Guys…the Cabal…Pop Control…
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Exactly zero of my PSA 10s are truly “gem mint.” If I look closely enough, I’ll see a white dot on the corner or some edgewear or some OC. But I still pay the ridiculous premiums for the 10s.
I think a lot of 10 collectors are setting their collection goals to include 10s because the journey of saving/trading up to get that 10 is more rewarding than quickly finishing a 9 set. And most 10 collectors know deep down that they are not purely collecting the gem mint card, but also the label. So for me, given the opportunity to choose between one single PSA 10 Gengar full art from XY Phantom Forces or every single XY-era full art PSA 9, I am choosing the PSA 10 Gengar.
A lot of people probably wouldn’t understand this thought process, but the reality is that the collectors in this thread are collecting different things: one group is chasing the 10 grade and the other is chasing the 10 condition (I hope this makes sense). Since we are collecting different things, it is not possible to see perfectly eye-to-eye on the PSA 10 issue. This logic is also why I can never understand why someone would rather spend thousands on a moonbreon than a XY full art, because I do not collect ultra modern.
I think this thread is a bit redundant because from a true
, you will collect what you like. If you value the card’s condition, use eyesight to find the best 9s and 10s. If you value the completion of your PSA 10 set, save up for the 10s.
if ur asking about investing, well idk, who knows.
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But isnt the card you show as an example clearly off centered top to bottom and has two white spot corners on the back ? If resubmitted 100x times this would get 9, 90% of the time in the new grading standard
This is exactly how I view it.
Psa10s on average will be in a condition that is sufficient to my standard. Sometimes i’m disappointed because of offcentering or printlines or too much white specks or inside slabs residue etc. But on average i’m ok with the 10 grade not being “perfect”, I actually am against bgs10 black or cgc10 perfect grades.
Psa10 is the sweet spot between collecting and investing, i admit i am partly collecting the grade. Thinking of it, it’s actually the price of NM/MT copies that surprises me. It can often be 20-30% of the psa10 value and i cannot fathom paying that much for a card that is 99% not gradable as a 9 or 10 because the seller knows it has defects that would prevent it.If i’m a bit provocative here, I would even say that NM/MT copies ARE the scam, not the graded cards.
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Centering looks nearly perfect to me. Definitely not what kept it from a 10.
Yes, but so do most PSA 10s from the set.
Also, to be clear: I’m not saying the card deserved a PSA 10. I think 9 was a perfectly reasonable grade. I’m saying that a significant proportion of (maybe even most) PSA 10 copies of the card are in worse condition, which makes spending 8x as much for a PSA 10 copy of the card seem pretty ridiculous.
As a Pikachu collector, the thought of having to buy 10s is just daunting. I downgraded some 10s recently to cash in on the hype and buy a couple things I’ve needed. I’m also not a fan of most raw cards, even with “light play”, being the same price if not more than a PSA 9. I’m cool with 9s for my collection.
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I’m late to the party, but Zorloth hits all the major issues why paying up for psa 10s is ridiculous . PSA or any grading company cannot consistently distinguish a strong mint card from a gem mint card. Strong 9s will always be the play for me.
I’m not paying 2-10X for one less tiny white spec I have to squint to see.
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For modern, I typically collect only Japanese cards. I will never pay the premium for the PSA 10 as I am confident I can grade it myself and get the 10.
With older cards, my cutoff starts with the Black and White era, I’m more than happy to collect 9s for the bigger chase cards.
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psa 9 is for da collectors psa 10 is for “investors” 
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A psa 10 is a 9 with an opinion.
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A little late to this forum thread, but I started collecting a few years ago and almost exclusively collected 10s. I did this because the 9s I had in my collection I didn’t like looking at because they were so off center. I thought that I would just enjoy having the artwork in my collection, but I found out that I really like the way the artwork fits into the card as well. So, I figure that 10s would be more enjoyable. The problem was that collecting 10s wasn’t transferable to the ebbs and flows of life. At one point, putting money aside could make sense, but then I went back to school and suddenly the thought of spending that money for pokemans felt absurd. And even further, I started obsessing over what constituted a 10 vs a 9 because I thought to just send in my own to get the 10s. This worked for a couple submissions, but one time I sent in a card that I for sure thought would get a 10 and it got a 9. For no reason that I could see or comprehend it got a 9. So then I thought, ‘well, if all this obsessing is still going to get me 9s, I might as well just find other 9s like the one I sent in (being what I think should be a 10) and buying those.’ You’d be shocked with how many strong 9s there are out there. It’s a ton.
Btw, when I was buying 10s, I didn’t just buy every 10 that was out there, I did notice weak (and sometimes very weak) 10s.
Also as a side note, the optimist in me wonders if PSA gives some 10s a grade of 9 just so regular people can have a chance of buying a great card at an affordable price 
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For me, I don’t really care too much for grading outside of authentication purposes(knowing that all the companies can get it wrong) and using the lower graded cards to my advantage with a lot of the time those being cheaper than the raw copies because people scoff at seeing a PSA 7, 8 or 9 when it’s just a little off center or a scratch here or there or some white spots on the back. Few times getting some cards graded just to sell. I like the binder collecting or just singles in a toploader or One Touch case if I’m feeling fancy. I can see the allure of having a “perfect 10, best condition card” but after seeing how subjective it is throughout all the different companies. Not really for me.
I’m still pissed I paid up for the PSA 10 Premium for this card back in 2018.
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To be fair, I think PSA 9 > PSA 10 when it comes to collectors. The price difference is huge (even though I see that PSA 9 is getting more popular now) and as it has been pointed out in this thread as well, the PSA 10 card is not necessarily better! 
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Financially speaking a psa 10 is stupid compared to a psa 9 but in a bull market it doesnt really matter as you just need the capital outlay to acquire the 10s but they hold true value. Just hope the market doesnt collapse on you
Also, I will say on a display shelf psa9s just feel bad to me. When i have a psa 10 grail in my display shelf it feels like a true trophy 
When its a psa9 it feels like i left something there for improvement. Im reminded that its flawed, and it just feels like something is missing
You just have to remind yourself that in most cases, the difference between a 9 and 10 is miniscule. Makes me feel better at least lol
I would rather have 5x PSA 9 cards compared to one 10. Its just not financially smart for me to buy a 10 when I can have so many other cards for my binders. It does make it so much easier when I go to a card show and just skip over all the 10’s since I refuse to pay that premium.
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