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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cwtokenman, post: 329292, member: 2100&quot;]As said, education is key. </p><p><br /></p><p>Firm standards for tpgs to work to, while admittedly very unlikely to happen, would give them more credibility.</p><p><br /></p><p>A factor not yet mentioned is that I believe the current grading scale is a big part of the problem. How many of the common hobbyists can function well with the 70 point system, espectiall in the MS grades where the big $$$ are involved? I believe that system was promoted by the powers that be (including the tpgs) in order to make money. Keeping the general hobby populace unable to effectively use the grading system generates an inherent need for someone else to do your grading for you. How convenient for a grading company for that to happen. I believe they can perform a valuable service as an authenticator, but all too often I think their services are used as a crutch due to a lack of knowledge, or as a method simply to generate higher profits for sellers/dealers. Personally, from what I have seen with tpg products (mostly NGC exonumia), I am rather disgusted with the poor quality of product (discussed in other threads).</p><p><br /></p><p>Tied to the problem with the current grading system is that there is no shortage of buyers who will pay huge additional $$$ for a point or two higher grade, when that person could not tell the difference between the two, but is willing to do so solely because of someone else&#039;s opinion. I suppose it would be every salesman&#039;s dream that virtually every customer has been indoctrinated to believe every word they say is gospel, and the customer doesn&#039;t have the knowledge to refute anything presented by the salesman. I guess I can&#039;t really blame those who participate in that practice, and I&#039;m sure that profit motive drives a fair portion of business to the tpgs. From strictly a collector standpoint though, I see it only as an opportunity to pay more for the same thing. Sometimes a lot more.</p><p><br /></p><p>I also think tpg consistency is not up to a &quot;professional&quot; level. Coins get body bagged on one submission, but slabbed/graded the next. Coins get body bagged for reasons known not to be the case. Grades change from one submission to the next (ex: King of Siam set has &quot;improved&quot; with each submission). If the pros can frequently have trouble working with the system, how can the typical collector work with it? Perhaps a more workable and user friendly system would be good for the hobby, but I doubt the tpgs would endorse anything like that.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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