Harsh SGC grades

[benjulmag]

I do not question the explanations of why these cards received the grades they did. But, damn, these are nice baseball cards, which in the era I started collecting would be regarded as near flawless gems! Discussion about them would be centered on how beautiful they appear and the attributes they possess, as opposed to what they lack.

So in today's world we slab them (and yes, I recognize the need for TPG of SOME KIND), the result being we focus on the grade, not the beauty of the card. It makes me think this forces many collectors to miss the forest from the trees. One of my father's favorite expressions was to focus on the donut, not the hole.

I think many people would enjoy the hobby a lot more if they took their cards out of the slabs and displayed them as raw cards. Keep the slabs if you want a record of their technical grades, but if you display them raw without the ability to focus on what the grade signifies they lack, they might appear even more beautiful.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

I do not question the explanations of why these cards received the grades they did. But, damn, these are nice baseball cards, which in the era I started collecting would be regarded as near flawless gems! Discussion about them would be centered on how beautiful they appear and the attributes they possess, as opposed to what they lack.

So in today's world we slab them (and yes, I recognize the need for TPG of SOME KIND), the result being we focus on the grade, not the beauty of the card. It makes me think this forces many collectors to miss the forest from the trees. One of my father's favorite expressions was to focus on the donut, not the hole.

I think many people would enjoy the hobby a lot more if they took their cards out of the slabs and displayed them as raw cards. Keep the slabs if you want a record of their technical grades, but if you display them raw without the ability to focus on what the grade signifies they lack, they might appear even more beautiful.

Collectors who paid PSA graded prices will not enjoy the huge drop in value that the cracked out versions of their cards will now fetch.

[honus94566]

Considering card grading is a completely subjective and human task, and the grading companies grade thousands upon thousands of cards, it sure is hard to believe there can be inconsistencies!

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Collectors who paid PSA graded prices will not enjoy the huge drop in value that the cracked out versions of their cards will now fetch.

No doubt.

Maybe a good business model for PSA would be to offer a service that takes a graded card out of the slab, and returns it to the owner unslabbed but with a notification of the grade. And then, when the owner wants to sell it, he/she can resubmit it for slabbing at the original grade. For this to work PSA would need to take very good photos of the card to ensure it is the same card (and maybe put some invisible marking on it). Inasmuch as the card would be resubmitted for re slabbing at the same grade as before, there would be no incentive to alter the card. And if the card was damaged, which the photos would show, the card would not receive the same grade. Assuming the card owner is prepared to take the risk, this might offer the best of both worlds, as well as create additional revenue for PSA.

[1880nonsports]

as you wander on through life brother
whatever be your goal
keep your eye upon the donut
and not upon the hole

None of the cards look to be "harshly" graded -a designation I wouldn't give when there is likely just a .5 or 1. difference between how reasonable people might grade the card.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

I do not question the explanations of why these cards received the grades they did. But, damn, these are nice baseball cards, which in the era I started collecting would be regarded as near flawless gems! Discussion about them would be centered on how beautiful they appear and the attributes they possess, as opposed to what they lack.

So in today's world we slab them (and yes, I recognize the need for TPG of SOME KIND), the result being we focus on the grade, not the beauty of the card. It makes me think this forces many collectors to miss the forest from the trees. One of my father's favorite expressions was to focus on the donut, not the hole.

I think many people would enjoy the hobby a lot more if they took their cards out of the slabs and displayed them as raw cards. Keep the slabs if you want a record of their technical grades, but if you display them raw without the ability to focus on what the grade signifies they lack, they might appear even more beautiful.

I'm with you Corey that the hobby could really be a lot more fun if the emphasis was simply on acquiring a presentable card that we were proud to own. The numbers on the label, IMO, are worthless. But I suspect we are in the minority here, so it is not likely to be a popular idea.

I remember the reason that supporters of TPG's gave for why they liked slabbed cards is that before the advent of grading, the hobby was like the wild west and grading offered some protection. But after recent events the hobby sure seems like the wild west once again. And I think it's possible that third party grading solved some problems but created a whole host of new ones. Again, I am probably in the minority here. Nothing new with that.

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I'm with you Corey that the hobby could really be a lot more fun if the emphasis was simply on acquiring a presentable card that we were proud to own. The numbers on the label, IMO, are worthless. But I suspect we are in the minority here, so it is not likely to be a popular idea.

I remember the reason that supporters of TPG's gave for why they liked slabbed cards is that before the advent of grading, the hobby was like the wild west and grading offered some protection. But after recent events the hobby sure seems like the wild west once again. And I think it's possible that third party grading solved some problems but created a whole host of new ones. Again, I am probably in the minority here. Nothing new with that.

I guess people such as you and I are a dying breed. I can't tell you have many shocked expressions I have heard from people incredulous that I don't slab the cards I have had before the advent of grading. I get it that if I want to sell them I will need to have them graded, and I also understand the risk one is taking by buying raw cards. But raw cards present so much better, and that recent visit I had to the Burdick collection when I saw all those cards in the albums displayed the way people used to display them brought back all those fond memories of the hobby of yesteryear.

[barrysloate]

Corey- the cards you have are incredibly rare and aren't as condition sensitive as others may be. It doesn't matter if the Just So Cy Young has a crease or a mark or whatever if it's unique and thus the finest known.

If I were still collecting I would prefer to leave my cards raw. I can grade just as well as any TPG; and while in the past I would often say I need the expertise of the graders to detect alterations that are not readily visible, we've come to recognize that that expertise is not there.

But as you said, when it's time to sell, you must slab 'em. That's the power that TPG's have over the marketplace. You can't transact without them.