Strong cards are cracked and regraded. Whereas there is zero incentive to crack a misgraded card like this.
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I said not a 10 lol
But definitely also not a 9
To me personally it’s too subjective to assign the kind of monetary premiums we see on 10s.
As soon as it’s a science I’d have no complaints. Though I’m not holding my breath that this will happen
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Yeah I completely understand and agree. A psa 9 shadowless charizard is 4500 - 5k. Where a 10 is 70kish. A 14x increase is astronomical
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It’s important to ask yourself if the minuscule difference between a 9 and a 10 is worth the premium to you. For some cards, it may be justified. For others, it is insane.
When buying 10s, I am very particular; I want a virtually perfect card. If I’m buying 9s, I want a strong copy. My personal preferences cause me to take more time to complete goals, but I find that I am much happier with my collection this way.
I would encourage you to continue to develop your personal preferences. There was a poll not too long ago that asked collectors what they mind most in terms of imperfections on Surface, Corners, Edges, Centering on the front and back, and as you could imagine, each of us had slightly different preferences.
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What like about that poll is that holo scratches was the biggest red flag for a majority of us. That to me is just a big bummer and I’d rather take slight whitening on a card over a holo scratch
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I do think WOTC in particular is a little bit of label chasing because the quality control of some sets was so bad I think most cards ride the line between 9s and 10s anyway and it really comes down to what kind of mood the grader was in.
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I don’t buy graded, but id consider buying 9s or even 8s for some of the high end 10s. Especially with wotc, the 10 premium is crazy. If you can source the cards, grading can be quite effective and fairly easy with modern. Might save some cash that way.
I can’t speak for others, but if someone asked for a lowball on a psa 10 because its a “weak 10”, id probably block the buyer lol
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Another point to keep in mind when buying 10s for investments is that the 10 premium can fluctuate wildly over time. Unlike 9s which stabilize, 10 sales can be several hundred or even thousand of dollars apart. When a large portion of a card’s value is based on conditional rarity rather than the card itself, you can expect to see said premium tank as more copies are graded or sold.
Everyone remember this guy going for 5 figures? Not doing so hot now.
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What’s the story with the card?
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To address the OP, you need to find out what’s most important to you and then begin collecting items that fit your short/long term goals. When I got back into the hobby I was hyper focused on condition and I assumed a PSA 10 was “perfect”. Eventually I determined the cost to condition ratio between a 9 and 10 was not worth it to me given my collection goals are fairly wide.
Some individuals look to complete master sets of all PSA 10’s because they enjoy the challenge of grading their own 10’s. Or you might determine you only need 10 slabs for your collection goals and you want them the highest grade possible. Find out what’s important to you and go from there.
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I didn’t really plan to at first, but I got an ebay search alert and realised it could be a good move!
One was half the price, the other one was more.
I’ll make a detailed reply with photos next week when this other one comes in the post - it might make more sense to see why I thought the grades were perhaps on the weaker side
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At the end of the day grading is done by humans and it’s just so subjective. Yes there are guidelines but when you get up there with 9s/10s. The details are so minor and it’s just a number at that point
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Totally agree but some collectors do value that differential. I don’t really collect slabs but one of my favorite cards is Fossil Kabutops. A PSA 9 is $40 and a PSA 10 is $126. For my favorite card I’ll just buy the 10 as the all in gross price is still well within my budget (even though it’s 3x).
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I think for that price point it’s totally understandable. I just think when it gets to be 20x more, I personally believe the premium might not be worth it. But that’s just my opinion and I’m sure if I had the ability to get certain cards in certain grades I would probably feel different. It’s all so subjective
1st Ed Pichu Neo Genesis is a perfect example. PSA 9 $300, PSA 10 $10,000 which is 33X.
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Well what do you guys think on this one. My fav card is birthday Pikachu and a seller has two copies in a PSA 10. I already own a CGC 10 and a couple PSA 9 and 8.5 and 8s a PSA 9 is around $190 and a PSA 10 is 2-3k. I’m negotiating with the seller and have gotten the price down below 2k. Is it still worth it on my part
It’s an unanswerable question for anyone except you.
Maybe the 10 will be the pinnacle of your collection and its nonnegotiable. Or, you might say you’d rather buy 10 PSA 9’s, crack them out of the slabs and submit them and try and get 1 PSA 10 out of the lot. Then at that point you might have 1 PSA 10 and 9 PSA 9’s for the same price (less grading costs).
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