As I buy more rare sports packs from the 1940s and the 1950s, what bothers me most is that PSA continues to carry prices for all grades on rare packs that there is no proven history on their true value in the current era. It is misleading and there should be footnotes to indicate when the last sale occurred. There should be sufficient monitoring of PSA to make them accountable for their values.
Many of the 1940s and 1950s packs have not seen an auction on them In auction houses and eBay for over 20+ years. As most pack collectors know, packs have dried up and therefore prices should reflect that fact.
I believe in the system and think that for the most part, PSA is doing a fine job. But I would like to see the graded unopened pack mirroring the condition it has been graded before it was stuffed into the holder.
I find the best part of the pack NOT to be the cards it contains, but the pack itself in raw form, then of course the cards. I have seen what GAI and PSA have done to perfect packs. Last month, one of the largest auction houses auctioned a 52 Topps pack (I think it was graded a PSA 8 or something similar) and got somewhere near $50,000 for it. Magnify that pack and you will see a 1.5 inch tear in the wrapper on the rear of the pack. There are many, many such real-life examples. Just caring that it carries a PSA rating, when the current pack would no longer carry such a rating bothers me immensely.
What do collectors think about this situation? Wouldn't you want to know how PSA came up with their unopened pack prices -- especially for really rare packs? Maybe collectors don't care as it sets an artificially low price for them to buy from.
Let me know what you think?
Steve
DynamicTwo@aol.com