In theory, which is better and why?
Note: not comparing 1st edition PSA 4s to a PSA 10 or anything, but in respective values… for example; 1st edition PSA 7-8, VS. Shadowless/unlimited PSA 10.
I’m not the best person to give an expert opinion *coughs gary or scott*, but my personal preference if comparing 1st edition 7-8 compared to a PSA 10 shadowless/unlimited, I would go for the 1st edition. The scarcity of 1st edition makes it a unique selling point to some buyers that would never be interested in shadowless/unlimited. I know that I want my base set to be 1st edition, but I also know getting a PSA 10 would be too expensive for me. I would thus compromise and aim to get 1st editions but in PSA 7-9. However, I would not compromise in losing the 1st edition mark, therefore I would never think of shadowless/unlimited as a viable alternative. This is only to me as a perspective to a buyer though. Some people simply aim for the quality of the card + artwork, and care less about whether its 1st edition or not. IMO I feel that market is smaller however.
well shadowless 1st edition i would rather have psa 9 1st edition rather than psa 10 unlimited as its harder to find mint 1st edition than unlimited base
I think you need to define what you think “better” means. Are you talking future value or just which we would choose assuming we could never sell it? I suppose often those are related but it’d be nice to better understand what you think “better” means.
For me, I would not lump shadowless and unlimited together as you have. Shadowless is far scarcer than unlimited. I’d choose shadowless 10s over unlimited 10s and 1st ed 7-8s. think a more fair comparison is looking at shadowless 9s though. Here’s how I’d break it down:
PSA 7-8 1st ed > PSA 9 shadowless > PSA 10 unlimited
Everyone is so concerned with 10s right now. 10s are nice but they won’t last forever. When the 10s are just no longer available because they are stored in permanent collections, people will look to 9s. Same thing will happen to the 9s. Then people will just be willing to get their hands on any card they can. 8s, 7s, 6s, whatever.
Just look at the population report for 1st ed base holos. There are on the order of 500-600 for most of the holos (these numbers are possibly inflated due to regrades too). Do you think there are at least 500 people in the world that are interested in PSA graded 1st ed base? If not now, then one day? Right now, I feel people are a little embarrassed to admit collecting anything under a 9 but as soon as it becomes more acceptable in the hobby, the hard-to-find cards in lower grades will see a significant jump in value.
This population is unlikely to grow for 1st ed very much either. There’s really no more sealed product to open and there are probably not many people sitting on a binder full of these things.
I think as soon as 1st ed base becomes unachievable due to low availability, shadowless will mature as a viable option. I think you’ll see a nice jump in shadowless at that time.
Unlimited… I’m have some potential PSA 10 unlimited cards and I’m just some random person on the internet. There is a lot of supply out there, it will be a long time before it really matures.
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So shadowless 10s as opposed to 1st Ed 7/8? Better get the lower graded 1st Ed first cause they are soooo drying up.
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Summed up really well!
I only collect 1st editions, but the problem is that PSA 10 is too expensive for my needs. So I am slowly going down the PSA scale for something more affordable!
Can close thread, here’s the answer 
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1st Edition Base > Everything else.
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I collect for nostalgia purposes. So scarcity doesnt really matter to me. I prefer having a card that is in better condition. So I will take the 9/10 unlimited over a 6/7 1st edition all day.
Maybe if I had unlimited money, I would get 1st editions, but even then, they wouldnt hold any more “nostalgia” value for me over an unlimited card.
I find it fascinating that people will pay 10x the price for essentially the same card.
I’m heavy in the unlimited 10s, but I’d still rather have a bunch of 1st ed Venusaur 7s than unlimited Venusaur 10s.
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I would have to go with @admiral77. I would prefer a card that is in mint condition even though it is less scarce. Personally I would get a Shadowless Charizard in PSA 9 rather than a 1st ed base charizard in PSA 6 for example.
However when extended to other sets, for example Neo Destiny, I would prefer a PSA 9 1st ed Shining Charizard over a PSA 10 unlimited one.
I will always aim for a card with a 1st ed stamp first however if the 6/7 grades of 1st edition cards are priced similar to 9/10 grades of unlimited, I will go for the unlimited (this case is exclusively for the base set, and Charizard, as there are no other sets with such huge disparity between the 1st ed and its unlimited ed).
I’d go with both. My thing is price not condition.
when it comes to shadowless psa 10s though. Ide much rather have psa 10 shadowless holos then psa 8 1st ed shadowless holos… However… I dont know if ide rather have psa 10 shadowless holos over really squeeky clean garinson based psa 9 1st ed holos xD