Posted By:
SteveAlmost needless to say, I think what Jim is trying to do is noble and something with which I could not be more supportive.
The two problems that I see that make any solution difficult are
(1) Grading companies. It seems incredibly unlikely that the grading services are going to admit that a fair number of altered cards are being slabbed. Any solution that requires them to issue large scale re-imbursements is probably a non-starter. We all agree with Barry that the grading services be more scrupulous but how to make that happen in real action is a real question.
(2) Dealers/fixers. Many of the dealers know who plays with their cards simply by virtue of buying patterns. When we see people who mostly sell 8s buy well centered Ex-Mt and NM cards, alarm bells go off but it is now to the point where there is a blase attitude and no one will do anything. It would be nice if the industry (be it collectors or dealers or combination) police itself but that means there have to be REAL CONSEQUENCES for those who are strongly suspected of altering their cards. This means people really boycotting certain suspected auctions and/or dealers and really doing it and not just providing lip service. This may be just as difficult a problem as the first as it requires dealers (and collectors) to (a) have a moral backbone and (b) possibly act against their short-term economic interests...
Just my thoughts and I honest hope I am mistaken.
Steve Verkman
www.csauctions.com