>Under the present system, some folks would rate a given shell fine+
>while others would rate the same shell fine or fine ++.  Only one
>degree of difference. Under a 10-grade system, some would rate a
>given shell 7 while others would rate the same shell anywhere from 5
>through 9.  One or two degrees of difference, though the same amount
>of variation, expressed as percentage.  The system is very
>subjective, and some individuals are more conservative graders than
>others. This will always be true, regardless of the grading system
>used.

Hi Paul,

That's certainly true. We could introduce a 1-100 system and some
dealers would rate a shell 50, while another gives it a 75, though I
think that's definitely a stretch. However, I still maintain that a
10-point system (which is actually a 19-poimt system, since you could
grade something a 7.5, for instance) gets us closer to a "ballpark
figure" we can all live with. Ultimately, shell collectors (also
knows as "the consumers" or "the customers") will decide if a dealer
is overgrading his or her shells. If I buy a shell rated F++ and I
feel it's barely F or F+, I might be tempted to buy another shell
from that dealer if the price is right, but after getting burned a
second time, they won't get any more of my business.

You can easily make the point that the same holds true for guitars
and cameras, the only two collector's items I have any experience
with besides shells. The dealers who are still in business today tend
to be very conservative. The ones who consistently overgraded their
stock have gone belly up. The reason? Buyers talk to each other (we
have this cool thing called e-mail now) and they are quick to let
others know when they've been misled. Of course, vintage guitars
usually cost thousands of dollars, while shells (and most cameras)
are way cheaper. But the bottom line is that the system works because
it's consumer driven.

In the 1960s and '70s, when I had my first big shell collection,
there was no such thing as grading. I walked into a shell shop (I was
lucky enough to live in South Florida where there were plenty of
shell shops back then) and looked at the shells (I was hot into
volutes and cowries back then) and made up my own mind. Is that shell
worth $15? But I could hold it in my hand before making the call.

Now that dealers can put a shell up on their web site or on eBay and
reach thousands of prospective buyers, I believe it's even more
important that we have a system that works. Making the argument that
no two people will ever agree on a rating doesn't make the ten-point
system unmanageable, and certainly doesn't make the existing system
somehow inviolable. It just gives us a bit more play. I'm betting
that I could get any ten people together, give them ten shells to
grade using the 10-point system, and most of the time, you'd see no
more than a two-point difference between any of them, if that.
However, the odds of me getting ten shell collectors together in a
room right now are slim, so I can't possibly win that particular bet.

Look, all of us who buy shells know which dealers grade accurately. A
10-point system wouldn't change the market at all. It would just give
us a better way to express a shell's condition. However, having lived
through the turbulent 1960s and early '70s, where anyone who thought
change was a good thing was labelled a radical, a communist or in
league with the devil, I can see where my proposal would feel like
I'm rocking the boat. By all means, let's hang on to our old,
outmoded grading system if that's what everyone wants. I have my own
boat, so I can rock it all I want. Well, more accurately, the bank
owns the boat, but I still get to rock it.

Best regards,
Jim

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