Thoughts on CGC potentially "Restoring" Cards

[Seven]

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.