Call me crazy, and i may be the only one in the world. But i’m totally fine with having all my psa cards be 8’s
I really only buy 8’s and the occasional 8.5 when it comes around
I guess the best way to explain it is i’m totally fine with saving potentially hundreds of dollars to have the card be NM-MT (8) as opposed to GEM MINT (10). The tiny imperfection of the off centering or the 1 or 2 white nicks on the back dont bother me
With that extra money that i “save” from the 8 grade as opposed to the 10 grade, I throw it into more 8’s that I put in my collection!
My ideal grade level for older sport cards is a psa 7. Pokemon is simply a younger hobby, so people primarily think 9-10, but the lower grades will flesh out over time with sustained interest. They already have in 8 for certain sets and card types.
Collecting is different for everyone, there’s no single approach that anyone has to take! For some the increased price tag is justified in order to have a virtually perfect card, but for others (like you) it’s not.
I think a lot of collectors would benefit from being less rigid in what grades they will accept. For a lot of higher end cards I could care less what the grade is as long as the card looks good to me. I’ve got a PSA 3 1ED gold star Rayquaza with significant edgewear and a slight crease but the front looks nearly perfect so I love the card.
It depends for me I think. If I’m getting a B/W and on Japanese card, 9 and under may as well not exist. As the cards get more expensive and older I feel more lenient. I was considering buying a PSA 5 or 6 1st Edition Charizard. If there was an Illustrator for sale and it was pissed on I would still consider getting it if I had the means to do so.
For me it’s about the visual appeal of the card primarily, I am happy to pay a bit more for certain cards in the higher grade. However if we are referring to a really high end or rare card that’s super expensive then I will be happy to accept a lower grade especially if the front of the card is in good shape. In addition to this while you may front more for a 9 or 10 I feel in the long run it is more likely to be a better investment if that is part of what you are looking for, if you’re purely collecting just for your own pleasure and your happy with 8s then you can hit you collection goals in a shorter space of time of course. Part of it for me too is the ocd of wanting sets in just 9 or 10
Have a look through my collection…I run the gamut! Got everything from 4-10…and one authentic. Grade isn’t as important to me so much as the card itself. As long as it is presentable and genuine im happy.
There is nothing wrong with 8’s, although i dont collect them. I mainly collect 9’s and the occasional 10 if i can get the 10 basically at the price of a 9 and saying that i mainly wait until i find a psa 9 for dirt cheap or near the price of an ungraded
I buy cards strictly by the visual appeal for myself. I always prefer cards with good centering and a clean holo. I don’t mind whitening on the edges at all on the back. 8’s give me this often times. I actually crack cards out of the graded cases that I intend to keep. The main reason I collect is to enjoy the cards and part of that is feeling the card which I can’t do inside a graded case.
I understand why others collect graded cards for the added scarcity and collecting goals. Just not for everyone.
I’m kinda the opposite. Centering issues don’t bother me as much as damage on the back edges. If I had a choice between 8 centering or 8 whitening I’d take the 8 centering.
But that’s the fun thing about collecting. We’re all different. You collecting 8s and 8.5s is awesome. 8s are solid condition cards:)
I prefer the PSA 10 where I can. Simply because I don’t want to go down the road and have a full set of 10s, less one card in the set. It just is for consistency sake. That being said if the entire set is acquired at a 9, that is a different story.
But I suppose like it was echoed above, it depends on the collectors.
For older trophies, I would be happy with whatever they can achieve, but like Scott said, Pokemon is a younger hobby so higher grades are almost expected?
Not all of my graded cards are 10s too and I’m alright with that. If a card of mine grades a 9 I usually don’t go for a 10 and keep the 9. I often buy 9s too as they are usually so close to the 10 grade that it’s only down to a minor centering issue or a few spots of whitening on the back. 8s are fine too, for example I’m very happy with my Japanese Suicune Gold Star 8.
Hell, I even have one PSA 3 in my collection. Legendary Collection reverse holo Charizard from my younger days And I have to admit I have no regrets of grading it as it looks very nice inside the PSA case even though it’s quite damaged as you can imagine from the grade.
Also I’m going to grade my Japanese unlimited Charizard Gold Star knowing that it probably won’t even reach PSA 8 (only if I get lucky I guess). But that’s fine. I just want that beauty nicely protected
Good for you! That’s something certain collectors in this hobby couldn’t do because the chase for low pop 10’s is simply too tempting. Money saving aspect is totally fine reason if you have other goals besides graded cards.
I’m mostly PSA 10 guy but even for me some single graded cards/whole collections as 9’s do the job perfectly + for a long time I’ve kept some 8’s that will act as benchmark cards if I’m having a struggle with loose singles going to PSA.
There is a couple of sets I am only going for in PSA 8, but my ideal grade is Mint 9. What you said about the difference in price and using the savings to purchase other cards is exactly true for me in this situation too
I feel like an important factor when you grade cards is personal satisfaction with a card, if you were happy with the card prior to grading it the digit is irrelevant, whereas if you buy a graded card it can sometimes lead to disappointment especially when the card isn’t what you expected/hoped it to be (weak grades, everyone’s seen them.)
Me personally i really adore mint cards, i have insane eye to detail (autisml0l) so things like hairline scratches annoy me to no extent haha… now slight backwear i can live with especially considering the cards back is probably facing the wall anyway hehe.
If there’s a chase aspect to it or if the card is a reasonably low price to begin with I would prefer the 10, ideally a nice 10. I’m one of those fickle people when it comes to the grade, however if the card is 1k+ level then a lower grade could be considered. Things like the 1st Ed and Unl. Gold Star Mew in Japanese and other cards that are notorious for being hard to grade 10 in though have that chase which is so hard to pass up when given the option.
Trophy cards and that kind of thing can be absolutely any grade though. as @miraclegro said, they could be pissed on if they were rare enough and I wouldn’t care.
