Taking into account future resell value and current price to buy I need to reacquire cards I sold during this boom as I miss having them in my collection. Unfortunately with how high prices have risen I can’t afford to buy set cards back at PSA 10 prices so the next alternative is a downgrade. Whichever I choose I want to complete the holo set of them. Currently looking at redoing a Team Rocket WotC set. Just would like some opinions of the better buy.
I know a lot of CGC 10s are basically PSA 9s in condition but prices vary. Some CGC cards can be really clean but hard to find.
P.s these are just going to be in my personal collection so I can display and maybe one day sell.
It kinda depends on the aesthetic you’re looking for.
There is a notable master of flying pokemon on here that mostly collects 9s, and I would imagine that, aesthetically, his collection would look very neat and clean. There’s also the reality that a lot of 9s are just non-re-submitted 10s as far as eye appeals goes. So you get a fantastic card from a guy you had a bad day and couldn’t give the card a 10.
For resell value, people do live their 10s, so in times where random manipulations booms do happen for a card, the CGC 10 generally goes for a higher price than a 9. Take promo cards as an example.
For me personally, I don’t like the CGC look anymore (outside of the pristine looks), so I would much prefer PSA 9s if I had to choose.
I’ve never been able to train my palate to appreciate a mix of the 2, so you’ll have to ask someone else how that looks in their collections
Speaking as somebody who almost exclusively collects PSA 9’s, I have a smattering of CGC 10’s due to the similarity in price point, and all of them are generally cleaner cards than my PSA 9’s.
For PC purposes it really is hard to argue against CGC 10.
I think PSA 9 in terms of value is really hard to beat. It’s also going to have a wider buying pool in terms of liquidity if you ever want to sell. A CGC 10 can be a nicer overall card on average, but the heavier premium in Pokemon really is in PSA 10s overall.
What’s interesting is at one point CGC 9.5 was “Gem Mint” and they all got ‘upgraded’ to CGC 10 “Gem Mint” with the change in grading standard/criteria. On one hand this paid off for a lot of early CGC collectors since the market ‘likes’ 10s more and will pay more for it over a 9 or 9.5, but it also sort of diluted the valuation compared to the old CGC 10 premium. Basically, it’s just kind of awkward having 2 (or 3) versions of a ‘10’ grade as they essentially tried to copy BGS.
Personally, I’ve collected both grades/companies at times. If the PSA 10 premium on a card is exponential vs a PSA 9 or CGC 10, both grades/companies can still be a good value option for getting a very nice copy without investing a ton into a PSA 10. I think for most collectors that is what they mainly go for, but more investor minded collectors go for PSA 10s mainly, so everything has its place in the market somewhere.
Buy the card not the grade. If you want the rocket holo set just buy the nicest example of each card within your budget. Frankenstein sets lot very cool imo
Thank you for everyone who commented. I think my collection could use a mix of both after reading everyone’s thoughts. I’ve mainly collected PSA with some BGS and a tad of CGC mixed in. Now that most of my slabs are gone wouldn’t hurt to complete different sets even if all the slabs are a mix of grading companies.
CGC 8.5-9.5. Hear me out: Rather than paying PSA 9 prices or greater for CGC 10, save a ton of money and buy CGC 8.5, 9, and 9.5. They sell for much lower than PSA 9 prices, so you will be able to collect more cards.
Alternatively, PSA 8s. Some PSA 8s are indistinguishable from PSA 9s these days, but they’ll cost half as much or less sometimes. Again, great value for the condition of the card.
It’s a good strategy and adds balance & costs savings to your collection depending on your goals. I like having PSA 10s, 9s, 8s and scoring the odd deal on a CGC or BGS slab if it means getting the card in my collection in good enough condition for my binder sets or other needs. For example, I bought a really clean CGC 8 Neo Discovery 1st Ed Espeon which will eventually go in my binder set and it was much cheaper than any PSA 8 or 9 I could find at the time:
