The Opportunity

[steve B]

So you're saying that nobody can detect alterations?

[packs]

I didn't say that. I said an LOA from a dealer who owned a card for a limited amount of time wouldn't instill confidence about the rest of the card's history.

You have to pick your battles with these things. The slab was supposed to accomplish the same sense of security as the LOA discussed, therefore the LOA can be corrupted in the same way.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by steve B

So you're saying that nobody can detect alterations?

Obviously PSA employees can't. Still wondering how someone can be that incompetent and keep their job.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I think Packs' point is that a dealer can't give you an LOA that says anything about provenance, so all it would be doing is adding a fourth-party (in the case of a slab) opinion about authenticity and is that really worth anything?

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I think Packs' point is that a dealer can't give you an LOA that says anything about provenance, so all it would be doing is adding a fourth-party (in the case of a slab) opinion about authenticity and is that really worth anything?

And that falls back on reputation, as it generally does in all fields. And that requires some lengthy period of being right far more consistently than PSA. And handling problems much better. If other hobbies can manage it, I'm sure ours can, I just don't think it's possible to guess when that might happen.

And that's coming from a guy who would deliberately make the rounds of the dealers who knew barely anything hunting a "find" which for me at the time could be a couple P-F 48 leaf commons. A direct quote from that dealer - "They aren't in Beckett, so they aren't worth anything"

[packs]

I've said it before but the issue with reputation is that it can change. No one single person is infallible, and no one single person is immune from stresses beyond their control. If a reputable dealer finds himself in financial straits, I don't know that anyone can say for certain that the dealer wouldn't be tempted to make a little money for themselves based on what was a stellar reputation.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by packs

I've said it before but the issue with reputation is that it can change. No one single person is infallible, and no one single person is immune from stresses beyond their control. If a reputable dealer finds himself in financial straits, I don't know that anyone can say for certain that the dealer wouldn't be tempted to make a little money for themselves based on what was a stellar reputation.

So, with that assumption, we can't really trust anybody (including ourselves.) That's not the way I choose to navigate through life.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Mark17

So, with that assumption, we can't really trust anybody (including ourselves.) That's not the way I choose to navigate through life.

I don't think that kind of philosophy needs to permeate all aspects of your life. This is business whether you see it as one or not. Third party companies (in their intended roles) are meant to be an independent third party who assesses your card without bias. Third party graders are supposed to have no interest in the cards that pass through their hands aside from assessing their strengths and authenticity. A single person is prone to bias and prone to finding themselves in situations where they may be willing to bend the rules for personal gain (like, say, grading their own cards and fencing them through someone else).

It has happened many times in our hobby.