For those with a lot of years of WOTC collecting experience, is it better to collect a higher grade unlimited card or a lower grade 1st edition usually?
For instance the price for a PSA 9 unlimited Shining gyarados is about the same as a PSA 8 1st Edition. I’m wondering which is a better hold for the long term in you guys opinion?
Thanks
I might be wrong,
But for unlimited, i think only the 10s matters, like psa/cgc/bgs 10.
If the unlimited is not grade 10, I would pick 1st editions.
I personally perfer the lower grade 1st edition versions but for me its because as a kid i have fond memories of wanting the 1st editions but never had a chance to get them!
Also the supply is smaller! But its also your preference if you like a cleaner unlimited card too.
For a more unobtainable card like unlimited vs shadowless vs 1st edition charizard
What do you guys think? I figure shadow is a good middle point between the 3
I guess it depends on your budget or how clean of a set you want to collect. For me personally, I have the strongest desire to own 1st Ed over Unlimited prints. The reason being is I feel the market and collectors desire 1st Ed more than Unlimited on average and so it has the advantages of more demand, liquidity and ultimately satisfaction to obtain from the collecting process as you build up your collection.
I think at times it can also depend on the exact set. When you get into some of the later Neo sets, I feel the same way for the most part for going for 1st Ed over Unlimited, but even the Unlimited supply seems smaller with these sets than some of the early WOTC sets like Base Set (which is HEAVILY printed), so with this in mind the Unlimited prints might still have a good value to them compared to earlier WOTC.
Overall, if you can tolerate NM or even EX/NM condition cards, I think it’s worth going for 1st Ed if possible. It just has the added desirability and demand that you can’t get with Unlimited cards.
Personal opinion right here: I’d go for 1st Edition adjusted to your budget. PSA9 1st Edition WOTC holos are really cheap right now, they feel like a huge steal compared to modern.
I would take a psa 9 1st edition over an unlimited 10 for almost every set card. Only exception might be the shinings from neo destiny. And as pokemonargentina mentioned psa 9 1st edition are indeed at attractive prices at the moment.
I’d take psa 7 1st Ed base over psa 10 unlimited.
Unlimited is great for art and binder collections. 1st edition has a better chance to hold its value over time.
I say collect what you like as long as it is within your means. If you have enough patience to save the money to buy 1st edition, go for it.
Shadowless is a nice option for someone who wants the 1st Ed look/feel, but without paying the added premium of 1st Ed Base. However, it still doesn’t quite fill the entire void of owning the 1st Ed version of the card for a lot of collectors I think.
I still think though Shadowless is a much better collector option compared to Base Unlimited all things considered as far as the Base Set release is concerned. In ways they still feel a bit underrated to me at times. Personally I have completed a Shadowless binder and nearing completion of my 1st Ed binder as I feel they are both special.
Thanks everyone for your opinions. Helped me a lot!
This topic is reoccurring across the years and I think always the general consensus is 1st edition.
I found a happy middle with shadowlesss. I love my charizard and am in the process of getting a Chansey
Also buy what you can afford. If there was no shadowless and I only had one option between 1st ed 6 vs unlimited 9/10. I would but the 1st ed 6 set for the holos just so I have confirmation of authenticity and the rest of the set cards but clean raw cards or crack from slabs.
For sure! Shadowless is still a great option. Much better than Base Unlimited. They also look super clean without the stamp, sort of like No Symbol Jungle which also flies under the radar at times also.
I love my Shadowless binder. It was a joy to collect and fun to look through as well.
Ive actually been thinking of going for a no symbol jungle
I always go for the higher grade/quality one than the rarer one, unless the rarer one is scarce in any condition.
Many times Unlimited are lower pop in the higher grades. It all depends on set/release/rarity though. Some cards are rare in any condition.
psa 10 unlimited over psa 9 1st anyday aside from 1st shadowless base set - when i collect i want as close to perfect condition as possible and not a second to best option.
base set as an exception as the rarity difference is too big, for any other set, finding really good condition unlimited holos is often times equally if not much harder than 1st eds.
I get what you are saying but for vintage i will not pay the ridiculous 10x premium because the label has a 10 on it, while the 9’s look just as good.
That is fair enough, it’s all about personal preference 