[ctownboy]

Mr. Towle,

I disagree.

If the buyer bought the card as a GAI 7.5, sent it off and it came back an SGC 60 (or PSA 6 or whatever) then I would say tough nookums (as I do about the Banks card above).

However, if the card went out as a GAI 7.5 and came back as an SGC "A" because of trimming then I think there is a huge problem.

To me, there shouldn't be much difference between one grade (a 6 to a 7 or a 7 to a 6). Differences like that can be chalked up to experience and expertise of the grader, how many cards they have graded that day, etc, etc, etc. However, the difference between a card being graded a 7.5 (based on it being a complete card) and it being graded an "A" (because it has been trimmed) is two entirely different things.

If you bought a slightly used, late model Ferrari for $200,000 dollars (totally expecting it to have a 500 horsepower Ferrari engine in it for that price) and after receiving the car find it has a 300 horsepower Mustang engine under the hood, would YOU be happy? I wouldn't be and that is because the item I received was materially different then what I paid my money for and what I had expected to receive.

Doesn't matter if I am a Ferrari expert or not in this case.

Now, in my hypothetical situation, if my Ferrari mechanic says the car has the proper Ferrari engine but should have red valve covers instead of the blue ones currently on it, then I don't really have a basis for complaing too much.

In this case, the seller is putting their faith in GAI (from what I have read so far, not really a good idea). The faith that GAI could tell the difference between a complete, intact card and a trimmed card. When the buyer sent it off to SGC and they said the card was trimmed, then the buyer wants his money back based on what he received was not what he paid for. Should the buyer have been leery of a GAI card? Yes and that is why he sent it off for a second opinion (from a company he trusts more than GAI.

For those who don't like this then I will ask you a question. How many of you have bought cards graded by GAI or PRO (for far less than what they would have sold for if they were in an SGC or PSA slab and had the same grade) because you thought they were OK? How many of you then sent the cards to SGC or PSA and had them come back slabbed with a similiar grade (as to what GAI or PRO had graded them)?

If any of you have done this, have YOU refunded the profit you made from selling those cards (if you have sold them) to the seller you bought them from? I mean, THEY put their faith in GAI or PRO (by keeping them in their slabs instead of trying to cross them over) and were hurt because of those companies reputations. So, if you took advantage of this then shouldn't you refund some or all of the profit you made?

David