In fairness to him, I did overstate my case originally. So he’s not entirely wrong. Regardless, once an argument devolves into personal insults, I’m out. I’m simply not interested in bitterly feuding with people.
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There are other places on the internet to trade whiny insults like fifth graders – IMO I didn’t think that’d be a problem here lol.
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Exactly. It’s uncommon here – usually this forum is a great platform for civil discourse. There are members here (qwachansey and fourthstartcg come to mind) who disagree with me often but that always engage in good faith. There’s nothing I respect more than that.
I’m a relatively new member, and that’s exactly what I love about this community. It’s great when people can disagree and lay out their thoughts in a concise, respectful manner.
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I just think it’s funny that we consider PSA 9 to 10 ratio 15 years after cards were released as an accurate measurement of pack-fresh card condition.
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Hi ethan 
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Exactly this.
In modern day there is absolutely no way to EVER definitively prove how easy a vintage set is to grade using strictly the PSA pop report. To obtain accurate results, a large portion of a set’s supply must be graded. There’s simply no way to do this now for any ex era set, so right away we are left with basically the scraps of a set’s supply. The water muddies even further when trying to compare these sets because a truly fair comparison yielding accurate results would require both sets to have the exact same factors surrounding them. These factors include but are not limited to:
- Set print run
- Set pull rate
- Set print quality
- Set playability
- Initial set reception (did people like it/open it)
- Historical set appeal
- Amount of sealed product opened vs kept sealed immediately after release (determines amount of singles in population early on and potential sealed, pack-fresh cards left in population over time)
- Hobby relevance at time of set release
- Changes in hobby relevance after release
- Grading relevance at time of set release
- Changes in grading relevance after release
- Financial incentive to grade the set
- Nostalgic incentive to grade the set (usually tied to initial set reception)
- The Charizard Effect (is there a Charizard in the set)
- etc.
In reality, the context of each set release means no two sets have ever had the same direct contributing factors to their pop report. Many of these factors are unmeasurable, only revealed through the lens of age, or in some cases remain forever unknowns (like set print run). So to compare the POP report 9/10 ratio (or any grade/grade ratio, for that matter) ONLY proves which set had more cards of a certain grade submitted. Without looking at the context surrounding a set, we fail to see the reality of that set and its pop report.
The sole fact a set has a higher 10 - to - 9 ratio doesn’t mean it is easier to grade - it just means more cards of the 10 grade have been submitted over time than 9s. It only proves more 10-grade cards from one set have been sent in, nothing more and nothing less.
I believe only modern-era pop reports can ever most accurately reflect a set’s “easiness” to grade. It’s not perfect data, but we live in a time where print quality is good and the most amount of chase cards are being kept in pack-fresh condition relative to the overall supply of each card. I’d like to imagine ex Hidden Legends and ex FRLG would have similar pop reports to Vivid Voltage and Champions Path if they were released today.
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From all of my research the CGC grading scheme is very similar to BGS but with some slight differences in how they treat each card/set. All though not Pokemon cards, this is a very good read on this exact subject if you’re curious about an in-depth comparison of BGS/CGC grading standards:
buildinganalphasetin2019.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/cgc-grading-standards/
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Thank you sir! Will give this a read – I was never familiar with the specifics of what went into a grade
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PSA 10 Empoleon Lv. X (from D&P base) sold for 5.6k. Wow!
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finally lv.x and prime cards are coming up. pop?
24 PSA 8s, 59 PSA 9s and 14 PSA 10s.
u thinkin its gonna be a lop pop over time due to that being a low point in the hobby or this is just the beginning for them being graded?
I think that ratio between 9s and 10s will always exist but I’m sure there more to be 10s in the backlog.
Empoleon was paid for FYI.
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I like when each side presents some info and the other counters back with new info. But then he presented his evidence and you just ignored it. Lame
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The moment someone insults me personally, I’m done. I never insult the person I’m arguing with and I expect the same from them. It was his decision to derail the conversation, not mine. If he’d like to calm down and continue the discussion civilly, I’d be happy to.
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I agree that there’s definitely a few more 10s to be graded, it is a set card after all. I just don’t think that the amount that will be graded in the next few years will greatly affect the pricing though. It’s not like skyridge when people started grading crystals en masse and the price dropped. I truly think that these DPPT lv xs will be low pop for the foreseeable future(not saying that you said/implied any of this, I just wanted to contribute to the discussion)
Is the price crazy? Yeah, but it’s a niche in the hobby that resonates heavily with the people that grew up with that era, and with how low pop the cards are, I can kinda see how these prices happened
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Yeah I was hinting not so much as the ratio of 10s to 9s specifically but more how many in general are out there. You see I’m 21 so around 06-10 was when I made the most memories collecting and Lv.x and Primes were the thing so I love them. I feel its the same thing with ex tho, people are going to get older and want to collect their past so I think over time itll be like a wave starting with base set with prices increasing on the timeline. It’s funny to think but even sets like vivid voltage will see a price spike in 20 or so years. I completely agree with the prices tho and I think this is just an indicator of what’s to come with DP era. I also agree that the pop will stay low for the foreseeable future and that generally even though this is a set card, the pop will be generally low at least when compared to modern and base unlimited.
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I feel like I’ve missed a lot of drama. Spill the beans