Why Do Oldtime Dealers over grade their cards?

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Posted By: Cy

Rand,

I don't think you should view their grading as over-graded. It may be over-graded compared to PSA or SGC, etc. But each individual has his own grading scale. Some old school graders seem to be right on the mark compared to PSA and SGC. And, frankly, the old school dealers started the original grading scale.

To state an example, I have bought raw cards from Barry Sloate and found them to be very well graded (compared to PSA). Some were even better than I expected. And Barry may not be old, but he is old school.

I think what you need to do is check how a particular seller grades his cards, then go from there. Some major dealers sometimes get bad reviews from their grading. But if you check sellers like Barry Sloate or Larry Fristch or Dave Levin or Gar Miller or any other old school seller, I think you will find that they are very consistent. Their Ex may not match your Ex. But usually their Ex is very consistent to all of their cards graded Ex. And you will also find that sometimes you get very nice cards for the grades indicated. Maybe sometimes you won't. But the better dealers always allow you to return a card if you are not satisfied. So learn the sellers particular grading scale and pay the price of the card accordingly.

I hope this helps you a little. Because it shouldn't be a fight of old vs. new. One just has to realize that grading is truly subjective, then go from there.

Sincerely,

Cy