Posted By:
T206 CollectorThere is a reason that third party grading has gotten so popular. And it is because of trust. I have been collecting vintage cards for 15 years and am sorry to report that as a general matter I don't trust dealers of vintage material. I'm sure 95% of them are reputable -- I just don't know who the 5% are, the dollars at stake are material and the horror stories on this board have made me even more skeptical. And I certainly don't trust PSA anymore. My interest in vintage collecting, as with many collectors, can be directly attributable to third party grading and ebay. It is supposed to take the guess work out and reinstore trust. If you take away third party grading, you take away the main source of trust (and hence collecting) for many of us.
The last time I made any serious purchase of an ungraded card, I bought a 1909 T-206 Walter Johnson portrait. I paid over $500 for it because the dealer said it was not creased and the scan backed him up. Unfortunately, when I got the card, it was creased. Fortunately, the dealer let me return it. But that was about a month of back and forths with me out $500 for a few weeks. And what if the dealer hadn't been so understanding? I made up my mind to purchase only PSA or SGC cards (and now GAI cards) after that.
In short, I am not willing to let me experience in looking at cards be the definitive answer as to whether I should plunk down $500+. I believe many experienced collectors would agree with me.
The basic response from this board has been: go with SGC and GAI, but there is no substitute for a little personal experience. And I am willing to live with that answer, more or less. But I am not particularly happy with it.