People and companies often make mistakes.
CGC has had an uphill battle from the start within the Pokémon community.
Many people’s aversions have boiled down to:
- Disliking that potentially another company may do a better job than the others (because their collection is almost entirely graded through PSA or BGS and if they becomes seen as an inferior grading company their cards may not command the premium enjoyed today)
- Disliking the label.
- Disliking that cards individuals may be after might have to be obtained in a different slab to the rest of their collection.
There have been so many people whom have been very vocal about slandering CGC from the start, stating wildly speculative things like they wouldn’t ever grade with them for anything they want to hold value over time as PSA will always command the premium.
And now the actions in this thread are largely pointing to a lack of ethics.
But let’s not forget the other companies aren’t without their own faults too.
For example, is it ethical for PSA and BGS to authenticate cards they have no information on? Because that’s what they have done and continue to do.
PSA have admitted to having no information on certain sets they sell authentication and grading services for, and have asked me for further information on many of them, requesting " sources such as checklists or catalogs that can confirm" particular cards and attributes. One such example being the Carddass Anime Collection, which is littered with counterfeits.
I think you will agree that claiming authenticity without discernible knowledge is highly negligent and unethical.
…and before anyone continues to state that faults with other companies are not what should be focussed on here and that we should focus on this instance of indiscretion, I disagree.
My point is that all of the grading companies have failed us at some point and will continue to do so because they aren’t perfect.
All we can do as consumers is bring the issues to their attention and hope they rectify them. If not, we use someone else or simply don’t grade at all.
In an industry where trust is paramount, you would think they would try harder to build it.