Don't understand?...Please explain

I'm neutral on whether it's good, bad or indifferent; they're not forcing anyone to use it so if someone doesn't like it, they can just abstain. I will say I'm always a little suspicious when a company promotes a "feature" that basically seems like an advertising vehicle for their services, especially when their service is supposed to be providing a disinterested opinion on the grade/value of the very thing the feature promotes. But just call me cynical lol... but it's free and anyone who doesn't like it can just not use it.

If there was a charge for registry sets, then I'd say it smells of "conflict of interest," (since the TPG would then have a financial stake in the specific outcome of the grading process, meaning it's no longer a disinterested opinion) but I have no moral or intellectual objection to it if it's free. Can't say I'm especially interested personally in something that seems to be a way of turning collecting into a competition, but nobody's pointing a gun to my head and forcing me to use it, so whatever lol...

Of course it's a promotion vehicle for their services, but I don't see that as an inherently bad thing (again, as long as it's free), any more than putting up a billboard on the side of the highway to advertise their service would be. Companies have to market themselves somehow. I'm just not personally interested in this type of promotion, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

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I have to agree with both Marketing and bragging rights. As for the marketing part it works very well. In my own case I had by chance some very nice pcgs slabbed 1962s (gotten in a slab grab bag cheap) not a full proof/unc set but a start on one. After registering them as part of getting my "Free" ATB quarter I found that 2 of my coins were very close to being top rated. This cause me to decided to finish off the uncirculated set if only for those bragging rights mentioned above (my 62 set is presently rated 22nd and that is without the Halves that will be added shortly after xmas to finish the set. I might break down and crack one of my 62 mint sets (I have 3 p/d unc sets at moment) as they have very nice halves and have them pcgs slabbed as it would be considerably cheaper then buying the higher quality halves already slabbed (62s NOT cheap in higher grades lol). Either way I go their "marketing ploy" has already worked in getting me to buy the slabbed nickels for the set that i previously had no intention of doing. As for have a "rated" set that high in the standings, I can honestly say nothing feels better then being able to point it out to my "big" brother, who has been collecting for over 40 years, and give him that old ne ner ne ner ne ner lol.

 

Thats a bit harsh Doug.

I participate in the PCGS Registry because it allows me to keep track of my collection, gives me just a little bit of direction and allows me a certain amount of recognition for that which consumes a lot of my time. Having a number one set is kinda nice since the reality is that there are MANY different collections of the same thing. Each collection can be "just barely there" or a well thought out set. The registry rankings simply put them in order.

I don't brag on my set(s) but I do enjoy comaraderie with others within the specific registry(ies) which I participate in.

I think that without the PCGS Registry, I would not have formed certain bonds with specific collectors and the reality is, I'm just one of 200,000,000 other collectors worldwide that have a name and no face associated with it. I'm really a nothing until I get mutual appreciation for the coins I've spent money on acquiring and/or having graded and then selected for my registry.

But thats just me.

Oh, I forgot to mention, since PCGS typically charges for detailed population reports and detailed pricing information, being a registry set member (which only requires a valid email address) gives me "free" access to that information.