When I saw that the 2005 Aaron Rodgers SP Authentic 1/1 NFL logo Auto had been listed on eBay, I thought a number of things about the auction, some good, a lot bad. Most of the bad thoughts center on the fact that Beckett got a hold of one of the best SP Authentic cards ever to hit eBay, graded it gem mint DURING the auction, and summarily exacerbated one of the biggest conflicts of interest that I have talked about with grading cards.
First off, this Rodgers 1/1 NFL Logo is a ridiculous card. It could not have been put up for sale at a better time, and I think that Beckett knew they had a gem in their hands when it came to publicizing their auction consignment services. Oddly enough, what they didnt realize, is that there are a number of people like myself who have seen this card before, and we know that it was not worthy of the grade they gave it. BGS has proven themselves to be the punch line of a joke lately, mainly stemming from the fact that the bigger the publicity of the card, the looser the standards for their grade. Remember the Strasburg superfractor grading debacle? Yeah, this is a similar situation. Not only because many people saw that before it was slabbed, its corners were well below the 9 grade that was given, but also because it was specifically slabbed to be auctioned off. That presents an incredible conflict of interest, partially due to the way Beckett will make money and publicity on the sale.
Grading in general is a complete scam, as we have found out over the last few years, and yet, so many collectors still put stock in the completely arbitrary process. Yes, you can state that BGS’s standards are above PSA or any of the other companies, but that’s like saying Al Capone was a higher class criminal because he gave money to the families of the people he killed. He was still a criminal, and that is the bottom line, much like grading is still a money driving business for the companies that run it, not a service.
Remember, this “service” has no regulatory body, no review standards other than internal sources, and its end users NEVER question the results of its practices. Wait, I take that back. If the grade is low, the people just crack out the cards from the case, and keep resubmitting until they get the grade they want. Basically, if a card comes back a 10, it stays a 10 forever, because the person who owns it would never want to risk losing the extra money a 10 gives their card. In reality, the grade is only as true as the eye that examines the card, and in most cases, the human eye is subjective. Because the difference between a 9.5 and a 10 is so tiny, its easy to see why people are able to crack and resubmit with frequent success.
In this case, Beckett has used their grading “service” to earn them more money and more publicity on one of the biggest auctions of the entire NFL year. Personally, I am not surprised after seeing the complete EPIC FAIL that happened back when the Stras Super came into their possession, as this only goes to show how low they are willing to stoop for some PR. The card was graded for the auction YESTERDAY, which adds to the problem of why this is such a grift on Beckett’s part. Start the auction without the card graded, end it with a gem mint 9.5 and 10 auto despite the fact that many Rodgers SPA Patch auto cards never attain that standard.
Here is a larger picture from the bucket of the original seller.
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From experience, it’s almost impossible to get a ‘9’ or above on corners when the card is 120pt stock, or higher. I imagine this is no exception. The ‘gimmie’ grades can always be 2 sub-categories. If the corners are horrid, as in this case, just give ’em Surface and Centering. It’s a shady shell game, for sure. I’d love to get one of their d-bag graders and make them re-grade something graded a ‘9’, that is in better shape than something the idiot just slabbed as 9.5 and defend it. Oh well, somebody’s going to get ripped off huge and overpay. Not me.
As I said on BOC forum – Any company that can influence the price of an object based on their grading or opinion of the object, should never be allowed to profit from the selling of said object. This is an automatic conflict of interest. Good post Gellman.
Brian, please view the Beckett Grading Population Report. There are many BGS 9 120pt Stock Cards and more BGS 9.5 than you seem to know. I looked at the Rodgers NFL Logo Auto and can only see a minor flaw on the back right hand bottom corner. However, eBay listing scans can be less than a 100% depiction of the card and its flaws (a valid rationale for seeking an opinion from an unbias professional grading service).
When Beckett is both the auctioneer and grader, there is a potential for problem with conflict of interest; however, the relationship of all major sports card auction houses and the various grading services has the same potential for conflict of interest. While the grade given by the professional grading service is a valuable piece of information for making your purchasing decision, only the buyer can determine what the card in the holder is worth to buyer. In any case, the buyer should perform their own review of the card being considered for purchase.
If you like to gamble with your money, buy ungraded vintage cards on eBay. I have had many customers come into my store with trimmed or otherwise altered cards bought on eBay. Many of these cards were not discovered to be altered until the buyer asked a professional grading service to grade the card. Although your eBay seller may have great feedback, the seller could unknowingly sell you a card altered twenty years before he acquired the card.
Bottom line: If you don’t believe a card is worth the grade/price, don’t buy it. However, buying a card with a professional grading service opinion of grade is better than buying a raw card on eBay.
Okay, why is it that this 1/1 is an NFL logo patch and the 2007 Exquisite Sidney Rice 1/1 rookie auto patch redemption card I received a couple of years ago was just a regular jersey card? I thought UD made their 1/1 swatches logomen or a 4 color jersey swatch at the very least.
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charlie it’s not a potential conflict, it is a conflict. It simply an ethical violation that some buyers choose to overlook. Granted vintage grading is thought to be much more useful as authenticity is more in question. For modern cards though beckett loses cred as they tend to make and sell some incredible cards to drum up popularity and support. It’s gross and you simply just don’t see other grading companies doing this. If I am missing psa doing an analagous thing please show us.
