Interesting! Being a UK based collector that couldn’t tell you one sports card from another, I’ve never heard of that one before.
What did the ‘mail fraud’ actually relate to? From what I read, the owner cracked the slab and trimmed the card to try for a better regrade….this sounds scummy, but PSA’s job is to identify alterations like that, so who is being defrauded?
Obviously trimming is the sort of egregious stuff like leaving chemical smears and stains on a card that goes beyond the pale because it’s clear there have been alterations.
We also have a other things we say in Blighty to respond to that, but I won’t be rude.
The comparison to a car in an accident seems a little off. Cards don’t have log books or any legal requirement to list damage.
If someone buffs a minor scratch out of a car’s bodywork, or has the bodywork professionally painted, it’s common courtesy to disclose that info, but you’re hardly getting hit with a fraud charge if you don’t disclose it.
Authenticity of an object simply isn’t invalidated with alteration/restoration. A Da Vinci is still authentic, even if it’s been restored. A Rolls Royce is still an authentic Rolls, even if it’s had replacement parts. The condition might be viewed as inauthentic to how it “should” be, but the item itself still remains real.
Something i will admit is that, yes i have restored cards before. HOWEVER, i have never and will never submit those cards for grading. Like the original post said however too many people use the ability to fix cards in a malicious way just to make money. I honestly dont know how to stop it, but so long as we can maybe stop someone from doing it maliciously for money then its what we can do
Even if you keep all of your “restored” cards till the day you die, theyd presumably be sold to an unsuspecting buyer that doesn’t know the card is altered. Honestly, if you alter cards, please put in your will to have them burned.
I honestly dont do much with them. Its not even major cards that i fix. ive only fixed about 2 full arts ever. most of the cards i do fix are ones where the art is fried, theres spots on the card that make it look bad, and the cards are sually just commons and uncommons
As was linked earlier, we’ve talked about this ad naseum.
There is a massive population of people who do not care about these things to the degree that others do.
It’s very easy to forget when you are very deep in the hobby that even though there has been massive interest in the growth of graded cards, most people who collect do not do so
I personally have never cared for grades, and believe me there are many people interested in the cards in lower condition
Me trying to complete to my base set through gym, i dont care if your dog or your 5 year old self chewed on that Zard i will take it just so i have the overrated lizard off my list
I honestly dont know how to stop it, but so long as we can maybe stop someone from doing it maliciously for money then its what we can do
