PSA 8/9 Grade Shadowless vs PSA 9/10 1st Ed. Jungle/Fossil?

General
1

I have been away from collecting since 2002. I am looking for some advice on the mentioned sets and the growth potential for each.

If I were to choose the shadowless base set, I’d only be able to afford the Charizard in a PSA 8 and maybe the remaining cards in PSA 9. This would be my first purchase if I started with Shadowless.

If I were to choose the 1st Edition jungle or fossil set, I’d be able to probably afford most cards in PSA 10 with maybe one or two in PSA 9. I’d probably be looking to buy the Dragonite or Lapras first in PSA 10. It seems to me that Jungle and Fossil have several gem cards under $200, which seems undervalued to me?

If you were starting from scratch, where would you begin based on growth potential?

Thanks so much for your input!!

2

Just buy the ones that you like the most mate.

1 Like
3

I’d say shadowless, but choose what you like the most (artwork etc.)

4

I agree to buy what you like the most. But to try to answer your question, it’s anyone’s guess which of those sets will grow fastest. However, if you’re looking for the most conservative investment, 1st edition base is it.

5

I say go for the chase cards first and that seems to be what you’re doing based on your OP. Also you don’t have to complete full sets or even full holo sets unless that’s an essential part of your collecting goals. I’m starting to realise I don’t care for like half of my collection. For example, I have the Shadowless 9s but I don’t care for my Magneton or Nidoking, Poliwrath,etc… I could have bought other cards I actually like instead.

You’re right that some cards are very cheap, but no one knows if they will ever increase that much. Sometimes a card is just not in high demand even if it’s 20 years old in PSA 10 1st Edition. Good luck whatever move you decide to make and welcome to efour. :blush:

6

Go for the Shadowless. They are just as rare I think as first edition and based on the PSA 10 prices for them being sky high, I would bet the 9’s will follow eventually down the road as well. Jungle and Fossil will always be in the background compared to Base Set and I would go with shadowless but a couple key cards like dragonite or the eeveelutions would be nice.

Short answer is that everything will go up and Shadowless is a bit undervalued right now in some ways.

7

Thanks for the insight and advice, everyone. I’m still kind of up in the air about what to do. I really like the thoughts of having PSA 10 cards, but Jungle or Fossil may not have the best potential over the base from what I’ve read…

8

Focus less on growth potential and just buying what you like…I personally rarely pick up 10s just because the difference between a 9 and 10 is minimal. In some cases some of my 9s look better than my 10s. So why break the bank? You still get the same card. Later down the road I would think it would be easier to unload 9s as more people can afford them. Also there is still a lot of mint jungle/fossil 1st edition product out there so you can expect the pop of 10s to keep rising and they will be available for a long time to come if you decide to upgrade.

9

For growth PSA 10s for 1st fossil and jungle are the only cards to buy if you want an invesment.

9s are just too common and the pop growth rate is high, 10s pop grows much slower.

10

Gotta catch em all. Go for all of them and just spend a lot of time on eBay looking for good deals and being patient. Slowly piece sets together as you find good deals/can afford to buy cards. Also it’s not impossible to find raw mint cards on eBay that you can grade yourself to go for those shadowless 8s or even jungle fossil 1st ed psa 10s. It’s not easy to find raw cards in gem 10 condition but it’s not impossible.

11

You don’t have to strictly go one way or the other. If you like the idea of holding onto some 10s, then maybe you should start there. Pick a few that you want either based off artwork, price point, or both. Then you can put what you have left into Base. It’s good to diversify anyways, right? :slightly_smiling_face: I would also suggest hunting around for some deals or bidding on auctions if you have time so you can max your value.

or…

This might be kind of weird but if you’re really REALLY on the fence about what to buy, try buying one Base 8/9 and one Jungle/Fossil 10. Get them, hold them in your hands, and then try to decide which one makes you happier. Maybe physically holding some cards will sway you one way or the other.

If you’re going to have these cards for a long time, just make sure you don’t forget to pick some that will put a smile on your face at the end of the day.