Beckett's run of Polar Bears

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/beckettmedia

Am I the only sucker for crisp, fresh out of the pouch, polar bear tobacco cards? With no hint (to me) of being altered, you can be sure that I'll be throwing a bid or two on one (or several) of them. The conflict of interest argument doesn't bother me because I bid on the card and not the grade. Who knows, maybe I'll win one.

Oh, and I really like the way they look in the Beckett holders.

Agreed, those are some nice polar bears for sure. Not too often you see them without any tobacco stains on them.

Grading cards with tobacco stains can be tricky though. Does this Cobb deserve a 5 with the dark stain in the top left corner? Otherwise it is very nice. Back is relatively clean but still some traces of tobacco.

IMHO that Cobb is just too strong to be a 4.
It is an entry level 5.
Edited to add: maybe better.
But is their 3.5 a 4 ?

I won this one from BeckettMedia the other night.

the cards look great, very fresh. i'd give them the benefit of the doubt and bump them up if they're borderlines just because of the eye-appeal factor.

That 3.5 red portrait had what was described as a tear at the bottom edge. I think SGC or PSA would have crossed it to a 2 at best.