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Posted By: JimB

I like what Barry has to say, but I don't think it will come to pass. Partly because it is not in the interest of the grading companies for reasons already mentioned and partly because one of the gifts that grading gave the hobby was a standard system(s) of grading. Dealers were all over the map before slabbing. A person would never know what they were getting in mail order before standard grading (and the internet). As a rule, they undergraded when buying and overgraded when selling. And the poor graders, like Fritsch did not parish.

I would suggest that the grading companies offer an option of simple authentication which varifies the card a authentic and unaltered, and a separate grading option. Then if someone just wants their card authenticated but prefers to assess condition themselves, they can do so without interference. My guess is most of those cards which are only authenticated will eventually be resubmitted for a grade because that is what the market wants in general, but the option is nice. Then those who want to quibble with dealers about the actual condition of the card can do so. It would also benefit the grading companies because they will get multiple submissions of the same card in most cases.
JimB