Beckett Grading - This Does NOT Look Good

[Bamacollection]

IMO, Grading is completely subjective. I think it will be hard to prove fault by a grader, unless you can prove participation in upgrading a piece. We, the collectors, have given the grading companies all their value. PSA, SGC, Beckett, GAI, PRO... they all have said "Our opinion is more valuable than yours" and we have validated the statement. The one thing that baffles me the most is why an expensive card is more to grade than a common card? Do they spend more time with these cards? Are they giving my commons less attention? Or, are we paying to get our expensive cards in the "right" holder with a more costly submission?

Just my thoughts... And, btw, I do like to submit cards.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Bamacollection

IMO, Grading is completely subjective. I think it will be hard to prove fault by a grader, unless you can prove participation in upgrading a piece. We, the collectors, have given the grading companies all their value. PSA, SGC, Beckett, GAI, PRO... they all have said "Our opinion is more valuable than yours" and we have validated the statement. The one thing that baffles me the most is why an expensive card is more to grade than a common card? Do they spend more time with these cards? Are they giving my commons less attention? Or, are we paying to get our expensive cards in the "right" holder with a more costly submission?

Just my thoughts... And, btw, I do like to submit cards.

Regarding the part in bold... Just ask PT Barnum... he will set you straight on this question.

Of course the PSA and TPG apologists will conjure up an answer to justify this virtual theft, as collectors gladly fork over extra cash to have some poor overworked kid take the obligatory 30 seconds to deem their Star Card worthy of a random number.

All of this makes The Emperors New Clothes look like an Armani Suit. But people are making money right now, so it's all good!

Editing to correct myself... The obscene premium tacked on is an Insurance issue. Yeah, riiiiight

[steve B]

Almost everyone in other hobbies does the same thing with fees.
I think it's probably partly an insurance thing. The less time something is in the building, the less potential for something to go wrong.
It could also be seen as being a portion of value added.

I could probably do certs on some stamps, or cards, but getting that expertise recognized is difficult. The stamp expertizers (In the US) generally have some training under another expert, and work within a somewhat narrow range of stuff, and usually for a larger organization. (It's different in Europe, but the knowledge level is the same, and they also work in narrow fields. )
Think along the lines of someone just doing T206s, or just 52-56 Topps.

Naturally the opinion of someone like that is "worth" more than mine, simply because nobody would know if I was any good at it until a few years in.
One of the big stamp dealers started doing his own certs that were very basic, sort of a triage cert. No picture, no fancy certificate, just a small green paper with the ID of the stamp and his opinion of it - what it was and any noted flaws. (pretty much what the big outfits do) He had something like 50 years in the business, maybe more. And he only charged $5.