It ain't gonna happen, at least as long as the people involved in this hobby want to keep it a hobby and not turn it into an industry.

The slabbing companies were allowed convention space a few years ago. One broke their contractual agreement concerning being present for the run of the convention. The other stuck around for all three days. ...unable to answer questions as to who was grading chips that had any qualifications to do so.

Briefly involved in discussions on this BB, they were stating that significant numbers of chips had been rejected for slabbing because they had been cleaned. Chips aren't coins. There couldn't possibly be 100 grades, nor is cleaning a chip taboo in this hobby.

You state other hobbies are thriving from grading. I beg to differ. Other hobbies have been turned into "industries" due to slabbing and grading, and THAT has taken the word HOBBY out of them, both in the real meaning of the word and the involvement of the average collector.

Slabbing is not acceptable in this hobby under any circumstances, period.

Bob