Random mini-rant

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

...countless PSA cards on ebay that were swimming in the slabs...

I've noticed the same thing.

What gets me is the carelessness with which many of them have been trimmed - combined with - the fact that PSA gave them a numerical grade. How could a "professional" grader miss some of these?

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Eric72

I've noticed the same thing.

What gets me is the carelessness with which many of them have been trimmed - combined with - the fact that PSA gave them a numerical grade. How could a "professional" grader miss some of these?

That's the million dollar question. I feel a lot of grades in general are subjective, especially once you're hitting the higher numbers. Is it a judgment call on the graders end? Do they follow a rubric of some sort when determining the grade? Why do some get a card that comes back a 7, crack the slab, resubmit and it becomes an 8? Not to even mention the whole scandal that occurred, that's been widely reported and commented on.

[swarmee]

Read this one for fun...
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1384892

[Bigdaddy]

"There is only one solution, and that is to presume that every card sealed in a plastic container has been altered, and, however innocently, pronounced authentic and original, nonetheless. In short, don't buy a slabbed card. Ever. Ever." - Keith Olbermann, December 2000

SCD: How many cards have you treated in your life?
Towle: Without exaggerating, probably 15,000-18,000 cards.

SCD: And not one person could detect anything being done to one of them?
Towle: No, because there’s nothing there. There’s nothing that they can see.

SCD: What are some of the more valuable cards that you’ve worked on?
Towle: Lots of tobacco cards. I had a Babe Ruth rookie I worked on, a lot of Old Judges. I’ve probably done about 500 Old Judges that we got those looking really nice and they all graded. I’ve done so many Mickey Mantle rookies it’s ridiculous.
-Sports Collectors Digest interview with Dick Towle, Owner of Gone with the Stain, October 2008.


Nothing new here, move along.