This is exactly the kind of thing that really saps the enjoyment out the hobby for me. It’s one thing when your run across some random prick at a card show, eBay, or Craigslist out to soak your ass for as much as he can get, by an means necessary.
It’s another thing when you have to extend the ‘buyer beware’ mantra to the card makers or the self-proclaimed ‘authorities’ in the business. That’s just fatiguing to not be able to trust pretty much anyone at some base level. Upstart companies like Razor / (new)Leaf, InTheGame, and others wonder why they find it hard to gain trust and traction? Especially when they, in turn, can act like a chip off the old McWilliams anyway? State lotteries and casinos seem to have more transparency than the production, grading, auctioning, and so-called authentication of sports cards and memorabilia.
I remember when Beckett first initiated their grading services, and I wondered then how they were going to manage the conflict of interest of setting a baseline standard of value of cards (ours go to 11!), and then supposedly just ‘report’ upon the market value of them. It seems that nagging voice in the back of my head is something I never should have ignored.
Just saying that the conflict doesn’t exist also doesn’t do much to make anyone believe you. For example, we’d like to know what you’re going to do to change the process. Grade cards by committee as a regular process, rather than a single-grader, single-card work flow? Involve grading professionals based outside the circle-jerk echo chamber in Texas?
I understand the need for them to generate publicity and interest in the grading business today, which has to be a fraction of activity a few years ago. However, diluting the authority and validity of the process doesn’t seem to be a smart or sustainable way to go about that.
That part of the business already is undermined by the “steroid tax”–the hordes (hoards?) of who-cares and practically unsellable-at-any-price graded McGwire, Bonds, Clemens, and so on. Beckett is not solely to blame for this glut of course. PSA, SGC, GAI, and the graveyard of dead losers all contributed to this Ocean of Plastic. However, Beckett is the only one that constantly marketed themselves as ‘above the fray’, when it seems more like just another pig in the yard, submerged in a shallower layer of mud.
JBob, although SGC and PSA do not sell/auction cards, they have a working relationship with the major auction houses who have many thousands of cards graded for their clients each year.
Last year, I was considering selling my vintage collection of T3s, T205s, T201s, T204s, E103s, E105s & Others. First, I had them graded by Beckett, who I thought graded them a little too tough. Because I was not happy with my grades, I decided not to auction through Beckett because with these grades I would not get the money I wanted. I then spoke with two respected auction houses. When I described my collection and mentioned that I felt Beckett was grading too tough, they both suggested I send the cards to them and they would make sure PSA and/or SGC did me right.
I am NOT suggesting anyone is doing anything underhanded. And, they did not imply I would get an 8 for a card that was an obvious 6. However, with rare & expensive vintage cards one point would mean big bucks; and, in the REAL WORLD, money/fame (or anything which may result in a desirable outcome grader/auctioneer) will get you more attention and consideration. That’s just life. Watch out for number one.
I’d like to share a little story regarding the irregularity of the BGS grading process:
I purchased a Ryne Sandberg rookie off ebay and sent it in to BGS, and the card came back altered. A few submissions later, after reading some of these re-sub stories, I decided to try the Sandberg again. The 2nd time it was submitted it came back a 9.5, subs 10/10/9.5/9.5. Think about that the next time you go to spend premium $$ on graded cards. Its all BS.
I have always felt this way, completely crazy what people will pay for a subjective opinion on cards.
It is too bad that Rodgers 1/1 logo auction by BGS was a scam.
I just sent a 2003-04 Lebron James Box Set oversize auto card 23/23 a very rare jersey number serial numbered card and I checked the box for BGS to AUTHENTICATE and grade the auto. They graded the card!!!!!!!!! And get this 2 of the corners were smashed, the surface was horrid, I mean beat up!! it was scratched everywhere and had missing gloss in several spots front and back, also the edges were weak and white showing in 3 spots at least 1/2 inch and here are the subgrades-
Centering 9.5 (acceptable)
Edges 9 (Very questionable)
corners 7 (What they were vg at best!)
surface 9.5!!!!!!! (WTF! This surface should have been a very low grade possibly a 2) The serial number alone was something I questioned, why would an ebay seller let it go for 550 and let it get so damaged when its so rare! Its Lebrons serial number! Beckett purposley f’d up and graded it for publicity of the card I want to exploit this somehow! Why would they do this??? Very shady company and ask me why I am telling you this, I am 100% honest and would never cheat anyone into thinking this is a legit card Beckett is a company no better than GAI PERIOD
I sent a Kaepernick 1/1 Logo Shield with a big order and I put “9.5 or slab as authentic”. I was sure it deserved a 9.5 grade compared to others I have seen. They gave it a 9 grade and didn’t slab as authentic. They sent it back with a 9 grade.
Even more, the sub-grades made no sense compared to other cards I had graded in that order and even less sense compared to cards I have purchased.
I have purchased cards with a 9 grade and 9 edges that had whiting and marks all over the edges.
I called my rep to ask questions, and I got a lot of vague answers when asked about the grading process. He described the grades as “human robots” un-phased by any card and 100% un-able to be corrupted.
I have pictures showing why the grades compared to others are are job.
Needless to say, I am disappointed with my first grading order.