The most expensive card in the history of the hobby is a PSA 10 that was formerly a PSA 9. Get those 9s and dream big, baby.
Yeah youāre crazy, no one should be doing this period.
10s are the only way to collect, donāt let anyone else tell you otherwise
I think selling 10s and replacing them with 9s + still having some extra money in the pocket after the 10 sales is very ideal. The difference between 10s and 9s isnāt that huge most of the time anyway. So no, I donāt think you are crazy at all. You are smart
I think it is really dependent on what the cards are and what kinda capital youāre working with. Imo, a lot of PSA 9 cards are undervalued, relative to their PSA 10 counterparts. It doesnāt make sense to me to spend over $5K on 1st edition WotC holos PSA 10, when their PSA 9 counterparts are <$1000, for example. For broke bois like myself, Iād much rather grab a 9 and use the extra money on one of the other 100+ things that I want/ are ābetter buys.ā
This is exactly the play Iāve been doing and plan to do, itās nice to grade multiples of the same card in good condition to be able to hope to keep one that doesnāt hit a 10.
Iām glad I didnāt settle for 9s all these years. If you can afford to keep the 10s, hang on to them. Some day youāll be glad you did;)
I think another thing worth mentioning is that if youāre buying WOTC-era holos that are PSA 8 or 9 they are actually generally really nice cards compared to what you will likely ever find raw at this point (unless you get really lucky). In fact, I still think a lot of them are underappreciated at times (especially 1st Edition Base & Shadowless holos). Obviously, 10s are where the big money will go long-term, but from a strict collecting/enjoyment perspective the value in 8s and 9s compared to a 10 is pretty unmatched. With more modern cards though, I think a 10 should always be what you go for unless you simply donāt value a 10 higher than a 9 in your collection for a given card.
dump your 10s
to me
To give you an answer I ask you first, are you financially okay? If not I would do this.
For modern cards 10 is a must, with some small exception, for example Special Delivery Pikachu, 12% to get PSA 10, something like that.
For vintage 9 itās ok when the 10 is it at least 3 times the 9 price.
The only other exception should be your dream card a 10 is must, will make you feel better haha.
1x PSA 10 1st Edition Slowking or 50x PSA 8 1st Edition Slowkings?
Honestly, PSA 7 + is Near Mint and should reflect pack fresh openings, however thereās been some mystery PSA 6ās that have been pack fresh as well.
Opt for PSA 7+ if you can afford, but thereās nothing wrong with PSA 4ās. Right?
Wasnāt the last PSA 10 sale $30K so like 100x PSA 8? LOL
9s are cool since i canāt afford the 10s XD
Second place PSA 9 is the first loser
PSA 10 + PSA 7 is an underrated combo, seriously. Well, maybe not underrated, I guess this is precisely what some of the PSA 10 + binder combo dudes are doing. Good 7ās are still clean enough to where the condition doesnāt suck all the fun out of looking at the card, and then you do 10ās for the favorites/stonks whenever feasible.
Donāt have much more to add, much good advice from both sides have been given already.
Maybe one thing; @mrmilk , did you make this thread after going through it in your head, making sense of one option in every way imaginable, but you still canāt shake the feeling that the other option is ultimately the right thing for you to do? If so, my vague advice would be to trust your gut feeling.
Yeah I was leaning towards the selling 10s for 9s option but since most people I see are upgrading their cards to the higher grade when possible, I thought it would be interesting to see what some other perspectives had to say.
Iām very happy with my 9s. Most of the time the 10 is not worth the premium for me.
Never understood the appeal in 10ās, I can never tell them apart from 8-9.
Lots of awful 7s and 8s. 9s and 10s can be really tricky to differentiate. Sometimes Iāll buy an 8 if itās just factory lines or manufacture issue with the cut. To me, that is a card as manufactured. 8s with wear derived from play or postproduction mishandling make me an unhappy camper, however.
I buy many 8s and 9s. Have a few 10s, too. Seldom touch a holdered 7, thatās a binder card. Not paying graded premiums for something I can see with photos. Exception for rarities.
Honestly, PSA 7 + is Near Mint and should reflect pack fresh openings, however thereās been some mystery PSA 6ās that have been pack fresh as well.
Opt for PSA 7+ if you can afford, but thereās nothing wrong with PSA 4ās. Right?
From cracking out 8s for binder sets, I can say that very, very few have been anywhere close to āpack fresh.ā The only ones that come to mind were a 1st Ed holo Dark Arbok with very prominent print lines and an extremely off-center Wailord ex, but those were 2 out probably close to 100. The vast majority of 8s (again, in my experience) are clearly not pack fresh. Nothing wrong with PSA 8-quality condition, but itās not the ideal grade for people wanting pack-fresh cards. Itās a great choice for collectors who just want a card with a front that looks nice at a glance, though.