.... than speak out and remove all doubt...

Well, I'm speaking out... (warning long post)

Why is slabbing so bad? I think many people are against it and think it’s bad but are not sure why. I don’t like it and I thought about why I don’t like it and what the slabbers could do to make acceptable it.
1. Slabs come in plastic containers for protection and to prove tamper resistant. I have seen many chips in plastic from Airtites to Ziploc bags. That didn’t offend me. One thing in common, was that one way or another I could remove ALL the chips.
2. The slab has the name and grade of the chip on it. I have received many chips in envelopes or cardboard protectors with the name and grade (or condition of the chip) written in ink in the margin. Sometimes they even had a price marked in the corner. I found nothing offensive about that. Usually I did know who marked it and had some opinion of their credibility and fairness.
3. I have seen people comment and give opinions on the board as to a grade or condition of a chip, even have seen people give opinions on price and value. These people giving opinions ranged from novices to what the general population would agree were experts in the field. I found no offence to that and I did not always agree with the opinions, but still took no offence at the action.
So far, the container, the materials the containers are made from, or the opinion of a value or the grading of a chip I have taken NO offence to.

What I DO take offence to are:
1. The grading system, that is vague and ambiguous. Where five people using it come up with five different grades. It has not been sanctioned as the ‘standard’ for the hobby and it ‘lends’ itself to broad interpretation.
2. The slabbing companies try their best to create the ‘illusion’ that there are ‘supreme graders’ somewhere that somehow know all and see all. Therefore gaining the confidence that any person can put their blind trust in them, while at the same time disclaiming everything they do and carrying no insurance, bond, or responsibility for any damages they cause.
3. These graders are not named people that are well known and respected in the field, nor are they certified in any manner to guarantee consistency in their grading. I have never heard mention of any outside auditing on these companies to insure quality and consistency. This point is important as they are charging money for their ‘professional’ opinion. This is not like asking the board for a general opinion.
4. The fact that the plastic case is sealed and ‘tamper resistant’ is done for a reason. The reason is that the grade they assign and the chip can never be separated, this lends itself to give further consumer confidence in the product. Remember what started this ‘tamper resistant’ trend? It was the Advil laced with poison. Now Advil wants to make SURE you know that what they SAY is in the bottle IS in the bottle. The BIG difference here is that Advil carries MILLIONS of dollars worth of product liability and they stand behind the product until the bitter end. Slabbing companies let you know up front they will turn tail and run, NO liability. Remember #3 (graders Not Certified), which is the REASON they will not accept any liability.
5. The elaborate grading system that seems to overlap grades and slices grades down to fractions of a grade. This is also done for a reason. ANY slight difference is perceived to be a difference in value. Case in point, a man in Florida raises oranges and sells half the crop to Sunkist. They put the little “Sunkist” stickers on each orange. The others are sold locally to produce markets and grocery stores as ‘oranges’. Guess which ones cost more? You got it “Sunkist” because they are perceived to be somehow better. Unfortunately the tree didn’t know the difference. Guess whom the farmer wants to sell his crop to? You guessed it Sunkist; they can pay more because they have ‘created’ a specialized market for their “Superior Oranges”. The slabbing companies do EXACTLY the same thing by making that fractional (and perceived) distinction in grade. To prove this difference sharacoins (a slabbing company) while posting on the board how wonderful slabbing was and how it protected the consumer was quietly auctioning two almost identical Sacagawean One Dollar coins on ebay. The difference was one hundredth of a grade point between the two. The asking bids were $100 different, remember these coins were virtually identical. Neither coin was over a year old and both there were many millions minted. Kind of like sticking a “Sunkist” sticker on one and saying, “This one must be better!” Was there an artificial market created here? Absolutely. Is this a way of ‘protecting’ the consumer? Hardly.
By creating ‘specialized’ markets and fractional distinctions in grades can (plus paying someone to do this) can only make the chip cost go up, whether it’s for investment or for hobby. It will eventually skew the hobbyist view of his own chips, those chips he was trading last week for face value now seem to be somehow a little different and worth a little more than face. The slabbing companies could care less, because they are like a stockbroker, they get commission when the price is going up AND while it is plummeting. If my chip dealing were over 50% sales I would be all for slabbing, because it would artificially inflate my sales profits. If I were an investor I would be scared to death of slabbing (especially with no standards of grading) as the bottom could fall out at any time on chips I had overpaid for. As a hobbyist I just have to pay more for chips and many chips have now become out of my reach. Is slabbing good or bad? It all depends on which side of the fence you are on. Never use it as a substitute for education, always knew or at least have some idea what you are doing. Ray Charles doesn’t skydive; there is a reason for that! Don’t be fooled into letting someone else ‘protect’ you. If you do you should be able to smell a scam because you will be right in the middle of it. One last point; are slabbers bad? No, they are people too, just selling ‘Sunkist’ instead of ‘plain oranges’.

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