I am very picky when I purchase, I have also seen many COLLECTORS who
collect the players they like and nothing else. The explosion from 3 to
1,500+ sets a year has made it so that many collector's can't build sets
anymore. This is more the manufacturers greed than the collectors or any
grading company.

You can't blame a grading company because people only want to get rich.
That is all anyone ever wants. I started collecting in 1973 and still do
today because me and my sons have a lot of fun working or shopping at shows
together.

I can't see your greed angle. Most cards sent in to grading companies don't
get high grades and that makes grading as much a crap shoot as opening a
pack. Only after multiple inspections and serious consideration do I send a
card in and I still get 8's & 8.5's but they are on good quality vintage and
semi-vintage cards. I don't open a case of 2004 Score FB & send in ever
Manning or Roethlisberger I get into BGS no ?'s asked. I simply collect
what I like.

I recently opened a box of 2004 SPx Football and pulled a Julius Jones
Spectrum Gold AUTO JERSEY RC but have turned down all offers to sell it
because I think he has great potential. The card I have is #'d 25/25 and I
would only sell it for the $500 book value because I expect good things from
him. I am a collector first, grading doesn't make me greedy, the fact I
paid $1,100 for 14 boxes of 2004 SPx makes me have to be financially prudent
....

E-Bay has done for the greed of the hobby than any grading company ever
could.

--
www.dacollector.net
Trading Cards, Collectibles, Custom Display Cases & Software (Coming soon)
"pkstore2" wrote in message
. ..


Grading doesn't hurt the hobby, the greed it breeds does ...

This statement above took away the hobby. In 1987 Topps reported something
in the neighborhood of 5-7 million of each baseball card made for wax,
cello, sets, vending, uncut sheet deals, rack packs etc. How many are made
of their basic product today? Probably not even 30% of the number. Why?
Hobby is now depleted to only people who mainly buy are dealers and/or
people whom want to make money as investing. There will always be someone
buying a pack at every gas station & Walmart but for the most part they
can't afford the higher prices anymore. Grading cards has killed a lot of
things all the way down to people taking cards and altering them
professionally. I have many cards that were altered and not caught. There
are very little rules on the inside of the companies for trimming or
cutting
from uncut sheets or restoring the old method with Japanese paper etc. to
make cards mint. The methods used are older than their employess! In the
coin industry you do not see trimmed coins since you don't see uncut
sheets
of dimes or pennies. They can alter coins but cards are a joke in that
manner. Make what you can off graded cards but the real knowledgeable
people
are far beyond that and take their info looking for other stuff to make a
$.