To date, I’ve only collected cards graded PSA 9/10 and have always valued condition first and foremost. However, I now have interest in cards that are hard to obtain and/or are too pricey in mint condition and would be happy to settle for lower grades. I just don’t know how cards tend to look below PSA9 (at least in person).
I know this is subjective, but at what PSA grade would you say cards take a noticeable dip in aesthetic appeal? Just at a glance… most of my 9’s could probably pass as 10’s upon quick inspection, but at what grade is the decrease in condition immediately apparent?
There are some 6s and even 5s that have decent fronts and all the damage is the whitening on the back and some scratches on the foil. Some 8s only have centering issues, printlines, and a minor knick etc
I’d say at lower grades appeal largely depends on the condition of the front of the card and how many foil scratches you find acceptable.
It really depends on the card so it’s hard to pinpoint a specific grade. I have PSA 6-7s that look like PSA 9s. At some point I realized certain cards just transcend any and all grades due to the sheer intrinsic rarity so I’m just happy if I own the card, be it raw or PSA Auth/Any numbered grade. As the grade goes down, on average so does visual appeal, but you can learn not fixate on it.
I don’t like under 8 and ideally not under 8.5 if it’s something I can realistically get in a 9 or higher. For 8s I am picky and prefer poor centering to scratches or corner wear.
Because of the nature of PSA’s grading scale there is a large range of how cards look as you move down from 9/10. You know what to expect from a 10. A 9 might be a little off-center or have a white nick or two on the back. However, when you get to 6, as people have already mentioned, you can get completely clean cards with tiny indents OR cards that have severe edgewear and scratching on the foil. This is when it really gets important, in my opinion, to buy the card instead of the grade. I feel comfortable enough buying 9s and 10s sight unseen because I know PSA’s margin for error is pretty small.
I do think there’s opportunity here since not all 6s are created equal. For example, one thing that I think might be underoptimized are Masaki cards. Watch smpratte’s breakdown video on them if you’re not familiar with what I’m about to talk about. The cards’ frequent indents on either corner downgrade them, in PSA’s eyes, to 5-6. This is when the indents are on an otherwise beautiful example of the card with flawless holo and no edgewear. These are basically mint-gem mint looking cards minus the indents that are small, on the corners, and require proper lighting to see (and at that are usually only visible on the back). These cards are nice but their prices (from what I remember and I’m too lazy to check right now) are the same as other 5-6s (edgewear and foil scratches, noticeable creases) AND lower than the 7s and 8s that have more visible damage.
Something to note is that this is already a thing for sports cards. Different examples of the same grade can sell for wide ranges due to differences in the type of damage sports collectors find appealing (centering, printing clarity, corners, etc.). This is especially true for 1, which naturally has the most variance (the worst of the worst to just below 1.5).