SGC no cert. lookup

[Al C.risafulli]

Cert number look up offers transparency, which in my opinion is much needed. What privacy violation issues are there with knowing what cards were submitted with a card in question and what the results were of their examination?

I don't feel that it offers transparency at all. If the submitter's name were also revealed, then it would offer transparency - but I don't think that would be a realistic thing to ask for.

There's an individual who's name has been mentioned in this thread and others as a trimmer of cards. The evidence has been, in my opinion, pretty conclusive.

But let's say I buy a card from that individual, and subsequently resell it on eBay. Someone on a message board decides to search the cert numbers around the one I'm selling, and finds a disproportionate amount of trimmed cards. That person, not knowing where I bought the card, may very well implicate ME as a card doctor, since he/she has no idea whether or not I was the original submitter. All that person can do it look up the cert number and see what cards were around mine.

Realistically, that cert number lookup says absolutely nothing about me, about my own submissions, or about the cards I sell - but could hurt my reputation anyway.

-Al

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

But let's say I buy a card from that individual, and subsequently resell it on eBay. Someone on a message board decides to search the cert numbers around the one I'm selling, and finds a disproportionate amount of trimmed cards. That person, not knowing where I bought the card, may very well implicate ME as a card doctor, since he/she has no idea whether or not I was the original submitter. All that person can do it look up the cert number and see what cards were around mine.

Realistically, that cert number lookup says absolutely nothing about me, about my own submissions, or about the cards I sell - but could hurt my reputation anyway.

The fault there lies with the reckless conclusions of said person, not with the ability to check the cert #s. Say the card was trimmed and slipped by PSA - as a buyer it would be absolutely relevant to know that the previous and subsequent 5 had been rejected for trimming.

[Al C.risafulli]

But how would you know that my card was part of the same invoice as the previous 5? How would you know I didn't buy a large lot of raw cards that were trimmed, and submitted it with a large lot of raw cards that weren't? How would you know that I didn't submit a whole pile of crackouts from a grading service known for grading trimmed cards in hopes that some of them would grade, and a few actually did?

You would be able to see the cert numbers and the results, but none of the circumstances around the submittal.

I've had a few circumstances where a few of my submissions had an inordinate amount of cards rejected for trimming. Once I bought a vending box of modern cards, and a half dozen or so were rejected - all of them graded on a second submission. Another time, as suggested above, I bought a bunch of cards graded by a second-tier grading company in hopes of crossing them to PSA and playing the low-pop game. A bunch came back trimmed and a few graded. I'd hate to think I'd be judged based on those two submissions, but that's exactly the kind of thing that could happen with the cert number lookup.

I prefer to think that if we're going to embrace grading, we're going to embrace the grading company's ability to judge each card on its own merits and reject that bad ones. If we can't trust the grading companies to do this, then we shouldn't be embracing grading.

Just my opinion.

-Al

[botn]

Finding out that a particular card was surrounded by rejected cards in a cert check does not implicate the seller. It implicates the submitter and it informs the collector, whether or not he cares, that there is a good chance the card which graded may also be altered. Simply provides more information. Cards change hands frequently so it is entirely conceivable, even on this board, where people may actually not rush to judgment and possibly unfairly or prematurely accuse the seller as the card doctor.

[EvilKing00]

I know this is a very old thread, BUT i also feel that SGC should have a "look up" feature where you can type in the SN, and get a report on the card. Basicly with a pic of the card, the grade that was given, and if you would go further....Maybe ..lets say if it was an altard card, how it was altered. Mostly just to prove that the card that someone is looking to but is actually a true graded card. Its really sinple.

[steve B]

I can see both sides of this.

I like access to information, but I also like to think that I use that info responsibly. Not everyone can or will.

The point about someone being unjustly hit for submissions that show a lot of altered cards is valid,and there are some circumstance that haven't been mentioned where this could happen as well.

Lets say I find a nice stack of what look like nice T206s at an estate sale. If the price is low enough I'm not spending much time examining them before I commit to buy. (Hasn't happened yet, but I can always hope)
Then lets say I get home and take a good look at them deciding what to sell and what to keep. And I find that they're all a bit suspect for trimming. And I decide to sell all or most of them. But I think they'll do better graded so off they go. And all come back "A" except for a couple that were within spec but were small enough to fit the sheets the collector used do they didn't get a top or bottom trimming.
That's ok, at least now I'm sure, and I get the benefit of listing them honestly with no doubts. I'd have called them probably trimmed, and may have had some returns/questions. Now I know they're trimmed.

But someone who looks up the submission could say I trimmed them all but got lucky on a couple.
That's not so good, and helps nobody.

With SGCs numbers it may be possible to occasionally identify the submitter, and it's very easy to tell which ones were on the same submission.

Steve B