[Collectors Forensics Reg]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Well this has been a tough crowd, and this is probably not the response you were expecting. But I have to say I don't understand what this service provides. I understand you don't grade cards, but according to your promo your company's goal is to deter fraud. But how? If I submit a card that was doctored, are you saying you will spot that alteration every time using forensic techniques? And how does that differ from the already established grading companies- don't they authenticate as well as grade cards? Are you saying you will catch the mistakes they missed? I'm sure you have put a great deal of thought into this service but you lost me at "Hello Net54 Members."

Thanks for the inquiry, Barry. Let me address your post in two parts. First, the answer is no, we are not trying to identify mistakes made by the grading companies or potential fraud while recording the forensic video. Once the cards are graded and encapsulated, we consider them a single product, each containing multiple components (slab, card, informational flip and inserts in some productions), each one of these components containing its own specific forensic properties. Those properties include weld points, trapped air, fibers, dings, scratches, ink splashes, smears, etc.

While recording the forensic video, these microscopic properties are put into the forensic record. I believe that everyone will agree that the premise of the encapsulated card is that it should never be the subject of physical change. Therefore, when performing the forensic registration of the graded card, the only thing that we care about are the forensic properties of the entire production.

We are dispassionate toward which grading company, quality or accuracy. However, once the forensic record is made public, it is subject to close scrutiny by potential buyers, interested parties or even trading companies. Herein lies the implicit fraud deterrent and quality control. If you a perpetrator of fraud, the downstream effect of the forensic registration is your potential implication or least making you think twice about engaging in fraud again.

If you are a grading company, the least desired effect from a public relations standpoint, is to have your graded product identified as a counterfeit or altered card. Such a finding may be exposed once it is registered and entered into public record. It will also call into question potentially inaccurately awarded grades, hence we expect that the grading bar will be raised considerably, since the forensics are now publicly available.

Secondly, the service is intended to do for hobbyists, what Carfax has done for auto buyers / sellers -- put everything about the product "above board". When looking at two used cars side-by-side, all things being equal, the one with the exposed history gets the sale. Both buyer and seller benefit. It will be a great enabler for card dealers and auction sellers.

Thanks for your inquiry, we hope that this helped.