not sure tbh. Something to consider though is that the higher grades will become more and more out of reach while lower grades will have a better chance of being affordable.
I find 10s in Pokemon can have unique pricing at times, to say the least. At times they can have an insane multiplier over the same card in NM or lesser condition usually due to extreme grading difficulty or other factors. In my experience, if the NM price of a card goes up, the lower grades get dragged up in price as well typically by a similar % amount. However, I have seen times where the lower grades will stagnate and the 10s will still sell for more even in a slower market. It really depends on a variety of factors going on in the market for that specific card.
Regardless, as noted above, this is why I stick to the high grades for my favourite cards typically and mainly stick to NM grades for everything else because I like the stability of it all and I find it keeps things well balanced across my collection from a financial perspective. This will really come down to ones budget and risk tolerance in the end. I would say the majority of buyers want NM/M and 10s have a more narrow buyer/collector pool from what I’ve seen. 10s have proven to be strong from an investment perspective, especially if you sell during hype periods like 2020/2021.
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As long as its not heavy play, I’d probably put it in my binder. I can deal with most stuff that isn’t creasing.
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Yes, but this does not mean that 8, 9 and 10 are interchangeable. Fx., I just got two psa 10 wotc 1 Ed back, and I have the same cards (Venusaur and Mewtwo) as PSA 9 and 8, and BGS 9.5, 9 and 8.5. I find flaws on all except bgs 9.5 and psa 10. not representative but a reason why I go with 9.5/10
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I’m a binder collector through and through so as long as the front is clean I’m happy. I can usually tolerate some very minor whitening or wear on the edges, but otherwise shoot for something that at a passing glance looks EX-NM
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Yes but a PSA 8 is far better than a bgs 8. Especially for vintage. Only time bgs is above PSA is for some 9.5s and all bgs 10s
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I’m a binder collector, and I’m willing to accept a pretty wide range of conditions, especially on non-holo cards. I very much try to keep the cost of things in mind, so for my reverse holo Expedition set, I’m willing to take a hit in condition for the more expensive cards (e.g. Charizard) if I can acquire them relatively cheaply. The same logic applies to not-as-expensive cards depending on the context. Because of this, I have cards ranging from HP to NM/Mint. Of course, being a binder collector, I generally try to pick up cards with cleaner fronts though.
Because of the range of conditions I’ll accept, I sometimes take some risks on some cards that don’t have great pictures with the idea that I’ll be happy with the card regardless of what condition it comes in, which feels great if the card comes in a better condition than expected. I am finding that I am becoming less tolerant of the holo clouding effect though, so I generally try to avoid too much of that these days.
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Really prefer the raw equivalent of a graded 9. I’ve cracked plenty of PSA and BGS slabs, so I have a pretty good understanding of what most cards look like in 9.
Great response. Thank you!
I buy 8-10 and if someone offer me a binder I buy it if it’s themed. I think themed binders are cool.
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Absolute lowest I will go is 8, unless it’s a card that is simply not reasonably accessible in that grade.
Anything lower than an 8 just feels degraded and damaged to me to the point where it isn’t collectable anymore. The card feels ruined below that threshold and when a better example is available the choice is always obvious. I consider the cost of an 8 to be the de facto price for a collectable card so the lower prices of sub-8s don’t appeal to me as a less expensive option. They just feel correctly marked down for being compromised product.
And all this said — not all 8s are created equal either. There are lots of 8s I pass up because the damage is in the wrong place for my tastes. When I consigned my vintage set collection and had everything regraded, more than half of my collection regraded as 9s. I am pretty discerning.
But for something that is not otherwise available, sub-8s are perfectly acceptable. It’s really a question of accessibility than anything else.
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I agree with you in general. Most 8s are going to be solid collectible condition for the majority of cards out there. However, I think it’s worth digging through the low grades at times for certain cards. I have found some excellent binder copies in the 5-7 range. For example, my Shadowless Charizard I bought:
Fraction of the price of a PSA 8 or 9 and looks perfect in a binder. Holo is mint. Back side has some wear, but nothing major to me. So I think there’s exceptions to the rule at times if you dig deep.
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With demand as a constant, higher grades will increase in value more (on a % basis) over time. This is true as a matter of basic supply and demand. Lower grade pops increase at a faster rate than higher grade pops (in almost all circumstances). Of course, again, this is assuming that relative demand remains constant over time.
The one issue with this is the assumption that grading companies can reliably differentiate between cards of different conditions. At the higher end of the grading scale, it’s not clear just how consistent grading companies are. For that reason, I personally think it’s risky to pay a very large premium for 10s vs 9s.
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I collect psa graded Pikachu. As of right now, I own 3 of them in a PSA 10. Most of them are common cards, so they’re not graded often. This makes the 10s quite expensive. My most recent chase is Pikachu from Hail Blizzard. The PSA 9 is quite affordable while the 10 is not. I’d rather have a variety of PSA 9 Pikachu than a singular PSA 10 one. Previously, I would focus on 10s only, but that sets an unrealistic goal for both myself and my wallet. Here’s a pic of my current target.
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The back honestly looks really good for a 5. Honestly it’s better than most bgs 8s I’ve seen. That’s a really really nice 5
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Even I have found some lucky grades that cost very little because of the deceptively low grade. Masaki/Communication Event promos are a great example because most of them are graded ~6 due to the “Masaki Mark” imprints on the back — which nobody into these cards would consider a flaw.
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Echoing the sentiments of the other binder collectors in this thread, EX-NM is the best trade-off between value and condition for me personally.
It can sometimes depend on the card though - if it’s an expensive card, I actually find myself being pickier, with the logic “I’m already spending $150, may as well throw another $75 (or whatever) on top”.
I buy a lot of D/P reverse holos on TCGPlayer. This can be an absolute condition crapshoot, so if I’m going with a Lightly Played card to save money, I ensure it’s coming from a seller with a large amount of sales and positive feedback.
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Haha I can relate with the tcgplayer reverse holo condition crapshoot. For common/uncommons, reverse holos I usually just do lp as well
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Exactly, I think it could easily be a BGS 8+ overall. It’s definitely an exception though. Most 5s don’t look this good on average. It’s worth mentioning as well that at the top part of the card where the edge is worn there’s a very light indent which I believe is what actually made it a 5 since PSA is strict on that usually. The holo though is perfect, so it makes an excellent binder copy either way:
I also have a 1st Ed copy that is a 5 and has similar condition attributes, but has more corner whitening instead of wear on the edges.
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I always go for 9’s. The value for a nice clean mint card is nice. Hardly ever go for 10’s.
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