Unslabbed Notes Becoming Unsalable in the US

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There is an interesting article on Third-Party Grading in the July 2008 issue of Bank Note Reporter magazine and it's well worth reading. It's entitled "Hard to Find Sellers when Future Looks Bright". It seems that "raw" (i.e., unslabbed) notes and notes graded by "off brand" grading services are becoming essentially unsalable in the US, at least at public auctions. This is a sad state of affairs in my opinion, but it's a reality that we are probably going to have to live with in Canada too.

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Great article Ottawa, thanks for posting this

It seems that "raw" (i.e., unslabbed) notes and notes graded by "off brand" grading services are becoming essentially unsalable in the US, at least at public auctions. This is a sad state of affairs in my opinion

Personally I would rather own notes that are unslabbed. When it comes time to sell them I will want the best value and I will do so by offering the market what they demand.

If the next generation of collectors demand TGP notes then I see this as an opportunity

I see this as a trend away from knowledgeable collectors enjoying their hobby to uninformed speculators buying notes on the hope of turning a profit.  They are lazy and don't want to put any effort into learning to grade notes themselves.  We are at the front of the curve.  Eventually, there will be a glut of slabbed notes with astronomical prices that nobody will want to buy.  It seems to me that this is a dangerous path to follow; a note is only worth what people are willing to pay.

I see this as a trend away from knowledgeable collectors enjoying their hobby to uninformed speculators buying notes on the hope of turning a profit.  They are lazy and don't want to put any effort into learning to grade notes themselves. 

The problem is not learning to grade but having others trust YOUR grading standards. This is exponentially more so in UNC grades where a lot of overgrading takes place and large values are at stake.

I am personally still learning the art of grading and I think the majority of people still can't grade properly.  (Forum members excluded)

I find it hard to buy notes when people say they are UNC but when you get them they are EF/AU and it is very obvious once you look at the note for 5 seconds.

I try to only buy UNC notes from rep dealers/sellers or I would buy a BCS/CCGS graded note.  If not I would never pay even close to Book from someone I didn't trust.  I have sent back many a note that was "UNC" to the seller and not even close when I received it.

I trust BCS as almost every note has been reasonably graded.   I would never buy a PMG note as I have seen to many overgrades from them.

But it is hard to trust people when they don't know how to grade.  I mean if you hold a note up to the light and see multiple lines... its not UNC   its not that hard.

I personally have gotten several note graded by BCS as the cost is not that bad and it "stores" the note as well.   Its not like you can't cut it out of the holder again.