Anybody else watching this Roberto Clemente RC on eBay?

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by swarmee

And since PSA banned me from submitting, I got rid of most of my graded collection.

There must be a good story there, I assume? Do tell...

As for what I would grade it, hell if I know. I'm just back into the hobby after a "break" since the junk wax days, so I'm trying to catch up to modern grading practices. From what I've seen, the TPGs are so inconsistent and the differences between one grade and the next one up or down are so small/subjective/arbitrary that the whole thing seems like, er, a house of cards. I'd probably grade it as "really nice looking, would have been NM in 1989." Everyone was so much happier with the condition of their cards back then! Different times, different times.

[irv]

Originally Posted by ASF123

There must be a good story there, I assume? Do tell...

As for what I would grade it, hell if I know. I'm just back into the hobby after a "break" since the junk wax days, so I'm trying to catch up to modern grading practices. From what I've seen, the TPGs are so inconsistent and the differences between one grade and the next one up or down are so small/subjective/arbitrary that the whole thing seems like, er, a house of cards. I'd probably grade it as "really nice looking, would have been NM in 1989." Everyone was so much happier with the condition of their cards back then! Different times, different times.

I just posted this in the Modern section. Check out the Ebay listing then my card. Makes you go Hmm, doesn't it? Also, if you weren't aware, check out some of the Doctoring/Trimming posts at Blowout cards to get a real eye opener!
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=294055

One of many. This is a short one compared to the much larger thread.
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1298306

[ASF123]

Yeah, I spent some time reading a very long Blowout thread on the trimming scandal to educate myself. I have to say, as someone who hasn't been in the hobby for years to get acculturated to PSA and the other TPGs as they were taking over, it's astounding to me that they have any credibility at all, let alone the power to determine the market that collectors allow them to have.

I get the desire for "standardized objective" grading to facilitate transactions, but man, their execution is poor and their business model seems to be just one bad incentive after another.

That Griffey trimming is absurd - as is the fact that someone will pay almost $200 for a 1991 Ken Griffey Jr. just because some (clearly incompetent or corrupt) guy at PSA put a 10 on the slab instead of an 8 or a 9.

Coming back to the hobby and seeing this is like, I dunno, moving back to your hometown after being gone for 25 years and finding that they've elected a ferret as the mayor or something. And the ferret is in its fifth term, with an 80% approval rating.

[Wanaselja]

Originally Posted by ASF123

Yeah, I spent some time reading a very long Blowout thread on the trimming scandal to educate myself. I have to say, as someone who hasn't been in the hobby for years to get acculturated to PSA and the other TPGs as they were taking over, it's astounding to me that they have any credibility at all, let alone the power to determine the market that collectors allow them to have.

I get the desire for "standardized objective" grading to facilitate transactions, but man, their execution is poor and their business model seems to be just one bad incentive after another.

That Griffey trimming is absurd - as is the fact that someone will pay almost $200 for a 1991 Ken Griffey Jr. just because some (clearly incompetent or corrupt) guy at PSA put a 10 on the slab instead of an 8 or a 9.

Coming back to the hobby and seeing this is like, I dunno, moving back to your hometown after being gone for 25 years and finding that they've elected a ferret as the mayor or something. And the ferret is in its fifth term, with an 80% approval rating.

This really made me laugh. Great post.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by ASF123

There must be a good story there, I assume? Do tell...

I was using their system to contact their users who had trimmed cards in their possession so that they could return them to either PSA or the company they bought them from. PSA doesn't like when people cost them money.

[jchcollins]

Clearly a high end card, but that print damage on the front with the black smear is a bit close to the line for me to be an 8. I wonder (if everything was on the level, of course...) if the card was otherwise considered a 9 and that brought it down to an 8. It's not horrible, but it is noticeable.

I've seen plenty of vintage 8's before with a touch of print damage, but it's usually more subtle than that.