“At some point” being the operative phrase. I think you’re right, no one here is interested, but E4 is a small community inside a larger group of people who buy Pokemon cards, let alone autographed ones. Ever seen an autograph Whatnot stream? It’s like a feeding frenzy at a fish farm.
To further demonstrate my point, here is a Blastoise signed by Fukuda on PWCC right now with Japanese personalization: Blastyboi. It’s already at $340 and has 6 days left for auction. There are a bunch of Arita autos with personalizations going for plenty of dollars on eBay right now as well.
I didn’t say what he should do is buy it and then plan to offload it. I offered an option of if he wanted one in his collection, and then found a later opportunity to get rid of it he probably could Perhaps not at the same price he bought it, but maybe that doesn’t matter to him. He seems to really like this card so I’m not sure it’s such a dangerous option as you suggest.
Probably true but since he added it was on lowpoppings story to the lore of this tale. Im gonna assume the price has some level of premium added to it, making a resale option even lower lol. But im just here to advocate deep thought on a purchase like this. Im probably overly strict when i buy higher end things myself
Probably the wisest lesson of this entire thread, unless you’re just made of money. I’m strict as well when I’m hitting thousands of dollars on cards so I completely appreciate that sentiment.
Like I said before, it would drive me insane to pay $1,000 (or whatever the cost is) for an auto with a personalization not to me but I know there are plenty of buyers that don’t mind. @alleybro you ultimately just need to do what you want for your collection goals and what you’re financially at peace with. It’s an awesome card for sure. And having one without an auto is awesome. AND, having one personalized to you is also awesome(er).
Haha yeah I might actually get this since I really don’t care about the name , and knowing it’s a low population of 4 and none graded higher , it’s mint 9 is making me think it’s grail too my eyes
I wouldn’t value the low pop of this card very much. There are over 750 shadowless PSA 9 Charizards. It’d probably be difficult to grade a 9 nowadays, but I’d rather take a chance and buy a good looking 9 to crack and get the auto myself and regrade it.
I guess you could do that , just seems like the chance of you getting it too be a grade 9 in condition again drops a lot and that’s a chance I don’t think I would take over buying this with its low pop , rare condition of grade and the sketch it has that looks amazing too me
I am going to agree with @pfm and @A.P.Speeze. You should not focus on the population report.
Arita is signing thousands of cards. It will not be difficult to crack a PSA 8 / 9, get the sketch, and increase the pop report. I know that it may seem impossible given how aggressively these cards are marketed on Instagram, but the reality is quite different than what “lowpopping” and others will make you believe.
I would recommend against buying the card if your interest is primarily in the population report.
Lowpopping is honestly a good guy, I have nothing against him personally. But his job is to be a salesman on Instagram and make every card sound awesome. If we took him very seriously every time he calls something a grail, we’d have enough cups to open a bar
Generally autographed cards are going to be lower grade because people don’t get their high grade cards autographed. Usually people will settle for an EX condition card as the auto is more important to them than the condition of the card. That’s why there are a lot of autos with the authentic grade rather than a number. If you wanted a grail auto, I would say try to get an auto yourself if you can and grade it yourself if you want a high grade. That way you could also get it personalized for yourself as well
I’ll just add that if the card is really speaking to you than go for it!
But I would also encourage trying to get an auto done for yourself in person too. It’s hard to explain but it makes it feel really special in a way that is hard to replicate in this hobby. The closest comparison is probably cracking open your childhood binder and looking at your old cards
This is a great comparison. I’ve been trying to figure out how exactly autos fit into my collection and whether or not I want to purchase them like I do other cards. Getting my first ones recently in person at the Harada signing with personalizations to me was a great experience and I think those cards will likely be some of my most (if not my most) cherished cards I have.
They are so special because no one else can replicate your own experience. Truly one of a kind items in that regard.
After getting cards signed in person, it’s hard for me to want to buy other peoples signed cards and I’ve yet to do it. I think I would make an exception for a Ken Sugimori autograph though
Perhaps not at the same price he bought it, but maybe that doesn’t matter to him. He seems to really like this card so I’m not sure it’s such a dangerous option as you suggest.
