Card Doctor haters please respond

[ksabet]

Originally Posted by drcy

First, I think people who spend $100,000 on a 1957 Topps Sandy Koufax because it's a PSA 10 are dunderheads

If I can make 20-30% on 100k...you can call me a dunderhead all day.


These guys do it for the return not the idea of owning a great condition card.

[travrosty]

Some do it because they are .05 behind someone else in the set registry and they have almost all 10's in their collection, and another 10 might put them over the top of the #1 guy on the list.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by travrosty

Some do it because they are .05 behind someone else in the set registry and they have almost all 10's in their collection, and another 10 might put them over the top of the #1 guy on the list.

Yep. A lot of ego involved in those registry battles.

[darwinbulldog]

Wait, PSA doesn't give you a stipend if you're #1 on your registry set?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by drcy

Provenance, provenance, provenance

First, I think people who spend $100,000 on a 1957 Topps Sandy Koufax because it's a PSA 10 are dunderheads (in part because grading has a well known margin of error, as evidenced by people resubmitting cards and getting different grades), but i wrote an entire article about provenance (including a bit about high grade cards) and if they don't care to inquire where a card came from before dropping $100,000 that's their choice and perhaps their eventual downfall. Of course not all cards have verifiable provenance, but $100,000 is a big investment to not even ask where the card came from.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...ce-collection/

For those who don't want to read the entire article, I'll quote:

"When someone is offering a Gem Mint antique baseball card with perfect razor sharp edges, have you ever considered asking where it was acquired? If the seller himself trimmed the card, he won’t be able to provide documentation that it existed in that condition before he owned it. Clearly, there won’t be solid documentation for many cards– cards are discovered in books, bought as part of group lots, a sales receipt may make no mention of grade–but provenance of high grade cards should be something to keep in the back of your mind."

If collectors started demanding to see where high graded cards came from before they laid down any $, a lot of the alteration problems would be solved right there. Card doctors won't be able to show where they got the card-- though there will no doubt suddenly be a rash of Gem Mint 10s "found in my grandmother's cabinet."

Not that I'm anticipating that the hobby will take this advice (I've mentioned provenance many times over the years visa vie cards and alterations, but it always appears to fall on deaf ears). But an individual collector reading this post can take the initiative with his own purchases.

In my opinion, the majority of people to whom it is important to own 9s or 10s of vintage cards really don't care if they have been altered. As long as like-minded people feel the same, the cards have value as commodities whether or not they would be worthless outside the holders.

[1880nonsports]

for the aside - but curious whether this is a serious comment?

"Wait, PSA doesn't give you a stipend if you're #1 on your registry set?"

[drcy]

It's all stupid to me, on various levels. And, as I say, that collectors don't care about something today doesn't mean they won't tomorrow-- so it seems to be dubious thing not to care about when investing lots of money.

But I'm an old school guy I guess. When I first heard someone describe a baseball card as 'Gem Mint' (a 1990 Topps Frank Thomas), I though he was making a joke.