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T206Collector...is how this is any different from the concerns which arose from the WIWAG scandal years ago. I have assumed in my graded card collecting since Day 1 that these plastic cases were tamper resistant -- not 100% tamper fool-proof. As with any life situation, there is what there is and what there appears to be. (I learned that by watching the Matrix on DVD.)
One of the benefits of my style of collecting is that I made most of my original T206 purchases with PSA (since that was once all there was) and then crossed my collection over (what would cross over) into SGC holders, thus ensuring that these cards' holders had not been tampered with. And the only time I have ever dropped serious coin on an SGC graded card (i.e., over $1,000) the condition was SGC 40 or lower and could be independently assured of its authenticity, if not its untamperedness.
Where I think the bait and switch is most disturbing is really in the high grade markets where 7's can be switched in for 8's without much evidence one way or the other. The incentive is too high for there not to be some illegal fraud taking place here with some unfortunate level of regularity. WIWAG was one, but there have been and will be others.
If you have not been on your guard for this, then you really should have been. If this is your wake up call, so be it. Hopefully, this will result in an outflow of collectors of pre-war cards (a lowering of demand) which will reduce prices and with it the incentive to cheat.
But, as with all walks of life, there will never be a way to arrive at 100% purity of proof one way or the other. If you are unwilling to take risks in your life, then you are not going to be doing much of leaving your house.
But I can certainly understand why someone would want to get out of purchasing PSA 8 or SGC 88 T206 cards without some way of tracking the card from its raw form or without a confirmable cross-over attempt. If I were in the market for a PSA 8 T206 card, I would absolutely require that SGC take a look at it and guarantee a crossover -- or vice versa from SGC 88 to PSA 8.
07-10-2007, 04:08 PM
A new concern
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