Beckett to offer Authentication Service
 

Posted By: <b>Travis Anderson</b><p><b>Excerpt from yesterday's <i>The Report Card</i></b><br /><br />"Beckett Grading Services will continue its tradition of leadership in the industry with the introduction of Beckett Authentication Services. This program has been designed to address the needs of both buyers and sellers who have expressed interest in encapsulating vintage or modern cards without a numerical grade linked to the card. <br /><br />"We have found that there are thousands of cards in the market that are great cards but would not grade out favorably for a variety of reasons. These cards have been neglected from the preservation and recognition benefits our slabs can and will provide them. There are also numerous collectors who would like to have their collection encapsulated for display purposes, but are not interested in the numerical grades. The goal with Beckett Authentication is to provide a service to customers whose primary interest is the premium protection and preservation offered by the Beckett holder," said Mark Anderson, Beckett Grading Services Senior Manager.<br /><br />There will be two levels of service provided as part of this program. The first option of this non-grading service will be recognition as "Authentic" which will indicate an original, untampered card. The second option will be "Authentic - Altered" which will indicate an original card that has been altered to enhance its appearance, which may include recoloring, trimming, erasing, and surface rebuilding. Both services will be recognized with unique platinum blue labels. Pricing for the Authentication Service will be consistent with Beckett Grading Services standard rates.<br /><br />"A collector may not be able to afford a high-grade 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, but would jump at the opportunity to buy a poor condition or altered example at a much lower price point, knowing the card is nonetheless authentic," added Anderson. "We feel that by creating this program with "Beckett Authentic" and "Beckett Authentic - Altered" cards, we will assist buyers and sellers in recognizing legitimate cards in the open market. We are excited about the growth potential for Beckett Media as we move forward with this program."<br /><br /><br />Edited to add link to Beckett coupon:<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.beckett.com/estore/info.asp?T=CP&D=1492&eskin=beckett%20&utm_source=0 22406reportcard&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Grad ing+Coupon" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.beckett.com/estore/info.asp?T=CP&D=1492&eskin=beckett%20&utm_source=0 22406reportcard&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Grad ing+Coupon</a><br />

Beckett to offer Authentication Service
 

Posted By: <b>identify7</b><p>I like this idea. I think that cards which have period trimming, original owner hand cutting, pinholes, and other "problems" suffer too much from grading service labels.<br /><br />And cards with good corners but a bad image get too much credit.<br /><br />I know that there will always be the "I hope it gets a 2" crowd; but I will never buy into that, because I do not agree with some of the grading standards.

Beckett to offer Authentication Service
 

Posted By: <b>jackgoodman</b><p>So is this better than GAI or SGC's service of slabbing as "authentic" with no qualifier for alteration? It seems Beckett is creating two more levels of grade: "Authentic" and "Authentic - Altered". My guess is that the "Authentic" grade will eventually demand a higher price than "Authentic - Altered." I know I would prefer a slab that simply stated "authentic." But then, that's just me. Any other opinions?

Beckett to offer Authentication Service
 

Posted By: <b>dennis</b><p>i like it. the # grades are ok with higher graded cards as it eliminates dealers over grading their ex's and e/m cards, but for lower condition cards the grades are really useless.authentic is fine with me. poor is really all over the place with the slabbers.