Your thoughts wanted: I'm starting my own grading service

All i am saying he had better think about, getting more knowledge , check the pros and cons of it,as any dealing in coins , collecting, buying , selling whatever it may be , and I dont think to many people are leaving cointalk,
what I see from intoductions.

 

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If you are a skilled grader...it would probably make more sense to try and find employment with an established TPG or auction house to catalogue coins?

or a local coin dealer and work as an apprentice?

 

I hope...

... the original poster realizes that we're not being harsh, just honest here. And, frankly, it's a whole helluva lot better to get bad judgments here than to lose a ton of money out in the real world.

The bottom line, Objective, is that we here are offering the same comments that anyone else "out there" would think or say. Better to hear it here first than _after_ you sink money into a venture.

Sure -- it's be great to have another reliable grading service! And more power to you if you can pull it off. But these comments should help you realize just how difficult it will be. You'll need top notch experts with reputations, and a money back guarantee just to compete. If you have that, or think you can -- great. If you don't, you're going to have a steep hill to climb.

 

In several threads currently live, people are concerned about TPG companies scamming consumers, counterfeit slabs and/or coins. Each day,there are threads about people losing money on "phony" grading and slabbing services seen on ebay and other places, and here you want to encourage someone who has presented no evidence, verifiable or not, as to whether they have the experience, reputation, and ethics to start a new grading service? There are several directions we can approach the problems. Every few weeks on Craigs, there is a character selling slabs and labels for anyone to become like SGS, and that doesn't help numismatics either.

As I would comment about abrasively cleaning a coin as being detrimental, I feel this is the same. If it gains me an infraction, so be it. If this person is a well known grader, I might change my mind, but until then ,IMO.

Jim
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Thanks a lot Jim, now I'm going to have to find a different way to make money!

But seriously, to the OP, imo it would be very, very hard to start a new grading company that becomes respected, and profitable. Because, first off, pretty much any new grading service is going to be immediately labeled by most, a lower tier grading company, which doesn't put you in good company (with all the other XYZ companies). Secondly, the market has already been set, competing with the companies like PCGS and NGC is nearly impossible for a new tpg.

The last point is really based around, what would make people want to submit coins to your service? New tpg slabs sell for less than the major tpg slabs, most sell right around the same price as raw coins. So there wouldn't be much of a financial gain by submitting to your company. Finally, people would have to respect your (or your graders) ability to grade coins, so you would have to have a good reputation in the numismatic community.

Just some things to think about.

 

It would be hard to build a reputation and simultaneously preserve your anonymity.

 

Are you known in the coin business? Are you an expert in grading? Can you detect counterfeit coins with 99.99% accuracy? Do you have tens of thousands of dollars (if not substantially more) for initial capitalization? Have you thought about the insurance you will need and how much this will cost?

If you can answer "no" to any of these questions, you have not thought this through.

 

Wouldnt it be great if I started my own grading service and just graded everything MS70! or PR70! MY oh My the scams I have seen and the ones coming up.
Dont do it the coin will be worth less in your slab.

 

I can understand his frustration, it would be nice to have an affordable option, but I realize that it is unrealistic.

 

I think a it's all pretty much been mentioned here. What are your credentials sticks in my craw.

Cheap is cheap but one gets what one pays for in the long run and this coming from a guy that owns VERY few slabs.

Let's look at it this way. EVEN EBAY has rules on slabbed coins and they provide a venue that allows (arguably) the biggest market for overgraded and counterfeit coins.

If you were to start a new slabbing service would they embrace you? Somehow I doubt it.

Not a venture I'd jump in to until you can prove your expertise and opinion is more valuable than mine. Even then I wouldn't send you any coins.

Don't mean to be contrary but realistic here.

 

This is the most important part of starting a grading service and the only question I have too.

IMO, DGS is a great example of a new, legitimate grading service. If your company has credentials are of this caliber, you may actually stand a chance....otherwise you'd better try the vampire thingy.

http://www.dominiongrading.com/index.cfm

 

This idea is certainly not new, but the odds of being successful are pretty low, even ANACS is mis-trusted by some people. I don't think the top 3 will change soon. I think the hardest part would be finding a customer base to begin with.

 

I think its a great idea...I was thinking of doing the same thing myself!

 

Totally unrealistic....agreed. No offense to the OP, but this leaves him open to being compared to SGS (not SEGS). NNC and NTC are more respected than SGS (not SEGS), and NNC and NTC are third-world services, if not fourth-world. Thats a comparison you don't want.

The coins you 'grade' would, in all likelihood, sell for more raw than in a 'self slabber' slab, which is virtually all you'd be considered. Coins in these type of slabs from these kinds of 'grading services' are traded for pennies on the dollar (there are VERY rare instances of a fairly graded/undergraded problem-free coin being found in these slabs, but they are VERY few and far between). Just voicing my honest opinion on the matter.

Seriously reconsider this.

 

You say you're putting the finishing touches on this venture...how long have you been working on this?

 

Hi, I also have a few questions.
I'm curious what kind of guarantee you will have, or what grading team you will have with you.
How will you encapsulate the slabs to ensure no one can crack them out and replace it with a lower grade coin?
Do you have a website we can view?
How many years have you been a collector? And what series do you collect?
Have you handled enough coins of each series, and of each date to understand any special conditions to consider before grading said coin?
Such as a 1920 S Lincoln.
What kind of environment do you plan on handling the coins in?
You really need to be WELL versed in all series of coins before attempting to grade a coin. Do you know how to grade all of the Commems or Tokens?
Will you be offering world coin grading?
What kind of INSURANCE will you have while our coins are with you at your place of business? Customers need to feel confident that even if someone breaks in and steals coins, that you will have them insured and the prices covered.


Why don't you post some pictures of your coins here, along as the grade you assign them, and we can see if you are in the right ballpark.

 

First, I would want to review your formal Prospectus.

Second, I would want to review your Qualifications. Educational,Professional
and Trade Affiliations.

I would suggest that you work on these and approach us with a complete formal Presentation.

Some here have offered nothing but discouragement. Who would have thought 15 years ago that CAC would have the success they have?

Tom

 

Who are you and what are your qualifications should be the first thing you tell us

Who are you (as far as Numismatics go) and what are your qualifications should be the first thing you tell us.

No one would start a grading service like that - what dues have you paid???

 

You'd be taking frequent strolls to the bank? :goof: