You’re working towards a graded collection, you’re almost there but you’ve been priced out of the final card. Let’s say in this hypothetical that obtaining the final card is impossible by any means, but you do have some options to kind of finish your goal. Which, if any, path would you be most likely to take for the final card?
Same grade, different grading company
Same grading company, lower grade
Same grading company, same grade, different language card
Voted “Same grading company, lower grade” because I think it would be the most natural solution for me.
However I’m also willing to consider the other options: for example I already collect CGC cards since they’re a bit cheaper, but if I’m priced out of everything I would be open to secondary languages that makes some sense, like Japanese or something you can also read.
If the card is still extremely expensive in a PSA 5-6 grade, I’ll probably call it no longer feasible.. I doubt I would buy a slabbed German or Thai copy just for the sake of it.
Different story for a binder where I guess it makes more sense to fill empty spots.
Given the actual market i sometimes considered getting the psa9 for the remaining chases to finish the set. But no i’ve never made the compromise. If i can’t buy the psa10 then i define myself as being priced out and that’s frustrating but not the end of the world. There is no 9 in my collection, it’s either 10 or binder copy (japanese collector)
i’ve already opened too many doors that makes my collection unmanageable, so i try to be strict with this one
to add, i only get 10s not necessarily because i believe that every 10 are better than 9s, but more due to the OCD aspect. and all the stories about reholdering service messing up big time doesnt deter me from replacing the old labels. Can’t have that old label mixed in, nope, it must all be aligned and homegenous
to add 2, i just realized i’m lying because i do in fact collect my simplified chinese card in the CCIC10 gold label. The slab is just so much better i couldn’t help it
Also this. I’m 13 cards away from finishing legendary collection reverse holos but I’m not even entertaining buying anything at these prices. If I never finish that’s ok too
Like many collectors, i probably have some kind of ocd tendencies so the idea of mixing slabs is a big no no. I bought a few cgc’s to crossgrade but have not received them yet so i’ll have that experience when PSA Germany finally opens.
PSA slabs kinda sucks, the label is not pretty, the plastic is not the most transparent. But like most people i’m stuck with it because that’s where the market and the cards are.
i think if a new company with great slab design proposed a service of automatic reholdering, with the label guaranteeing that it is a previously authentic psa slab i would be open to it.
I display my slabs and definitely sensible to the quality of the case, and PSA is bottom tier on this aspect
Depends on the card. There are a lot of PSA 8s that look just as good as 9s so I’d generally go with the PSA 8 if it’s also less expensive than a CGC 9.
But taking the legendary collection reverse holos as an example, the CGC 9s are selling for about the same as the PSA 8s, which doesn’t really make sense to me looking at the actual cards in the slabs. Over time I think the CGC 9s close the gap, or at least down the line the actual card’s condition will influence value on a card by card basis.
I’m so committed to aesthetics that I reholdered several superior blue slabs to the new label. Could not fathom having 30 PSA slabs and then a cgc one in there like a “they still don’t know” meme
I voted for “leave unfinished” however the “same grading company - lower grade” is an equal vote for me.
Leave unfinished because I think about how great it would feel to finally get that last card. I mean imagine. You say impossible, and I don’t know the situation, but what if the question was ‘how do I get it?’ Anyway I’m just motivating myself at this point lol
Same grading company - lower grade would be great though too because, you can look at your completed set, still be satisfied with it, and also decide if you wanted to reach for that other card if something comes up that allows you to do so.
Funny because I just did this to an extreme degree. I made a massive trade but opted for a psa 8 given the 9 was way out of reach. I normally collect psa 9 cards mostly but a psa 8 is close enough for this case.
I went with “same grade; different company”, but I think the eventual answer would be to crack and binder the set.
A wrapper shouldn’t be taking away from the fact that the set is all there. If the wrapper brings anything negative to the table, then they all gotta go!
I chose same grading company, lower grade. But if I will be completely honest, I would do my best to achieve the goal as is. Save, save, save, sell, sell, sell.
I’ve been in this situation three times recently. I chose to wait it out rather than buying lower graded copies or ones from other grading companies. Hopefully my saving and selling will pay off when the next opportunity arises.
