"Hobby Message Board Activity"

graygator

"Hobby message board activity" indeed. If you do not have the guts to even name the problem, how can you be trusted to face up to it and address it?

Ultimately, PSA's primary service, what it advertises and holds itself out to be, is a protector for the trading-card consumer, a buffer between the consumer and the bad actors. Buy a PSA graded card and you are sure it's authentic and unaltered. That is what PSA sells. That expertise is their product. Right there under "Trading Card Grading" PSA says that a "series of PSA graders review your cards for authenticity. If genuine, PSA looks for evidence of doctoring, such as re-coloring or trimming." Only if the "card passes those two steps" does it get a number grade.

PSA has failed on that core mission on hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cards. That failure has been made public. A weak statement, like Mr. Sloan's at the top of the page, with the focus on the external bad actors and promises to handle it privately won't do at this point. A public problem of this magnitude calls for a public reckoning. PSA knows who these card doctors are. They have records of their submissions. If PSA cares about collectors--their customers, those of us who buy cards in their holders and rely on their promises and ability to detect alterations--they will admit their role in this mess, publish the certification numbers resulting from those submissions for all to see, and provide some assurances on what measures they are taking to make sure this doesn't happen again.

hyperchipper09

I never get to type this:

"In"

1951WheatiesPremium

I think the fact that PSA no longer seems to have any PWCC advertising on its website, when it was once ubiquitous, is noteworthy.

As does the sentiment expressed by PSA that buyers of questionable cards should attempt to return the card from whom it was purchased.

They’re steps in the right direction.

I would also repeat something from another thread - an investigation cannot be thorough, fruitful and also quick. It just can’t.

graygator

@1951WheatiesPremium said:
I think the fact that PSA no longer seems to have any PWCC advertising on its website, when it was once ubiquitous, is noteworthy.

As does the sentiment expressed by PSA that buyers of questionable cards should attempt to return the card from whom it was purchased.

They’re steps in the right direction.

I would also repeat something from another thread - an investigation cannot be thorough, fruitful and also quick. It just can’t.

All true. And if we do not continue to hold their feet to the fire by making our displeasure known, they will likely consider the problem solved, because it will be from their perspective.

detroitfan2

@graygator said:
"Hobby message board activity" indeed. If you do not have the guts to even name the problem, how can you be trusted to face up to it and address it?

Ultimately, PSA's primary service, what it advertises and holds itself out to be, is a protector for the trading-card consumer, a buffer between the consumer and the bad actors. Buy a PSA graded card and you are sure it's authentic and unaltered. That is what PSA sells. That expertise is their product. Right there under "Trading Card Grading" PSA says that a "series of PSA graders review your cards for authenticity. If genuine, PSA looks for evidence of doctoring, such as re-coloring or trimming." Only if the "card passes those two steps" does it get a number grade.

PSA has failed on that core mission on hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cards. That failure has been made public. A weak statement, like Mr. Sloan's at the top of the page, with the focus on the external bad actors and promises to handle it privately won't do at this point. A public problem of this magnitude calls for a public reckoning. PSA knows who these card doctors are. They have records of their submissions. If PSA cares about collectors--their customers, those of us who buy cards in their holders and rely on their promises and ability to detect alterations--they will admit their role in this mess, publish the certification numbers resulting from those submissions for all to see, and provide some assurances on what measures they are taking to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Unless you're saying that they knowingly give a number grade to altered cards or that they are not doing everything possible to better detect altered cards, I am not really sure I understand what more you want them to do.

Personally, I'd like to see them address things more under their control, like why one submission of 50 cards can have 20 cards with a .5 grade while another submission of 100 cards has none, or the seemingly inconsistent use of the PD qualifier.

graygator

I want them to do what they are paid to do and advertise that they are experts at doing. Nothing more. And when they publicly fail, disclose how they plan to do better.

AFLfan

I am going to lock this thread down now, not because the OP did not care for Steve Sloan's statement today, but because of the tone.

I run a youth lacrosse league and on occasion have to intervene when parents are unhappy with coaches for one reason or another. This typically happens immediately after a game. My advice to the parent is always to go home, think about the situation for 24 hours, and then come back and let's discuss things. Take some time to consider different perspectives and the fact that the coach may be making decisions based upon information that the parent does not have, though at the moment the parent feels that they understand the situation fully.

Same situation here. I'm not telling anyone that they are wrong, or need to stifle their thoughts, but rather tossing the figurative ball back and saying to try again. Give it another shot, but in a different tone and perhaps after trying to view the situation from multiple points of view.