Buying a slab: the five questions to ask

The five questions

1. 01What does the grader’s own record show?. Look the number up yourself on the grader’s own page, typed in, not from a screenshot the seller sends. Save the result with the date.
2. 02Does the slab match the record?. The card, the set, the grade and any subgrades, and the grader’s images where it shows them, set beside clear photographs of this slab, front and back, taken for you.
3. 03Where has the card been since grading?. Who has held it, where, and from when to when. A card bought last month from a show and a card held in one collection for ten years carry different histories; both should be written down.
4. 04How does it ship to you?. How it is packed, the carrier, the tracking, and who is responsible if it goes missing on the way. The handoff to the carrier is a change of custody and belongs on the record.
5. 05What is in writing?. The seller’s description, the cert number, the photographs and the answers above, in one message you can keep. Anything said only by phone is not on the record.

What this check does not prove

• That the card is right. Good answers make a purchase easier to stand behind. They are not an authentication, a grading or an appraisal.
• What the card is worth. A grade is not a price. The lookup says nothing about value, and neither does this guide.
• Ownership. A matching record does not show who owns the card or whether the seller can pass title to it. That is a question for the seller, in writing.