IN this installment of SCL the conversation turns to conflicts of interest, price guides, and how the hobby leans on data. Jeremy, Chris McGill (HoJ), and Josh Adams unpack a pointed question about Beckett running both a price guide and a grading company, and whether that structure was ever as conflicted as people now claim it to be. From there, they move into how PSA uses Card Ladder as one data source, what Card Ladder Value actually is, and why no single comp should ever be treated as “the” price of a card.

Topics in this segment include:
• Beckett’s price guide plus grading model and whether the real concern is what would happen if someone launched that structure today
• How conflicts exist everywhere in business and why safeguards and transparency matter more than pretending they do not
• Chris’s breakdown of Card Ladder Value, confidence levels, and why different sales of the same card can show different CL values
• Dan’s Gene Hackman one-of-one example and why getting a “good buy” can make algorithmic estimates look off
• The problem with overreliance on comps and why the hobby is nothing like an efficient stock market
• How shill bidding, thin markets, and buyer ignorance can distort individual sales
• Josh’s card show story about sellers who freeze when there is no recent comp and what real critical thinking should look like
• Arena Club’s “where collecting begins” slogan and a candid debate on repacks, gambling, and what collecting actually is
• Whether Card Ladder is a price guide or simply a historical data tool that PSA and others use for due diligence

Sports Cards Live streams live on YouTube every Saturday night, and this audio comes from that live video show.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, subscribe, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and check out the full video replays on the Sports Cards Live YouTube channel.

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