Is the Grading System Broken?

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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

So now we're talking about high end premium grading for some premium fee. Let's see, the rationale is those guys try harder and/or profess to know what they're doing. So if that's the case, why are the other guys (PSA, SGC, GAI) still around? I thought the rationale behind their existence was that they were qualifed to do what they do, so much so in fact that people are willing to plunk down zillions of dollars on cards given their blessing. Sort of reminds me of the razor market. After razor manufacturers determined there was no where to go with single-blade razors, they introduced the double-bladed ones. Now I think they're up to quatro-bladed razors. In fact, don't some of these quatro-bladed razors even have batteries stuck in there somewhere? I'm still trying to figure out what they do. And after all these "improvements", if you do the Joe Namath cheek test, like you can really tell the difference between a single-blade shave and a quatro-bladed battery-enhanced shave? So looking ahead a few years, after we have this premium grading service and after a few thousand threads bemoaning what they've been missing, I guess we'll then have the super-duper premium grading service, then the super super-duper premium grading service. Then, once we have all these, we'll have to figure out how to value the cards. I propose that we add a star for each premium level of grading. We'll then have the standard, say, NrMt 7, then the premium 7*, the super-duper premium 7** and the super super-duper 7***. Next we'll have to figure out what equates to what. Is a 6** equal to a plain 7? Boy will it be a lot of fun to take a look at the price guides of the future under this scenario. They will weigh around 25 pounds, and the qualifications to publish one of those things will be a double doctorate in mathematics and statistics with perhaps a masters in price theory thown in for good measure.