Interesting email I have not seen

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

LOL! The other way of looking at this is if I'm a bidder then I'm paying good money for a card that is likely overgraded. So thanks for pointing this out. This auction house will never get a dime of my business and from this point on the emails I receive from this outfit will go straight into my spam folder.

You can certainly avoid this company if you want, but why would you assume they are the only ones getting this sweet deal? There are much bigger auction houses and dealers out there. Is there any reason we shouldn't assume other companies are getting the same sort of treatment from PSA? These other companies just aren't telling you about it in their advertising!

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

You can certainly avoid this company if you want, but why would you assume they are the only ones getting this sweet deal? There are much bigger auction houses and dealers out there. Is there any reason we shouldn't assume other companies are getting the same sort of treatment from PSA? These other companies just aren't telling you about it in their advertising!

I don't recall claiming these are the only ones getting preferential treatment but I agree with you that it is very likely a widespread problem and if you can find a list of the attendees I will certainly follow suit by avoiding those dealers as well.

What I find interesting is that historically PSA advertises that the graders never know who the submitters are. Here's a quote from their website regarding the PSA grading process:

The submissions are now assigned a generic order number, removing the identifying information from the order – thus removing the potential for bias.

http://www.psacard.com/Services/PSAGradingProcess/

Also, if you read this article about the Cobb-Edwards Honus Wagner, this was supposedly the reason PSA would not grade their card:

As a matter of policy, PSA will not examine material in the presence of its owner. Cobb and Edwards refused to allow their card to be examined without their being present. Orlando told them they could fly out with their card, "drop it off and pick it up within an hour or two."

http://www.t206museum.com/page/periodical_53.html

This whole event is extremely troublesome in my opinion and is a slap in the face of sports hobbyists.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Not shocked about this and personally don't think there is a problem with allowing a collector to talk to a grader. The problem is that the access is given only to big money clients.

[Deertick]

It won't be long before the first 10.5 grade will be awarded.

[teetwoohsix]

Invitational event. Anyone else invited?

Sincerely, Clayton

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

Invitational event. Anyone else invited?

Sincerely, Clayton

I assume there would be multiple submitters invited. Presumably a client would have to hit a certain level of submissions before they are invited. I started wondering why PSA would want to do this. Would this really be a money maker for PSA? Or is this event just considered a good will gesture for the largest customers to keep them happy and maybe a perk for your best graders?

[barrysloate]

So it goes without saying that if you present a 9 to a grader at the Invitational, and upon review he feels it's a tad overgraded, he will of course lower it to an 8.5. I mean, it's only fair, right? Win some, lose some.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Deertick

It won't be long before the first 10.5 grade will be awarded.

I laughed when I saw this, but then quickly realized PSA is the only one of the three that doesn't have a grade higher than Gem Mint... so maybe it will happen.