Thoughts on CGC potentially "Restoring" Cards

rjackson44 · #1 01-06-2021, 10:27 AM

is this grading company going to debut?

Seven · #2 01-06-2021, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Restoration almost caught on with cards in the early 90's, but what did instead was professional grading.

To me, the fear that restored cards being accepted could then lead to said cards being busted from slabs and thereby adding an additional dimension of confusion to the current alteration scandal mess with TPG's is silly. The answer to this all along has been more individual collector responsibility and knowledge, and demands of accountability out of hobby partners like graders. PSA and other TPG's have largely gone unimpacted by the events of 2018 - present with the scandal because at the end of the day, there is not a quorum of hobbyists who give a good godd@amn.

At the end of the day what matters is that you are satisfied with your cards as a hobby / investment. Don't buy examples that might be suspect of fraud or alteration - or even restoration - if you don't like that. Short of TPG's investing a ridiculous amount of time, money, and resources in a move towards becoming something more like forensic examiners than people who rate pieces of cardboard on a 1-10 scale (not ever going to happen...), collectors who care know they are responsible for this anyway.

At the end of the day we need to buy what we like and what we're satisfied with. I have purchased cards that are slabbed AA, mostly because they present nicely and are usually cheaper. We are always going to be responsible for what we collect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjackson44

is this grading company going to debut?

I don't believe there is a definitive date with everything going on, but I believe they're supposed to be grading at least starting this year. The Restoration, who knows if it happens. With them offering a comic restoration service though, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, if they eventually take on restoring cards.

todeen · #3 01-06-2021, 03:39 PM

First, I wouldn't do this.

However, Let's not forget that there are all different levels of restoration, even for art. Soaking glue and adhesive off the backs of cards is restoration. No one objects to that when it's done right.

With the money that has flowed into our hobby it's almost ignorance to believe the same people who restore their artwork, classic cars, and jewelry wouldn't take the same opportunity to restore their cards. An investment in the eyes of many needs to be maintained or improved.

Aquarian Sports Cards · #4 01-06-2021, 05:31 PM

Just got an email from them about the launch of the service. Currently no restoration available as a service.

ClementeFanOh · #5 01-06-2021, 06:02 PM

I have collected cards and comics for decades, they are my collecting passions. There are collectors who buy comics that have been artificially improved- they call this "conservation/restoration/repair", depending on what specifically is done to a book. I own ZERO such books and will never, but that's just me. CGC slabs these books with a different colored slab than unaltered ones and denotes what has been done- ie, "spine reinforced", "cover color touches", etc. Some collectors even put a replica cover on a coverless book (not uncommon with comics to be coverless), which boggles my mind...
I sent multiple emails a couple weeks ago to someone at CGS, asking questions about their premier graders, their fee structure, and their launch date (and how to sign up). It took someone weeks to reply, and it was not the person who I sent the original email. They did provide a link so I could read about a couple of their "premier" graders, but were silent on the topics of signup and fee structure. I sent yet another email basically begging for concrete information on these topics but have yet to hear back...
One key difference between serious comic collectors and card collectors, is that many more comic collectors are content with loose books (we'd use the term "raw" in cards) than are card collectors with unslabbed cards. People do pay a higher amount for slabbed comics, but CGC has been known to be inconsistent with grading and, often, more forgiving of grades assigned certain vintage books- especially lower grade ones.
I am left wondering, in the end, if CSG has bitten off more than they can chew by entering the card fray. Only time will tell... Trent King

Throttlesteer · #6 01-06-2021, 08:45 PM

Slippery slope and a conflict of interest. Nothing stopping an internal person from accidently not disclosing/labelling a slabbed restoration.

Why can't there just be a simple, straight forward TPG without the shenanigans

swarmee · #7 01-06-2021, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Throttlesteer

Why can't there just be a simple, straight forward TPG without the shenanigans

That's not profitable.

Seven · #8 01-07-2021, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

I have collected cards and comics for decades, they are my collecting passions. There are collectors who buy comics that have been artificially improved- they call this "conservation/restoration/repair", depending on what specifically is done to a book. I own ZERO such books and will never, but that's just me. CGC slabs these books with a different colored slab than unaltered ones and denotes what has been done- ie, "spine reinforced", "cover color touches", etc. Some collectors even put a replica cover on a coverless book (not uncommon with comics to be coverless), which boggles my mind...
I sent multiple emails a couple weeks ago to someone at CGS, asking questions about their premier graders, their fee structure, and their launch date (and how to sign up). It took someone weeks to reply, and it was not the person who I sent the original email. They did provide a link so I could read about a couple of their "premier" graders, but were silent on the topics of signup and fee structure. I sent yet another email basically begging for concrete information on these topics but have yet to hear back...
One key difference between serious comic collectors and card collectors, is that many more comic collectors are content with loose books (we'd use the term "raw" in cards) than are card collectors with unslabbed cards. People do pay a higher amount for slabbed comics, but CGC has been known to be inconsistent with grading and, often, more forgiving of grades assigned certain vintage books- especially lower grade ones.
I am left wondering, in the end, if CSG has bitten off more than they can chew by entering the card fray. Only time will tell... Trent King

Interesting to hear. Concerning what you said about collectors buying raw, I think the only reason why many people purchase slabbed cards is because they don't want to bother with trying to make heads or tails of whether or not a card is legit. Especially when buying more high end/high priced cards. I think many of the older collectors and even some of the newer ones prefer to keep their cards raw.

CSG is going down a slippery slope. I'm hesitant to grade, to begin with. A good chunk of my collection is raw, and will stay that way.

tschock · #9 01-08-2021, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seven

Interesting to hear. Concerning what you said about collectors buying raw, I think the only reason why many people purchase slabbed cards is because they don't want to bother with trying to make heads or tails of whether or not a card is legit.

Like Trent, I have been active in both hobbies over the years. One thing to keep in mind, which might help explain the lesser disparity between graded and ungraded comics, is once you grade a comic, you are only able to view at most 10% of the item. With either graded or raw cards, you can still see (very close to) 100% of the card and still seem to be able to enjoy the 'purpose' of the card, which is viewing the front and back. Many comic collectors still like to enjoy the purpose of comics by looking at the inside of their books as well:

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