What is next in 21st century card collecting

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Ever since the "famous" Wagner card was graded (13 years ago), this hobby has seen dramatic change.
And, there is no turning back. A whole new generation of collectors have entered the hobby who cannot,
in their wildest imaginations, fully appreciate how this hobby was prior to the "grading days".

During the 1970's and '80s, collectors enjoyed trading and buying sportscards without any concern (or
worry) whether a card was altered, trimmed, or otherwise tampered with; simply because......

(1) Condition conscious collectors were few....most collectors were into it for the pure enjoyment of it.
Mostly, to complete their favorite sets (or team sets) or acquire their favorite HOFers.

(2) An Ex T206 Cobb cost $50. so, who would waste their time to alter it, to gain another $10 in value.

But, nowadays with that same Cobb going for $2000....its human nature to be greedy. That inevitably
leads to the altering of cards. And, like it or not, Grading is no guarantee that you have a "clean" card.
Or even an "objectively" graded card......Are you really going to get a fair and objective grade of your
card if you are an infrequent submitter as compared to the big dealers ?
And, then you have the dilemna of what Grading Co. to submit your cards to, as a function of what
you think will get you bigger $$ when you sell.

This is the sad state of affairs that the grading phenomena has brought about. It has escalated prices
beyond the reach of the most collectors......and furthermore, no one trusts anyone, anymore when it
comes to BB card dealing.
This latter point is evident in your posts on a daily basis on this forum. Recently, I counted (on a full
page here) approx. 25% of the posts questioning, or alluding to concerns about altered cards.
I ask....what kind of pleasure from this hobby are you deriving, if most of your purchases cause you
this much worry ?

Frank....you, I and a few others are considered the "dinosaurs" on this forum for primarily collecting
cards that are ungraded. And, as long as there is all this present day "paranoia" engendered with
ungraded cards, our comments will never be understood.

T-Rex TED