Ethical question re: selling/grading

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by The Detroit Collector

Then why submit it in the first place?

Because I didn't think it was altered and expected a numerical grade, but after they blew it the first time, why pay them to do it again?

[Fred]

I guess it depends on your moral compass. If it was once assigned a grade then I'd have a hard time not disclosing to the buyer it was in a 7 slab at one time. I wouldn't have cracked it out.

This grading crap is crazy.

Here's another way to look at this. What happens if you sell it in a 7 holder, the buyer cracks it out, submits it and has a 9? I'm going to guess you're not going to see a nice check and thank you from the person that bought it from you.

[The Detroit Collector]

Originally Posted by jayshum

Because I didn't think it was altered and expected a numerical grade, but after they blew it the first time, why pay them to do it again?

So I guess that's my point on why it's not ethical.

You send in a card hoping to get a high grade as the original OP reads. Getting a high grade would be a small fortune.

You send it in and it comes back altered. And your devasted, because there goes your small fortune and now it probably will sell less than you actually paid for it.

But you're saying the TPG are wrong all the time. You can crack it, resend it in and hope it grades. It is a small fortune of course. Why wouldn't you?

But instead, your saying, I don't want to send it in. They got it wrong. Why give them more money. Well, your throwing your chances of a small fortune away. Obliviously a high grade sells much more than raw. And if they are always wrong and you know it's not altered, there shouldn't be any problem resending it in. Or sending it to another TPG.

But instead, you crack it and sell it raw. Well that tells me you don't have confidence that they are wrong. It also tells me you want to at least make your money back on what you bought it for. Because again, if you mention it was altered, which is the moral thing to do, you would be selling it for a lot less than what you bought it for.

So saying it is altered is off the table, because why should I put it in there, TPGs are always wrong, but I don't want to resubmit it again because even though they are always wrong and I could get a small fortune for it, I would rather sell it raw, not disclose it was deemed altered and try to pull one over on a guy buying it, who, who knows, could be new person into the hobby, Not knowing much about vintage cards. Sees a nice example and buys it. Sends it in and it comes back altered again. Now this new person in the hobby has a sour taste in his mouth about this hobby.

That is why it is unethical.

[parkplace33]

This is why I am extremely hesitant to buy high grade raw cards.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

This is why I am extremely hesitant to buy high grade raw cards.

I am extremely hesitant to buy high grade slabbed cards, too.

[puckpaul]

I don’t think you have any obligation at all. The buyer can assess the card and price and decide what to do. Pretty simple. Do you think the seller is obligated to offer the card and say “i need to get $20k but i really think it’s only worth $10k”? Even if the seller thought that? And even if it was a 7, it still could be the nicest 7 ever (possible given today’s PSA standards) and price at a premium.

The buyer has no obligation to buy it at your price. And if the key value determinant to the buyer is what it would grade, the buyer could ask for it to be graded before purchasing, right?

Frankly, i would leave it as is but price what you think it’s worth regardless of the “grade.”