Mastro and Psa

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Posted By: T206Collector

a) WATER vs. BLEACH. On the issue of undisclosed erasures or water soaking gunk off, I take the same position as stated by someone (I forget who) above -- I draw a big line between water and bleach. But I disagree that there are no "standards and guidelines" for what constitutes an impermissible alteration. SGC has set forth those standards very clearly. In the event they begin not grading cards that have evidence of water soaking then I won't water soak my cards to get gunk off. As stated a zillion times on here before, SGC (and PSA, by the way) knows the practice -- water soaking -- they can detect it many times and still let it slide. Any time you see an SGC or PSA card encapsulated with glue residue on the reverse, there's your example of water removal. It was for a long time a universally accepted practice, old school collectors would drop albums in bathtubs filled with water and watch the cards rise to the surface. But water soaking has has recently come under fire on here by puritans who want to play a 100 year old game of musical chairs. If you want to change the standards, be my guest, but your beef is with the grading companies, not the collectors of raw cards. Again, SGC won't grade the bleached ones but will grade the formerly water soaked ones -- I agree with this stance and am not in favor of pushing for a change here.


b) LIES vs. OMISSIONS. It would be wrong to sell a card that you had soaked as "Never soaked card." That would be lying and, potentially, fraud. But I do not believe a seller has an affirmative obligation to say anything about a card when he sells it. You don't have to disclose creasing. You don't have to disclose corner damage. You don't even have to provide a scan. You want to provide the most information that will maximize your sale. And, more importantly, make your customer satisfied upon receipt of your card. I could sell water soaked cards on ebay all day without disclosing that fact and without upsetting any customers. Why? Because it is not like the card is worth any less as a result of the soaking. It is an undetectable alteration unless glue residue remains -- and if glue residue remains, well then that was evident in my scan, or I would disclose that fact in my listing. Again, deliver the card that you advertise and ensure it meets your buyer's expectations. That's just simple business.

Again, both of these issues are resolved, in my opinion, by reputable third party graders. Raw cards are caveat emptor.

And, for whatever it's worth, I have bought and sold probably close to 1,000 T206 cards on Net54 and ebay in the past 7 years. You know what? Not a single potential buyer once asked me whether I had soaked anything off the back of a card. I have also never asked a single seller whether he had soaked anything off the back of a card. Have I potentially lost sales from potential buyers on Net54 and ebay who know my proclivity towards a good water soaking? I suppose so. All I would say is if it is that much of a concern to you, go ahead and ask me whether I soaked the card in water or erased anything from it. I will tell you whether I had -- but I certainly won't be able to vouch for the card's previous owners since 1909.