in? This could be fun!

As usual I agree with snowman. (Though not 100% of the time) Guy certainly has more patience than I do dealing with most of this board.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by glynparson

As usual I agree with snowman. (Though not 100% of the time) Guy certainly has more patience than I do dealing with most of this board.

That's a bold statement in this town. Balls of steel, this guy has!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by glynparson

As usual I agree with snowman. (Though not 100% of the time) Guy certainly has more patience than I do dealing with most of this board.

You have 0 patience. That is the issue. You always seem angry too. Maybe you need to take a chill pill every morning LOL...

.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Snowman

These Topps Chrome cards do have a bit of variance in size from the factory. Not a ton of variance like some of the older Topps cards, but definitely enough that a simple measurement is usually not sufficient for determining EOT.

The bumpers in the Beckett case are just heat pressed into the inner sleeve. They are adjustable based on the size of the card, though perhaps they usually just keep it set at a standard size for most cards? I don't know.

Well then the bumpers are out. Which is actually sort of nice in an "I won't have to think about that" way...

I don't think anywhere near enough study has been done on die cut sets. I only noticed the Old Judges because once you get a stack of them there are groups of obviously different edges.

The nice thing is that the die cut mats will always cut the same size, unless they get damaged. If there's only one mat, and that one always cuts the lower left card 1/64th short, then every lower left card will be 1/64 short.

[drcy]

I regularly disagree with Snowman, but there's nothing errant with having a resident board contrarian. Echo chambers and groupthink aren't healthy, so it's good to have counterviewpoints.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Originally Posted by drcy

I regularly disagree with Snowman, but there's nothing errant with having a resident board contrarian. Echo chambers and groupthink aren't healthy, so it's good to have counterviewpoints.

Hey David, that's well put. "In the spirit of fostering amity" (Star trek line for those who recall) I'll say that, even though I disagree with the notion that stickers have any value, I can respect Snowman's opinion. Hey Snow, keep posting my man!

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Snowman

It's not a terrible idea. It's just that if putting an MBA Gold Diamond sticker is already stupid to 85% of the hobby, then how stupid is a Snowman sticker? lol. I could put a little gold foil Snowman on there, hahaha.

FWIW, I don't like the PWCC stickers. Nor do I like the Silver Diamond MBA stickers. I only like the Gold Diamond stickers lol.

To be honest, the stickers are moronic. You're obviously an Anal Eddie and that's fine cause at least your honest with yourself.

That being said, I would much rather have a "Snowman" sticker on my card from an Anal Eddie, than that well known criminal piece Sh** like Mike Baker. The "Snowman" holds much more street cred. That's the god honest truth. Have a little faith in yourself.

Go find some slabs with PWCC stickers and purple stickers. Then, put a Mike Baker and Snowman sticker on it. Have you ever thought of that? They have to be PSA though and they have to POP so you can add all 4 stickers to the registry. That's what I would do if I were you and only collect those. 4 stickers for every bush!

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

Hey David, that's well put. "In the spirit of fostering amity" (Star trek line for those who recall) I'll say that, even though I disagree with the notion that stickers have any value, I can respect Snowman's opinion. Hey Snow, keep posting my man!

I like the Snowman too!!! and his New sticker program.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Fuddjcal

To be honest, the stickers are moronic. You're obviously an Anal Eddie and that's fine cause at least your honest with yourself.

That being said, I would much rather have a "Snowman" sticker on my card from an Anal Eddie, than that well known criminal piece Sh** like Mike Baker. The "Snowman" holds much more street cred. That's the god honest truth. Have a little faith in yourself.

Go find some slabs with PWCC stickers and purple stickers. Then, put a Mike Baker and Snowman sticker on it. Have you ever thought of that? They have to be PSA though and they have to POP so you can add all 4 stickers to the registry. That's what I would do if I were you and only collect those. 4 stickers for every bush!

The Baker sticker is not that big. You could easily fit several sized like his on a slab.

[T205 GB]

I see a lot of talk about Baker and his MBA business. Well, I can tell you first hand he has a massive presence in MSP MN and is sold by Triple Diamond Sports Cards and Gold Bar Breaks. When I flipped over one of their cards and seen Bakers name I asked if it was the same Baker from GAI. Apparently the guys didn't know the history or the background behind it. I said do your due diligence and find out. Either that or they know and play stupid to save face at a card show. I did buy a RC Auto I had been chasing for a while and the sticker that it had was absolute bullsh!t in comparison to condition. I paid full comp based on condition and removed that sticker as soon as I left the shop. The whole show is equivalent to BCCG grading where your 6's are 10's all day. Reminds me of Desert Queens Looks like a 10 till the plane lands stateside. Not going to lie, I was hoping this was not the same person that had a very conflicting past. I will say that if you are buying new unopened hobby boxes then go for it.

Seriously if you have an under graded card then have it regraded. Relying on a known scammer(s) to verify a better grade for you by affixing a sticker to a card slab promotes theft and scams rather than deter them. Plus if these guys are so good at grading then WTF have they not started a grading service of their own? Can't due it because they have no unique business model or clout in the industry.

We will add a holographic sticker to any card for $5 a card all inclusive. We can do 1000+ a day if you need and bulk subs are accepted but we won't really return your cards for months and months when we have really no reason to keep them setting there other than pure laziness. Shipping is always same day service with max insurance and at least 4 add ons that require you to be there in person at exactly 10:23 am GMT the day of shipping or days following till it is delivered. If we miss you in person the package is sent back and we recharge you continually to ship it till you give up or get fired from work for missing days. All stickers will have a unique qr code or serial # to access a blank and never updated registry. We also promise to never tell you what is seen that makes your card better or worse. Please contact me though email because we don't answer the phone due to possible liabilities. If we happen to close down due to heat and pressure from the hobby we won't be sending the cards back for liability reasons unless you pay for the service and fees. If your patient we will reopen in a few years and continue with our business under a different name. You can sub for review then.