Well said, well considered, well put. Thanks for taking the time to do it. My view is similar - CGC bring far, far more positives than negatives to the hobby and have without doubt energised it. There are few things in life which are wholly good or without flaws. I personally dislike the wide monetary distinctions between the very top grades that have been created, intentionally or otherwise. Given that most agree grading is subjective, to place a massive premium on, say, a 9.9 over a 9.8 doesn't feel right to me given that on any given day, two graders may disagree on which is which.
But again, the positives far outweigh these kinds of 'top end' issues. People are a mixed bag, some honest, some not. Some are unintentionally dishonest. Etc. When I sold my raw collection on ebay I undergraded every single book as I couldn't stand the thought that I'd be accused of ripping someone off. I would get feedback like "advertises VFN and sends NM". I rarely had a problem as a result, but probably left a fortune on the table. What gets you down sometimes is seeing sellers with no idea how to grade / package comics but with 100% glowing feedback. So I agree again Rock, maybe we should be more demanding of sellers who don't deliver.