1936 Joltin' Joe

[barrysloate]

I find this whole situation extraordinary. The 36 DiMaggio is just one of many thousands of altered cards that are currently slabbed, yet every time a major auction concludes we see countless price records for high end cards shattered. At what point does the hobby say enough is enough? And when do TPG's start investing in better technology so they can start ferreting out these bad cards instead of holdering them?

I understand why collectors hold on to what they have. The common mantra is "I don't actually have any of these bad cards in my collection, it's only the other guy who has the altered ones. I checked mine out carefully and they're all good." That is the ostrich with his head in the sand that has been a fixture of this hobby for as long as I can remember. But why don't collectors finally stand up and say we aren't going to buy any more of this crap until the TPG's find a better way to do this. As I said, I really find this to be amazing. If somebody else can explain this, please do.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I find this whole situation extraordinary. The 36 DiMaggio is just one of many thousands of altered cards that are currently slabbed, yet every time a major auction concludes we see countless price records for high end cards shattered. At what point does the hobby say enough is enough? And when do TPG's start investing in better technology so they can start ferreting out these bad cards instead of holdering them?

I understand why collectors hold on to what they have. The common mantra is "I don't actually have any of these bad cards in my collection, it's only the other guy who has the altered ones. I checked mine out carefully and they're all good." That is the ostrich with his head in the sand that has been a fixture of this hobby for as long as I can remember. But why don't collectors finally stand up and say we aren't going to buy any more of this crap until the TPG's find a better way to do this. As I said, I really find this to be amazing. If somebody else can explain this, please do.

Stuff trumps all, Barry, you know that. These little one off fiascos will flare and die every so often and nothing will change. And the criminals know that.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Stuff trumps all, Barry, you know that. These little one off fiascos will flare and die every so often and nothing will change. And the criminals know that.

My guess, and this is only a guess, is the OP is a criminal himself. And if he comes back with good registration information I will say I was wrong. No problemo. Actually, I hope I am wrong.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Stuff trumps all, Barry, you know that. These little one off fiascos will flare and die every so often and nothing will change. And the criminals know that.

I know Peter that it's all about the stuff, but that's too simple an answer. I'm happy to pay a dollar for a card that's worth a dollar, but I won't pay a dollar for a card that was worth twenty-five cents before the doctors got to it. There's a disconnect that doesn't make sense. Everybody wants to get a good value and not to get taken.

[Throttlesteer]

Better to buy low-->mid grade. They aren't exempt from this nonsense, but it's less likely.

[Touch'EmAll]

There may be a lot of doctored cards in slabs. But I bet there are a lot more cards that are genuine and, for the most part, accurately graded. Can you imagine the state of the hobby right now if companies like SGC and PSA didn't exist and all we had were raw copies. Talk about the card doctors going to town and having a heyday, whew! I have seen the advent of slabbed cards come into being. I got together with a few other collectors back in the early 1990's and sent in my first PSA submission. Dang, I thought, this is cool, a step toward getting it right and not getting shystered. So I dove back into the hobby with long term investment in mind. Glad I did. But looking back, I highly doubt I would have ever put decent money into this hobby if all we had was raw. Yeah, some will get through, like no duh. But imho it is sure better than the old days.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

There may be a lot of doctored cards in slabs. But I bet there are a lot more cards that are genuine and, for the most part, accurately graded. Can you imagine the state of the hobby right now if companies like SGC and PSA didn't exist and all we had were raw copies. Talk about the card doctors going to town and having a heyday, whew! I have seen the advent of slabbed cards come into being. I got together with a few other collectors back in the early 1990's and sent in my first PSA submission. Dang, I thought, this is cool, a step toward getting it right and not getting shystered. So I dove back into the hobby with long term investment in mind. Glad I did. But looking back, I highly doubt I would have ever put decent money into this hobby if all we had was raw. Yeah, some will get through, like no duh. But imho it is sure better than the old days.

I am guessing there are a lot more cards that have been messed with in slabs than we think. The slab gives a false sense of security so that we do not need to look for alterations. As buyers we can be less educated on how to spot those alterations and what to look for if we solely rely on what the grading companies tell us--the dumbing of the consumer. Once the card is slabbed it is harder to see alterations. So I am not sure that grading is benefiting end users as much as it was intending to.

How someone was able to cut up this Joe D card and get it past SGC does not sit right with me. If the work is getting THAT good it is a huge problem. Still curious how the OP figured it out. It is almost a needle in a haystack.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

I am guessing there are a lot more cards that have been messed with in slabs than we think. The slab gives a false sense of security so that we do not need to look for alterations. As buyers we can be less educated on how to spot those alterations and what to look for if we solely rely on what the grading companies tell us--the dumbing of the consumer. Once the card is slabbed it is harder to see alterations. So I am not sure that grading is benefiting end users as much as it was intending to.

How someone was able to cut up this Joe D card and get it past SGC does not sit right with me. If the work is getting THAT good it is a huge problem. Still curious how the OP figured it out. It is almost a needle in a haystack.

OP obviously pays close attention to these cards, look at his name and avatar.

[Forever Young]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240251

Is t this the same card the op wanTed to buy?