9.5 or greater are also basically indeterminable too 
Maybe there’s a pattern here
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Maybe it’s a controversial opinion, but I actually think the opposite will happen. Unless the hobby again goes through an incredible period of growth like what happened over the past 4 years, the supply will work in favor of higher grades.
For instance, look at gold star pop growth over the past year:
Mudkip PSA 9 pop growth: 16%
Torchic PSA 9 pop growth: 20%
Treecko PSA 9 pop growth: 22%
vs
Mudkip PSA 8 pop growth: 56%
Torchic PSA 8 pop growth: 30%
Treecko PSA 8 pop growth: 38%
As time moves on, I suspect that the faster rate of increase in PSA 8 pops will widen the price difference between PSA 8s and 9s. Basically, PSA 9 pops aren’t that fleshed out. But PSA 8 pops are even less fleshed out, and have an incredible amount of room to balloon.
I think PSA 10 vs PSA 9 is a different question because the price multiplier is obscene. For those gold stars we’re talking about 5-10x multipliers on PSA 10 values vs PSA 9 values. But For PSA 9s vs PSA 8s, we’re talking about a modest 1.5-2x multiplier. Basically, PSA 9s feel like a a pretty good “value” option at the moment compared to 8s or 10s.
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I agree with the sentiment of others that PSA 9s and 8s will become the choice of many. They fit most budgets and offer excellent eye appeal. Though, I think this trend only fits for vintage.
I don’t see this extending to modern. The modern grading scene has and will continue to be PSA 10 or bust. I see BGS Black Labels expanding even more in modern due to clout-chasing and social media flexing.
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The Unseen Forces Gold Stars are a great example of cards where collectors are forced to collect a lower grade like 8’s or 9’s. I don’t see how the pop of PSA 8’s being more fleshed out will have anything to do with the price of the 10’s. It will only help to establish a more solid difference between 8’s and 9’s. Thus making 8 & 9’s a great budget option. I do realize I might be misunderstanding your point so feel free to dumb it down for me 
@Dyl Agreed! I should have mentioned I was really only referring to vintage cards.
Basically, what I meant to say is:
(1) Current PSA 8 and PSA 9 prices are based on the current supply of PSA 8s and PSA 9s
(2) PSA 8 supply is increasing at a faster rate than PSA 9 supply
(3) Accordingly, the gap between PSA 9 and PSA 8 prices will widen over time
Assuming relative demand doesn’t shift dramatically, (3) follows from (1) and (2) because supply has an inverse relationship with secondary market value. Maybe we agree and I was just misunderstanding the point you were originally making :).
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I think we agree haha. Ultimately the individuals condition preference combined with their budget will determine what they will buy. But 8’s should certainly be more accessible than 9’s and definitely more than 10’s.
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46 votes so far and big majority for only psa 10. I’m glad there were 6 others and I wasn’t alone lol. I do believe this number will go up in time. A few years ago it would’ve been less for sure.
I can’t say that I’m shocked by these data. Pokemon collectors love PSA.
I think you underestimate how obsessed collectors can be with aesthetics. Just a few months ago, e4 was blowing up because BGS hinted at changing the design of their label/slab - and that was aesthetic issues within a single grading company.
Personally, I dislike having CGC or BGS slabs in my collection because they don’t follow the aesthetic of the rest. I’ve carried those slabs for some time and admired them, but I always end up cracking and submitting to PSA.
Edit: Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I would rather have a beautiful PSA 10 than a BGS Black Label or CGC Perfect. It would only be the financial prospect of selling BGS Black Labels or CGC Perfects that would prevent me from crossing to PSA.
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I didn’t expect to be in the majority. I said earlier even if only 10 percent that adds up to a lot of people. I expect this number to go up. A poll in a year or two would be interesting. I see it as a knock on affect that’s already in motion. Of course people love psa but over here in the UK and Europe cgc are making it easier to grade with them by opening offices which will accelerate things further.
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I’d take the Black label or Gold label 10 (if they existed 
) over PSA any day but I agree on the CGC.
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I think competition is healthy/necessary for the industry to continue providing excellent services and innovating. I am all for people grading with who they prefer.
I agree that CGC will continue to expand, but I’ve been somewhat surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for CGC Perfects compared to BGS Black Labels. BGS Black Labels are in their heyday right now. 
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Need cgc to keep psa on the right track. Without competition bad things happen. Bgs black label came first and now they’ve graded too many it will be their undoing. The rise of the cgc perfect 10 will dominate that field in time. @dyl you’re good at searching see if you can find bad cgc perfect 10s.
The reason for the lack of enthusiasm for CGC perfects vs black labels is definitely a matter of label aesthetics, IMO. Because outside of that exact grade, BGS and CGC prices have relative parity. Giving a 10 quad a “black label” is pretty transparently a gimmick, but it’s one that people legitimately fall for. It’s such an easy gimmick to implement, too, which makes it even weirder that CGC hasn’t capitalized on the “perfect” grade at all.
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I voted for only PSA 10, but I actually primarily collect CGC. The reason why I voted for that option isn’t because I prefer PSA (because I don’t), but because I think distinguishing between gem mint cards is super arbitrary. The difference between 9 and 9.5 typically isn’t arbitrary, IMO, but the difference between a 9.5Q++ and a 10B is totally arbitrary, IMO. How can a card be more flawless than another apparently flawless card? Whereas a 9 will have actual imperfections, a strong 9.5 is going to be essentially flawless, as will be a 10.
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My views on differences between the top grades is the same as yours. It won’t stop higher grades being more desirable because too few know how its all a bit of a sham past a certain point.
There seems to be 8 of us atm who would do more than just psa. Please feel free to chip in and say something. I’ll protect you lol.
Our numbers are increasing as word spreads lmao. 10.
This is interesting on a side note.
Modern collectors are probably crazy enough. I can see it. I don’t foresee it being a very prudent collecting style lol
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Not sure why this topic shows up as new, but just watched this.
I think they do far more than PSA or any of the others who take like 5 seconds per card or whatever it was.
Seems like overkill.
Collecting master set at psa 10 is something very very few people are doing. Also, if anyones been paying attention… the people attempting to sell PSA 10s at a high premium are not finding any buyers. Most prople are not willing to pay stupid high premiums for a psa 10, cgc 9.5, etc. The majority of these cards are ending up in auctions.
This entire psa boom all started with 1st ed base zard, and then that logic spread and got applied to all pokemon cards. Five years ago collectors rarely graded non grails. Once the new investors wise up, they will become less valuable. Old school way of collecting was to acquire NM raw copies. You can literally still do that at a fraction of the price. Not sure why people are paying $1000s for a piece of plastic that subjectively says your card is Mint.
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