I'm convinced that it is not good for our hobby (not that you think it is, I'm just attaching my opinion to your post).

The only time I ever encountered a slabbing issue was with sports cards. About 10 years ago I was looking to sell cards (to purchase chips! :-) so I went to a card show with a few nicer cards. I stopped at a guys table who was willing to look at my cards. He was interested in one in particular (I think it was a Gretzky rookie) and he mentioned he might buy it but I needed to get it graded. I asked him why, and he said "Well I think it about an 8, maybe 8.5, but if it comes back below that I'm screwed." So I asked him if he would ever purchase a card without being graded. He told me not a nice one.

The entire sports card market is being held hostage by a grading company. They cannot make a move unless the grading company tells them what it is worth. It turns a hobby into a commodity market. I would hate to see that happen here.

Todd Barrett #5068-91
Ramona, CA