Card Improvment: Ethical? Yes or NO?

[barrysloate]

Jim B- good point. It's really about how much money can be made, period. I agree.

But if the grading companies can't really assure collectors that cards haven't been tampered with, and if yesterday's VG card is today's EX-MT card, and nobody cares, then I have a question: why do we need the grading companies at all?

Let's go back to storing cards in screwdown lucite holders and forget about submitting them at all. Why bother? According to many who have posted here, we can never be sure of the grade, or the authenticity, anyhow. So why should I care what the label reads?

[T206Collector]

I should've said EX to Minty. Either way, I think the stress level of people who care about these things is higher the higher the grade you collect.

[Bamacollection]

Barry,
The only 2 reasons we need to be concerned with regarding slabs is the premium we will charged for a card and the value it will retain if we wish to sell the card down the line. Let's say you are looking at a T206 in a PSA 6 holder, how many dealers would accept you looking at a card, spot an error, wrinkle, crease, etc... and agree the slab was wrong and take less for the card? Maybe you can talk them down a couple of dollars, but probably not a couple of grades. Grades on a slab are no more than a price tag and a guarantee of future value. I wish I had been involved in the hobby when slabs didn't exist.

[barrysloate]

Lance- in your example, if the public loses confidence in what a PSA 6 really is, the card is going to take a big hit anyway.

Collectors pay enormous premiums for high grade cards and they want to get what they pay for. Sure, some cards in 7 holders may really only be 6's or 6.5's, but the market can tolerate that. All collectors know there is some subjectivity to grading.

But if you were led to believe that the 7 you just purchased was originally in a 3 holder, that just wouldn't cut it. The market won't tolerate that. Nobody will pay $500 for what was previously a $35 card.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I know this is not pre-War card related, but I think this thread is very worth your time to read:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=115212

Your feedback is appreciated.

[barrysloate]

Thanks for that link. It appears that a good paper restorer can get his work past graders pretty easily. For those collectors who concentrate mostly on very high end cards, and pay large premiums to get them, how do you feel about this?

[Bamacollection]

Barry- I see your point. I also believe that alot of the high end collectors, especially regisrtry guys, could care less how the card became said grade. I think it's more about competition with them. Kind of like killing a monster white tail in a petting zoo...you can leave the zoo part out of the hunting story and still show your buddies the deer. The cards have become little holdered trophies for the cardboard safari hunters. Just look at the "Holy Grail"...

[barrysloate]

I'm not sure the registry people would be all that happy if they believed that what they were buying was altered. That has nothing to do with competition. Nobody likes to feel they are being ripped off.