Jim in L.A. Very interesting article. Thanks for providing the link. The comparisons are valid. However, the difference in the writer's approach and what is going on here, with respect to chip slabbing, is that OUR objections are coming from the grass-roots level of a relatively large hobby organization. The writer's comments are that of a single columnist.... much like those in the numismatic community. Sure, there were plenty of individuals opposed to coin slabbing, way back then. But their voices were singular.
What ORGANIZATION took the position that CC & GTCC is about to take, if those supporting the ban are elected?
I still believe that if CC & GTCC, as an ORGANIZATION, fights the coming onslaught, we can be successful. I think one of the the reasons slabbing wasn't curbed in the coin industry is because the organization itself (ANA), that was supposed to be protecting the collectors, involved itself in the grading and encapsulating of coins through their own ANACS; so how could it object to someone else coming in and doing the same thing? What collector's organizations spoke out on behalf of the baseball card collecting hobby? Is there such an organization in the baseball card collecting hobby such as ours? Is the APS (American Philatelic Society) going to take a stand regarding slabbing of stamps, similar to what we are doing now? I doubt it.
In short, we reap what we sow. We can challenge those who would change our beloved hobby forever .... or we can roll over and play dead and let them run over us. The choice is really up to each individual member.
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