Industrial Inspection & Consulting has introduced a groundbreaking service, offering to CT scan sealed packs of trading cards for $75. Originally intended to demonstrate the capabilities of their CT scanning technology, this service has quickly become a hot topic within the trading card community.
Service Details
For a fee of $75, Industrial Inspection will CT scan sealed packs of trading cards, providing customers with the necessary viewing software to analyze the contents. The company plans to expand this service to include sealed boxes soon.Community Reaction
The reaction from the trading card community has been mixed. Some collectors are excited about the potential of this technology, while others are concerned about its implications. An industry insider speculated that the technology would primarily impact high-end products and questioned whether collectors could effectively use the scans without prior experience.According to Keith Irwin, general manager at Industrial Inspection, the company received ten requests within two hours of posting their initial case study on YouTube. This spike in interest has led to a 17,000 percent increase in website traffic.
“We started to get a lot of interest,” Irwin told cllct. “Not just from individuals and collectors, but also from auction houses. It seems like everybody is mad, but also everybody wants to be involved. And if we don’t offer this service, somebody else will.”
Irwin declined to provide further details due to non-disclosure agreements but noted that most inquiries have been about the capabilities of the technology. There is speculation that group breakers might use this technology to identify and keep the best boxes, while others consider its use for authenticating sealed vintage boxes.
Ethical Concerns
The introduction of this service raises significant ethical and moral questions. Collaborating with auction houses or authenticators could be seen as a positive step, but it also risks limiting access for individual collectors who want to verify their own collections. It’s challenging to distinguish between positive and negative use cases.“The grand question is: If we don't do it, what happens?” Irwin asked. “The answer is, if we don't do it, somebody will. We choose to participate because we know we can be responsible actors.”
Despite their intentions, the potential impact on the secondary market, particularly for high-end products, is significant. Scanning packs or boxes of low- and mid-tier products might not be cost-effective, but for vintage sports cards, early Pokémon releases, and high-end ultra-modern sets, the technology could be a game-changer.
Future of Card Scanning
Irwin mentioned that Industrial Inspection could continue to thrive without the card scanning service, though it does present a lucrative revenue stream. A potential solution for card manufacturers could be using dosimeter stickers that change color when exposed to radiation, indicating if a box has been scanned.For now, Industrial Inspection plans to move forward with scanning packs and, eventually, boxes. They may also scan encapsulated sealed packs for collectors who want to open them.
Regardless of the services offered, the ethical and moral implications will be a persistent issue for Industrial Inspection. The company’s website acknowledges, “Pandora’s box is open,” and collectors seem to agree.
“We’ve clearly touched a nerve in the community,” Irwin said. “People have built their lives around these industries, and it makes us question if we’ve done the right thing. But if we didn’t reveal this and offer it as a service, people would be doing it in secret. We’re in a position where we’re doing the wrong thing if we do nothing, and we’re doing the wrong thing if we do something.”