These are our relevant, unifying beliefs and represent the core values behind our products and services.
Whether a collectible is entirely unique, comes from a limited print run or is a mass-manufactured product, the item itself has a condition. The amount of damage, patina or other wear can be evaluated and quantified relative to a pristine version of that item.
One person's "7" is another's "5" based on each individual's preferences. Grease pen markings might seem a minor defect to one appraiser, but a major eyesore to another. The evaluation of a single reviewer, no matter how experienced or "official" their status, is but one vote when measured against a 360° review by the market as a whole.
Even a novice appraiser can look at an item and form an opinion about its condition. While evaluations from Grādrz with a proven track record may carry more weight than those of novices, the opinions of even first-time Grādrz are recorded and measured against the whole of the Grād.
Items may be bumped, dropped or otherwise physically damaged. Weathering may erode or cause discoloration. Items may be written on or partially painted over. Various events occur which can decrease the Grād of an item over time. Likewise, Grādz may also be increased. Comic books, for example, may be pressed, dry-cleaned or otherwise improved, such as by preservation or sometimes by restoration removal.
There is inherent value in knowing the ownership history of a collectible. Like the red violin, this is the item's journey or story. Provenance is built into Grādrz from the start. Grād'd collectibles may be Transfr'd between Grādrz accounts using bonbonz. Each Transfr is tracked and recorded in the history of the item.
While a slab may preserve some aspects of a collectible from physical damage, slabbed items will continue to deteriorate in other ways. Items stored in sunlight will still show signs of color fading. Paper will continue to darken or otherwise degrade. In humid climates -or if slabs are cracked- items may even grow mold or present new foxing or other discoloration.
If the same collectible is slabbed, un-slabbed, then re-slabbed multiple times with a new identifier each time, the Census count will skew upwards. Inflated census numbers can reduce the perceived rarity of an item, especially over time. This phenomenon is demonstrated frequently in comic books, where a slab is often cracked, the book pressed, then sent in to be re-slabbed in hopes of receiving a bump. Resubmission also occurs when the slab or its options commingle with the value of the item itself, as in the case of "vanity labels" or new slab feature enhancements. These "enhancements" are designed to drive up slab sales, but they also exaggerate census statistics.