Quote:
Originally Posted by drcy
The problem is when authentication and grading companies "financially insure" the items.
They are giving their opinions, and the way to corrupt the process, and that has corrupted the process, when they are "financially backing the items." The opinion, and reluctance to correct the opinion, due to $$ considerations says the system is corrupt and bad.
That the T206 Wagner still has a PSA 8 label is all you have to know. Everyone knows it's not a PSA 8-- Mastro said that he himself trimmed it, and that card is trimmed has been the hobby's worst kept secret for years. The "opinion" is not about facts or accuracy or truth, it's about money.
However, the grading and authentication companies explicitly state that they are only giving imperfect and fallible opinions. If buyers and sellers treat an opinion as more than that that's the buyers' and sellers' fault. Collectors can't logically and with straight faces treat grades as 'written in stone' while resubmitting cards to get different grades.
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I suspect there is also an unconscious (at least) bias when authenticating or grading an item for a major client, in this case Heritage, who stands to make a lot of money if the item is deemed good or the cards grade high. The publicity isn't so bad for the authenticator either. I've seen/heard lots of anecdotal evidence over the years that convinces me all submitters are not treated the same. And yes, I understand the limitations of anecdotal evidence blah blah.
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