Questions for Doug Allen

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Posted By: Solomon Cramer

A friend of mine sent me this link, I like checking back in from time to time, though I've basically been out of the hobby for about three years.

It's funny that many have mentioned the difference in restoration of cars vs. cards, and what is acceptable and what requires disclosure, as I've probably ended up with the best mix of experience in both industries, having been one of the largest graders of cards (mostly modern, but a good bit of vintage) and now selling about a thousand cars a year though auction, mostly cars we use in rental.

With cards, my business for 10+ years, my eyes became opened very quickly. With all due respect to those who disagree, and I know a number who have chimed in personally, but I'd wager 90%+ of full time dealers, probably more, have done and consider it more than acceptable to press wrinkles, rub out corners and lay them out, etc. Actually, I was shown how to do some of these things, not only by other dealers but by some of the graders themselves. These are things that no one can detect have been done. Who is going to police that?

To me, that's no different than when we buff the cars we sell before they go through the auction, add minor paint touchup, replace a bumper, etc. All very superficial repairs, that have no impact on the integrity of the car. All of our cars are sold in a lease lane at the largest auto auction in the world (they clear better than $100M in sales per week), and they come with a detailed condition report - which many times lists stuff I missed when I sent the cars down. Do they list slight paint touchups, or 1" scratches? Of course not. But if the door has been replaced...damn right it'll show up.

Now, you want to talk about trimming or other items that 95%+ of dealers and collectors would disapprove of? That's the same as selling a flood damaged car, or one with a rolled odometer, or a rebuilt car with a washed title. There's no grey area there - it's go to jail time. I just sold a car, water damage but NOT flooded or totaled, and we put in new seats and carpets in it. Was there anything wrong with the car functionally? Nope. Clean title? Yep. Could anyone tell? Almost certainly no. But I disclosed the damage. Will the next dealer do the same? That I can't help.

You know, I get the feeling from some of these posts that people think Derek et al spend their days rolling corners and pressing wrinkles. I know the amount of material I went through, and while I handled a larger number of total cards, the amount of cards they have to look at is just staggering. I'm sure at the end of the day, the number of cards that they do anything with are very few. It's simply a matter of logistics and processing.

Bottom line - if you're looking to buy pre-60 cards in 8 and better, and you want to make sure you never buy a card that's had a wrinkle rubbed out...don't buy cards