Barry,
I am very conflicted about grading. My core being loathes it and I detest what it has done to the hobby. The myriad of recent posts about how people have been screwed on grades that they evidently thought they were entitled to exemplifies, at least in part, why. That being said, I have finally given in and now use it on some of my cards. I suppose what I should now do is go into a dissertation about every single perceived injustice that I have received at the hands of the people to whom I paid money to impartially grade my cards. Based on some of the responses to this thread, it seems as if that's what this board is now about.
I acknowledge that grading in some form or fashion is here to stay. I don't like it, but that's a fact. Do I think that it can be improved? Certainly, perhaps along the lines that Joann alluded to earlier. However, we aren't there yet. Instead, what we have had recently is thread after thread about how submitter X had some really great cards with really great grades, gambled on getting even better grades, lost the bet, and now wants to blame the grader.
Spare me. If you go to Vegas and put your money on black, you really don't have much room to bitch if the ball lands on red. When you send your cards in to be graded in hopes of making money, you are simply playing a different form of roulette. If you win, great. If you lose, don't whine. I don't care either way. They will be the same piece of cardboard after being graded that they were before, regardless of the number given.
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