Card Improvment: Ethical? Yes or NO?

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I know this is not pre-War card related, but I think this thread is very worth your time to read:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=115212

Your feedback is appreciated.

[barrysloate]

Thanks for that link. It appears that a good paper restorer can get his work past graders pretty easily. For those collectors who concentrate mostly on very high end cards, and pay large premiums to get them, how do you feel about this?

[Bamacollection]

Barry- I see your point. I also believe that alot of the high end collectors, especially regisrtry guys, could care less how the card became said grade. I think it's more about competition with them. Kind of like killing a monster white tail in a petting zoo...you can leave the zoo part out of the hunting story and still show your buddies the deer. The cards have become little holdered trophies for the cardboard safari hunters. Just look at the "Holy Grail"...

[barrysloate]

I'm not sure the registry people would be all that happy if they believed that what they were buying was altered. That has nothing to do with competition. Nobody likes to feel they are being ripped off.

[FrankWakefield]

Well now they'd not exactly be ripped off, the card slab still has the grade on there that the registry collector was concerned about.

[Bamacollection]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Well now they'd not exactly be ripped off, the card slab still has the grade on there that the registry collector was concerned about.

Exactly! Unless they crack the card out, it still retains the grade and value. The slabs have become a bomb shelter for alot of cards. How many times have you re-submitted a rejected card and had it slabbed either by the same company or a different service? Do you disclose that the card had been rejected prior to being slabbed or do you think "I knew I wasa right" and sell without disclosure?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Well now they'd not exactly be ripped off, the card slab still has the grade on there that the registry collector was concerned about.

I have to agree with Frank on this one. Since the difference between an 8 and an 8.5 or 9 is so minimal I too think it's more about the number on the slab than the card in the holder, for the registry collectors (maybe I am wrong but this is how I see it). Hopefully they would even agree. After all, the cards in those grades are almost exactly the same. Any layperson could barely, if at all, tell the difference. Heck, I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable but can barely tell an 8.5 from a 9.....regards

[barrysloate]

Dick- correct me if I am wrong, but on the memorabilia side of the board didn't you discuss you have a product that removes ink from baseballs, as well as one that removes creases from cards?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Dick, what's the biggest grade bump you have attained for someone, at least as far as you know?