Another one for the PSA idiot files

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Posted By: warshawlaw

1. It is not whether PSA has graded millions and millions of cards--that is a straw man argument. To analogize, McDonalds has served millions and millions of Big Macs; does that excuse their serving me a Filet O Fish labeled a Big Mac? I think not. I am a collector. When I buy a card for my permanent collection, I buy it because it is right, not more marketable. If I buy a graded card I am trusting that grader to take some of the burden off me. How am I supposed to trust the grading on a card that the "expert" cannot even identify correctly?

2. Jeff's point is interesting but I disagree with the apparent underlying rationale. No one debates that PSA's cards generally generate the best market results (although the SGC and GAI graded stuff in some of the current auctions is going to make a very serious run at top dollar billings in many categories, I think). I do not think that anyone can debate either than those results are the product of a complex series of interwoven factors, including advertising and public relations expenditures, dealer, seller and investor agendas, their advantage as first into the market, and consumer perceptions. In other words, I don't see the conclusion that "PSA sells for most because PSA does the best job" as flowing from sales results.

3. The issue I and others raised is that PSA keeps making painfully obvious bush-league mistakes that never, ever would get out if they employed decent quality control, which I am increasingly of the opinion just is not something that they do. I think that it is reasonable to expect the self-appointed top purveyor of a service to perform as flawlessly as reasonably possible. This card and the others that have been flagged aren't reasonable mistakes.