Posted By:
Frank WakefieldI have no use for graded cards, unless I'm about to sell a card. I understand that all of you guys love graded cards. What follows is not intended to offend.
As I read the posts above, the mental vision I had was of someone with both eyes closed, asking about a noise or commotion. As the disturbance persists, and they are dissatisfied with offered explanations, they peek through one eye as they barely raise an eyelid. Almost getting a glimpse of reality. Just what would happen if a collector took all of those grading, slabbing, shipping, and insurance fees and plowed that into buying more cards, instead? No more anxiety about some third person's opinion as to the condition of a card. (I don't doubt some 19 or 20 year-olds are grading these cards, guys we wouldn't trust mowing our yards or parking our cars.) I think of real estate agents as folks who envision owning 6% of everything out there, if only they can get the owner dissatisfied with it, and a potential buyer sold on the notion of needing it. Or that banks own most of the real estate in this country, and they have us conned into taking turns paying them for it as the years go buy. In my mind, 100% of card collecting dollars are no longer in cards; instead, a considerable portion of it is diverted over to slab companies... Imagine what would happen in a real estate transaction if, after closing, the buyer and seller sought out another agent to 'resubmit' the deal so they could pay another commission.
So open an eye, quit paying all of those fees. Keep your cards, don't send 'em off for someone else's opinion. Touch 'em.