If one is talking about razor sharp corners on a T206, should not the next question be .........
How sharp were razors in 1910?
The unintended consequences of grading, slabbing, authentication and registries have opened the door for mischief and fraud. And yet ...............
The TPGs rake in the dough and the “sheeple” wait 2,3 or even 12 months for their services (?).
Wake up, sheeple. Preservation of a low or mid grade prewar card in a slab may be justified, but climbing the scale from 6 to 7 to 8 is an act of self-deception. How many 100 year old antiques (not restored) look like they were produced in the 21st century? Ty Cobb should have rounded corners and Matty isn’t always perfectly centered.
And with essentially only one registry ruling the roost, you are supporting the problem, not looking for a solution.
Competition in a market is generally a good thing, I think. When one entity has an 80% share of the market, look for them to maintain control, which may not be a good thing.
In the modern market, give me one hundred “pack fresh” cards and ask me to make three piles, 8, 9 and 10. Then give the same one hundred cards to another collector to make the same three piles. Would the piles be the same? I really doubt it and they may not even be close and yet when the cards come back slabbed, a 10 is worth 10 times the value of a 9, and a 9 is worth 10 times the value of an 8. And once again the TPGs rake in the dough and the “sheeple” play along not only once, but again and again. Lottery psychology drives the market, maintains control and that 80% market share.