Why does a PSA 1 or PSA 2 fetch a higher price than a PSA 4 thru 7 of the same card?
Before somebody argues that it’s due to a low population, I say that anybody could send in a damaged card/ alter a NM card to a PSA 1/2 condition and grade it (with economy grading back in the day for $20). So the low population argument doesn’t make sense as it is easier to manipulate the PSA 1/2’s POP report than a PSA 4 thru 7.
If anybody has any insight on this. Thanks
It is 100% the low population. Just because people could do what you’re describing doesn’t mean they do. It’s very uncommon for someone to send an intentionally bad card to PSA, even if they could. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people interested in the grades for oddball collections.
In addition, it’s actually pretty hard to predict grades at lower tiers. You could totally trash a card and get a 1. But what separates a 1 from a 2? Or a 2 from a 3? How much damage is enough damage?
And at the end of the day, for a lot of people it will always be more convenient and more appealing to buy a graded card that already exists versus trying to produce your own.
I don’t know if I’d go as high as PSA 7 (or even 6 or 5), but you’re absolutely right. If the market was efficient, we’d say that people just value the time required to acquire the meme more than the cost of grading, but also bear in mind grading with PSA, more than it has been for a long time, is inaccessible
Ironically I think it makes more ‘sense’ now, even though I personally would rather have a better condition card than a meme or trying to complete a 1-10 set.
The only other thing I can think of is that people think they’re buying someone else’s ‘loves’ card which is worth protecting.
I guess these low PSA grades turn into a sort of “meme-stock” where the original grader was unhappy with the grade, and it turns into a hot potato where people add it to their collection for laughs, table coaster or conversation starter. Completing a PSA 1 through 10 set sounds like complete torture. That would require extreme patience and manipulation to lots of poor pokemon cards 
You have a great point, most times people send a trashed card to PSA it is usually because of the sentimental value it holds. And yep, although it is possible to manipulate and damage a card, there is definitely no telling if PSA would give you a 1, 2 or 3. Completing a PSA 1 through 10 set sounds like complete torture! It is sort of a “meme stock” hot potato that gets passed around to different collectors as a joke, or as a table coaster.
Actually there was someone in this forum that was looking for a PSA 2 giovannis persian I think, I also asked him why he was looking for that, and he said he was doing a 1-10 set, so apparently it actually is a thing yeah!
Ugly card is ugly. Extremely ugly card is an art.
PSA 1-2 are more meme worthy than PSA 4-7.
PSA 1 and 2 are both very low pop, and there are people who only collect PSA 1-10 of one card so hence the extra price tag.
From my experience, there is really no price difference between PSA 1 up to PSA 4, not sure if PSA 1 = PSA 7 price yet.