Alteration vs. Conservation Defined

[frankbmd]

I believe the staff at PWCC has increased in recent years, and now there are no doubt openings for 24/7 Vault Wardens.

With increased fees paid to TPGs for high valued cards, would there not be an incentive to avoid rejecting all or the majority of such cards submitted? If all the altered and conserved cards were not given a numerical grade, it seems to me that the TPG would be shooting themselves in the foot. How many times is one going to donate $500 to an organization for an unslabbed and ungraded card. After all you have to have a slab and a number to qualify for a sticker, at least until PWCC begins offering raw stickers.

And how will the Vault Wardens be equipped, with billy clubs or tasers?

[vintagetoppsguy]

An anonymous source has sent me undercover surveillance photos of a PSA grader accepting cash bribes in exchange for better grades...

[chalupacollects]

And how will the Vault Wardens be equipped, with billy clubs or tasers?

No, a ruler, scissors and a razor blade...

[TanksAndSpartans]

Before TPGs, I don’t think there were huge price differentials based on condition. When getting that perfect grade becomes like winning the lottery, its not surprising criminals take notice. What if there had only been 4 grades, say Auth, low, medium, and high. The cards graded "high" wouldn’t be quite so rare (imagine if 7s,8s,9s, and 10s were all in the same bucket today) theoretically reducing upward price pressure. There would still be fraud, but the scale may be less.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by TanksAndSpartans

Before TPGs, I don’t think there were huge price differentials based on condition. When getting that perfect grade becomes like winning the lottery, its not surprising criminals take notice. What if there had only been 4 grades, say Auth, low, medium, and high. The cards graded "high" wouldn’t be quite so rare (imagine if 7s,8s,9s, and 10s were all in the same bucket today) theoretically reducing upward price pressure. There would still be fraud, but the scale may be less.

Good points and I agree that the low, medium and high grading scale would have less impact on price differentials between grades.

Consider then the opposite and have grading be on a single digit 1-100 scale.

Would the exponential grade differential pricing be even worse? Would an 88 be worth five times the value of an 87? Yikes!!!

Hopefully this will never happen.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by TanksAndSpartans

Before TPGs, I don’t think there were huge price differentials based on condition.

True, and good reminder. In the 80's, a card whether vintage (the term didn't exist) or modern - it was priced pretty much the same whether today we would call the card a 10 or a 6. A card had to have a noticeable flaw to get a discount from whatever book price or percentage thereof the dealer was using assuming it was EX-ish or better, as I recall. The '87 Fleer Will Clark for example - may have been a $20 card in 1989. A noticeably "EX" card with touches to the corners might have gone fore $15. But an O/C card with decent corners that would have been maybe a 6 today? Still would have asked $20. Dumb example maybe, but that is how I think of it using a card I would have been interested in before TPG's. (Note the '87 Fleer Will Clark is not worth anything near that today in EX condition...oy.)

[conor912]

Originally Posted by TanksAndSpartans

What if there had only been 4 grades, say Auth, low, medium, and high.

The sticker companies would be thrilled with this idea.