E4: “Buy the card not the grade”
Nish: “Okay, I want this card to be authenticated instead of graded”
E4: “Wait, not like that”
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And to serve people that simply appreciates the “authenticators”-bit without putting any stock into their so-called grading, like is common practice in literally every hobby besides the echo chamber of TCG’s and sports memorabilia.
Unpopular opinion: Just because you care about someones ability to authenticate something doesn’t automatically mean you give a shit about their opinion on condition, and it most certainly doesn’t mean that you don’t care about condition yourself. I guarantee you, if there wasn’t a monetary incentive to have the grade numbers, we’d be seeing many “authentic only” collectors, and many of those would be meticulous about condition. Only difference is that the prestige related to the condition would come from individual cert numbersand personal/communal assessment instead of the “PSA 10” label.
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@c0ll3ct0r the part about not putting stock in their grading I can fully get behind. (More unpopular opinions coming) PSA actually does kinda suck at grading. They’ve convinced a large portion of their customer base their standards are changing which isn’t a good look and so many people just accept it without really realizing the implications if it is true IMO. IMO their standards haven’t changed people just suck even worse at grading their own cards than PSA does which is why they are the experts.
All that said, authentic only is still just weird to me from any angle other than if you wanted to argue that getting that label over a low grade increases resale value. It very well may, but I don’t really buy it because I value them less personally. Clearly with the back and forth many disagree though.
I still hold firm on the fact that anyone wanting authentic only as preference not just thinking its worth more has a soft ego and anytime I see it that’s all I think. You have to go out of your way to get them to not include the grade. Authentication and grading is the standard service they provide but they’ll shield your eyes (and feelings) from reality if you so choose.
It’s the unpopular opinion thread. A little back and forth is always fun. @oldskoolpokemon and I just had a chat about this a week or so ago from a viewer question.
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Have you ever tried? The value is in the experience, especially if you know all the people involved pretty well. It’s like opening packs with friends which is far more meaningful than doing it alone.
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Time to off the meme:
I think “Authentic” labels have their place.
For cards that have some convincing fakes floating around (CGC seem to have caught a few in circulation), the ability to just validate the authenticity of a card shouldn’t be sniffed at.
There are also those error cards that shouldn’t really have a grade attached in some cases. Since the poor things are so deformed, it’s hard to judge anything if the ink is doing its best Jackson Pollock impression, or half of the intended card art is 3 miles to Timbuktu.
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Well, of course is a lot cooler with family and friends, not just some random dude on the internet who makes profit out of it.
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I’ve box broken and watched boxes get opened for people on e4 discord. There’s no requirement that the person has to be a random dude.
Even still, there’s nothing wrong with Random Dude either if that’s your thing. It’s still a human connection to the person opening and to anyone watching in the chat. And of course you’d have a problem with someone making a profit. As if the other person’s time and the additional experiential value and entertainment is worthless.
The reality is box breaks are popular and people enjoy them. You can either believe that hundreds/thousands of people are scammed daily or that maybe the value added in the experience justifies the additional cost for many people.
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I broke a power keepers and destiny unlimited and I would never consider opening someones packs for them. People have asked for discounts if I do so for them but I always refuse, a box break is not an excuse to grow your brand its a sale same as anything else. That is literally what they paid for. Its a business transaction, we aren’t friends opening packs together at home
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So your problem is from the perspective of the breaker? I can understand that the breaking content may not be worth much (or anything) to you, there’s nothing wrong with that. But that’s just your personal position. This is a different dynamic compared to what I was talking about though. The person here clearly just wants a discount, it’s not about the breaking experience. But as the breaker, you set the parameters of the deal. Just say no? I don’t understand where the scamming is happening? Are ebay sold listings also a huge scam because people use it to ask for discounts?
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the “scam” is the breaker opening your sealed product for you. The joy of opening the product that you payed 125% retail price for should not go to the person who just so happens to have the ability to buy a sealed box, but rather the person buying it. I am not claiming that box breaks are fake or anything, rather that opening someone elses item for them is not right
It shouldnt have to be an incentive to have someone open it for you to save money when they are already gouging these prices
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I agree (i think).
EXCEPT, I would get an authentic case…JUST for the case.
No card case comes close to the protection of a “graded case,” and if I have no interest in the grade or the card’s “authenticity” I’d prefer to just have it say “authentic” and be nice and cozy in a case.
does that make sense?
edit: (basically, I’d pay to just get it slabbed, and even pay extra for them to leave the label off entirely). As soon as someone makes an equivalent case that I can just buy, no one else will ever get my business again.
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It’s strange that you think you know what someone else wants better than they do. I come from the philosophy that if someone pays for a pack, they can have it opened however they want. I just don’t see how two consenting adults coming to an agreement and both leaving satisfied is one of the greatest scams in this hobby. But I guess that’s the point of this thread.
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You think they WANT someone else to open their packs? Its probably more likely that the already outrageous price is getting a 5% discount because the breaker is opening for them and they want to recoup some of the ridiculous fees. They are stuck in this situation because its the only way to get unweighted packs. I Guess my problem is the people who offer discounts to open live. If you have the choice and the price is the same I would be fine
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Do you know that there are people who don’t care about trying to make a profit on everything they do and maybe just want to watch their friend or favorite entertainer open some old pokemon packs that they get to keep?
I feel like you’re making it sound a lot more cynical than it is
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I get not liking it and not slanting to participate in it. I don’t really get saying it’s a scam or that it isn’t right.
Maybe you don’t have friends or family who appreciate opening a pack with you. Maybe you want to pay a higher amount to support a content creator. Maybe you want to have a box opened in front of everyone so those who don’t have the money to open them can share in the experience a bit and live vicariously. Maybe you want your pack opening to be seen by thousands of people instead of just a couple and to share in an experience that will be kept on the internet for years to come.
Some people certainly value that, some people like you of course don’t. And that’s fine, but the viewpoint that it’s a scam or isn’t right is strange to me.
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Never said it was “right” or “Wrong”. If people wanna value that experience then go ahead and pay a premium for that but it is just as valid to think of that as a scam.
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I said it is a scam that has been normalized. Nobody thinks to question the discount for opening live thing anymore, its normal and when you think about that it is not right
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Every box break is for profit and not for fun, and if it is for fun you owe the buyer that fun
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okay lol
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Ok so,
people who break boxes at a set price but offer a discount if opened live = scammerpeople who break boxes at a set price = you = perfectly fine
I really think this is just something that you wouldn’t choose personally but you’ve now tied it to a moral position and projected it onto everyone else.
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