For the life of me I can't understand why this is an emotional issue? Specifically how does grading
items affect collecting? Does it drive up price like dealers monopolizing machines to short the market? Does it drive up prices like shill bidding by hoarding collectors? It may be a problem but there seems to be far more pressing ones detracting from strike collecting. Perhaps these other abuses are just not as "emotional" as slabbing. Perhaps these other abuses are a far greater danger than grading of an item by an independent company.

Tom