Recently while reading an article from Beckett regarding their recent grading of a T206 baseball card collection found last year (I do dabble in baseball card collecting too), a thought that I’ve had in the past came rushing back: Does Beckett have some major conflicts of interest in the card collecting hobby?
I’m sure I’m not the first to have the thought–in fact, I’ve discussed it before at my local card shop. But I’ve not seen a lot of press about it online (very possible I’ve just missed it–I just really started getting into the hobby blogosphere recently–if you have an article on your blog about it, please send me the link, and I’ll link to it).
Just think about it:
- Beckett sets the value for cards across the hobby (with a great deal of research, I’m sure, although I tend to think some of that is hogwash, just based on some common values, and the consistency of some cards, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic that may deserve its own post).
- Beckett also grades cards. In and of itself, that should be fine, even with the fear that I know some of my fellow collectors have about Beckett possibly not returning the same cards that were sent in.
- However, Beckett also has an online marketplace, which I’m assuming they make money on, whether it’s a percentage of sale like eBay, or just a listing payment from sellers (I wasn’t easily able to figure that out on their site–a whole ‘nother topic, and likely a whole ‘nother post).
- Finally, from the T206 article, Beckett is also now (or has been for awhile?) putting on their own auctions, through the Beckett Select Auctions division of Beckett Media.
So, how is this a conflict of interest?
Well, might there be any pressure to grade some of those T206 cards as 3’s rather than as 2.5’s, so that the auction price goes up a little more, thereby raising their commissions? Similarly, might there be some encouragement to to make sure that other cards are graded a little higher, or that non-graded prices are kept higher, so that their marketplace (and even the overall market) keeps going strong?
Of course, if that’s the case, we’re all sitting on a time bomb of a hobby. Although personally, I’m assuming that Beckett has some safety systems in place to ensure that one hand isn’t influencing the other–although it would be nice to hear more about them. And anyway, I’m guessing that one little old blogger, writing his 6th post for his site, isn’t likely to change the world. At least not overnight.
I noticed your concern about the grading of the Beckett T-206 Find. I can tell you from experience that BGS graders don’t know nor are they influenced by what happens to the cards after they leave the grading division. They are fair in what they do — whatever the grade is, is what it is. Sometimes that’s great for the seller, and sometimes it’s a different story.
Good luck on your blogging efforts. — Pepper@Beckett
Pepper – Thanks for checking out the site and leaving your comments. I don’t doubt that the grading process is actually above board and very fair–I just wish there was a little more insight into the steps that are taken to ensure that it is (and I’ll admit that it’s very possible that there has been information written/shown about the process in the past before I re-entred the hobby), so that more people were sure that it was above board. I think that would go a long ways to making sure more people were comfortable with it.