Stunning quote on altered cards

[Peter_Spaeth]

From an email from Evan Mathis to Sports Illustrated. Quote below and then link to article.

"To the purists who think a card should always be in its original condition: That just isn’t going to happen in the current state of the industry, and you should avoid buying graded cards.”

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/06/to...ow-daily-cover

If Evan's right, the TPGs may not even be trying except in blatant cases.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Well, if anyone would know...

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Well, if anyone would know...

It's a safe presumption Evan is well-connected at least at PSA.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It's a safe presumption Evan is well-connected at least at PSA.

Also a known fact that he purchased a laser paper trimmer on ebay.

[Flintboy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

From an email from Evan Mathis to Sports Illustrated. Quote below and then link to article.

"To the purists who think a card should always be in its original condition: That just isn’t going to happen in the current state of the industry, and you should avoid buying graded cards.”

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/06/to...ow-daily-cover

If Evan's right, the TPGs may not even be trying except in blatant cases.

I’m a purist but I don’t think Evans’s statement is wrong. In fact it’s good advice.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by Flintboy

I’m a purist but I don’t think Evans’s statement is wrong. In fact it’s good advice.

Agreed. If you assume all cards are altered and price accordingly you'll be fine.

[Casey2296]

"Buy the edges not the slab" is going to become even more popular for pre-war guys. Gem mint & modern guys are going to have a tough time.
-

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Agreed. If you assume all cards are altered and price accordingly you'll be fine.

I refuse to think all cards are altered. We just need to buy the borders.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I like that one MUCH better than the PSA 7.

[jingram058]

Nice cards there, Leon!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I like that one MUCH better than the PSA 7.

The SGC 60 shown is way oversized. I like the 7 better. And it too has larger borders than most other cards like it I have compared it to, and I have compared it to a lot of them.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I like that one MUCH better than the PSA 7.

I like them both.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

From an email from Evan Mathis to Sports Illustrated. Quote below and then link to article.

"To the purists who think a card should always be in its original condition: That just isn’t going to happen in the current state of the industry, and you should avoid buying graded cards.”

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/06/to...ow-daily-cover

If Evan's right, the TPGs may not even be trying except in blatant cases.

I guess nothing came of the FBI Investigation on Altered Card Doctors from the 2019 National. If memory serves me correct I believe the FBI was at the last National In Chicago with subpoenas.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

I guess nothing came of the FBI Investigation on Altered Card Doctors from the 2019 National. If memory serves me correct I believe the FBI was at the last National In Chicago with subpoenas.

It was. The investigation likely is ongoing, recall Mastro took many years and this is much broader. That is not to say I am confident as to what will come of it, who knows.

But it's clear that if Evan is right, slabbing altered cards is now the norm and presumably the TPGs are in on this. It will be interesting to see if any have any comment about the SI piece. Steve Sloan is probably too busy spinning higher prices.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

But it's clear that if Evan is right, slabbing altered cards is now the norm and presumably the TPGs are in on this.

I've been saying that for a while now, there was just no way anyone could be that incompetent that often and not be in on it.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by steve b

i've been saying that for a while now, there was just no way anyone could be that incompetent that often and not be in on it.

bingo

[Eric72]

Peter,

I’m sure most of us feel bitterness/anger/outrage over this issue. However, it’s not exactly unexpected news. Considering the source of the quote, it’s even less surprising. Some might even think he was attempting to deflect some of the angst directed towards him over the paper cutter purchase and related gossip regarding trimming.

Additionally, some of us already suspected there is rampant card doctoring in the hobby. We have for years. Others adopted this mindset recently. Still others are just now coming to this conclusion.

The point being, there was not a singular event that opened everybody’s eyes simultaneously. Like many theories, there are visionaries, early adopters, those who come to accept an idea slowly over time, and those who will never agree.

Am I surprised by the quote? No.

I do find it extremely distasteful, though. I also find the behavior of the card doctors (and their partners-in-crime) to be disgusting. What they’re doing is similar to a strip mining operation. They’ve taken something beautiful (the hobby) and extracted whatever they could…in the name of short-term profits…with no regard for the damage done or mess left behind.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

From an email from Evan Mathis to Sports Illustrated. Quote below and then link to article.

"To the purists who think a card should always be in its original condition: That just isn’t going to happen in the current state of the industry, and you should avoid buying graded cards.”

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/06/to...ow-daily-cover

If Evan's right, the TPGs may not even be trying except in blatant cases.

Nothing shocks me anymore when it comes to altered cards. It's the best example of a true-to-life Bizarro World.

I predict that sometime in the near future, the only problem in the sportscard business will be the so-called "purists" with their disparaging and damaging rhetoric about alterations being bad or unethical thus being a major threat to the industry, third-party grading and investors.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

Nothing shocks me anymore when it comes to altered cards. It's the best example of a true-to-life Bizarro World.

I predict that sometime in the near future, the only problem in the sportscard business will be the so-called "purists" with their disparaging and damaging rhetoric about alterations being bad or unethical thus being a major threat to the industry, third-party grading and investors.

To me whomever made that last statement he or she is exactly whom I don't want in this hobby.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I've been doing this for decades and I've had a pretty good education but particularly with cards in a slab where I can't examine the edges there is NFW I can be absolutely sure that 100 percent of my cards are completely original. Sorry but I am skeptical of anyone who claims they can, and no disrespect intended.

[benjulmag]

So if it becomes generally accepted that the (great) majority of vintage cards have been altered, why in time wouldn't the price of condition rarity specimens plummet? Is someone really going to be willing to pay multiples more for a slight bump up in grade simply because the card doctor who worked on the higher grade card was better than the card doctor who worked on the lower grade example?

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

So if it becomes generally accepted that the (great) majority of vintage cards have been altered, why in time wouldn't the price of condition rarity specimens plummet? Is someone in time really going to be willing to pay multiples more for a slight bump up in grade simply because the card doctor who worked on higher graded card better than the card doctor who worked on the lower grade example?

Correct.... It pretty much renders grading as meaningless.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I've been doing this for decades and I've had a pretty good education but particularly with cards in a slab where I can't examine the edges there is NFW I can be absolutely sure that 100 percent of my cards are completely original. Sorry but I am skeptical of anyone who claims they can, and no disrespect intended.

It's not even specific to cards, I just wouldn't trust anyone who claims to be "100% certain" of anything.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

It's not even specific to cards, I just wouldn't trust anyone who claims to be "100% certain" of anything.

Are you 100% certain you wouldn't trust them?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

It's not even specific to cards, I just wouldn't trust anyone who claims to be "100% certain" of anything.

I'm 100% certain Britney Spears won't show up at my house tonight for dinner.