Standing by a grade

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Touchy subject.....

Grades are opinions.
Graders get paid to give opinions, knowledgeable, educated opinions.
It is in their best interest to give the best opinion they can give at the time (not to mention self respect).
You can not guarantee an opinion.
You can not say an opinion is right or wrong. You can only agree or disagree with it.
As grading goes, there is no definitive source to say a grade is right or wrong. If there was, then there would not be a need for TPG's.

The only opinion that matters is the opinion of the one pulling money out of their pocket to either grade a note or buy a graded note.
Just because it says...., does not mean it is.....

That's my opinion......

Disclaimer: I have no graded notes. It has nothing to do with grading. They just don't fit in my little box.
 

Until you can boil down every single grade to a set of objective definitions, grading is 100% subjective. What is a counting flick? What is the difference between a counting "flick" and a counting "fold" and a counting "crease"? What makes a centre fold "light"? How perfectly centered does a note have to be to be considered perfectly centered? Is a dog-eared corner of 2mm better than a 1mm dog-eared corner? Is it enough to change the grade? Given two notes that differ only in the size of the dog-eared corner, which one is better? Do they both get the same grade?

Grading is ENTIRELY opinion. If it could be made objective, then we could get computers to grade notes just as easily as they QA nuts and bolts to make sure they are produced correctly.

Maybe we need to determine an exhaustive list of defects and assign each a number of "demerit points" (hmm, where have I heard that before?) and then start adding up points. Then take the total number of points and you get your grade.  But then you run into the same problem as before... Where do you draw the line between a 1-demerit crease and a 2-demerit crease? Flip a coin? Educated guess? Gut instinct? Round it up or down to the closest definition? What if the crease is weaker than a 2-demerit crease, but longer than a 1-demerit crease?

Good luck objectifying this stuff!

I disagree.

You can agree or disagree, in part or in whole, it's just my opinion.

Grading is subjective. Even if you have only 2 grades, Cir and UNC, there is still a line to cross. What constitutes crossing the line, will at some point become subjective, an opinion.

Does it say opinion on the holder once the note is graded?

Yes, right were it says the grade.

Again, my opinion only.

I think no matter what.. there are collectors that will get notes graded and buy graded notes, and there are collectors that will not get notes graded by a TPG or even touch a graded note with a ten foot pole no matter who the grader is.
Everyone will have their own personal reasons and whether they make sense to anyone else it probably doesn't really matter because that's their choice.
I personally know collectors and dealers that have had notes graded and being unhappy with the grade obtained, they removed the note from the TPG's holder and sell the note raw....again it boils down to the buyer being knowledgeable enough to only pay what they think they should be paying....
Once a note is in a holder it is not always easy to see things that may be easier to see when the note was out of a holder, especially when it comes to being cleaned or pressed.
The bottom line is that everyone has an opinion and its up to the buyer or seller to agree or disagree with it and deal with that decision accordingly….and when getting a note graded you are relying on the graders opinion and paying for that opinion regardless if you like it or not…A nice way to make money for a TPG…they win if your note sucks or if it a GEM... and best of all.... no liability or guarantees