Dinner With Kevin Saucier

[Archive]

Posted By: Joann

Like many that sell graded cards, I generally don't take returns on them unless I have missed something substantial in the description. This is because I don't want to start haggling with someone over a third party description.

If I sell a raw card and say it is EX, and the buyer disagrees, then I think it's okay to continue to negotiate a return based on a disagreement between us about the card's condition.

But I don't want to start with a buyer disagreeing with the opinion of a third party that is not part of the transaction, that has independently given an opinion of grade (or lack of alteration) as a professional activity for a fee, and upon which both the buyer and I are entitled to rely.

So if a buyer takes an SGC graded card, breaks it out to send to PSA and it comes back trimmed, I would have a hard time bearing responsibility for that. (Honestly, I would have a hard time not bearing responsibility too, because I would feel terrible about it.) But at the most objective level you have to, at some point, say that the third party opinion was reasonably relied upon, and if there is a dispute it is with the third party grader.

Therefore, if I sold a graded card to someone who then took it to Kevin who said it was altered I would probably take the same stance and say it is between the buyer and the grading company (unless there was something so obvious it would be crazy for me to not have seen it - then it's a maybe).

The bottom line is that once a card is graded, I don't think it really matters who the next set of eyes on it belongs to. The next opinion up the road - be it the buyer, another grading company, or Kevin - is nothing more than the next opinion up the road, and I can't see that there is any hierarchy that says subsequent opinions automatically have more credibility than the graded opinion.

If I sold a card raw and the buyer took it to Kevin (or any other credible party) who said it was altered, that would be different and I would take it back.

I can also see that if someone like Jim spending big money wants to make that second opinion a condition of sale, he has that right and it might be wise.

But as a general after-sale activity, I am having trouble seeing how there will be any more acceptance of Kevin as a second-guesser than any other party or company. Typical (although not universal) practice is to disallow return of graded cards based on subsequent opinions, and I don't see how it will be different here.

Joann