Would a BGS 9.5 True Gem++ (so two 10 and two 9.5 subgrades) be equivalent in value of a psa 10 of the same card?
I believe there`s no set rule for this.
It depends on the card, demand, pop, etc
I have a play promo mew with those grades, I don`t think it has the same value as a psa 10 though
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Generally, no. For some cards and some buyers, yes, but itâs going to be an exception on a case-by-case basis.
And as @jabby said, not all grades are created equal, especially when youâre talking 0.5 of a subgrade.
Even as a primarily PSA collector, I recently did buy a BGS 9.5++ instead of bidding on a PSA 10 that ended near the same price because the 10 looked like it shouldâve been a 9 to me. If a âstrongâ PSA 10 were available, Iâd pay a premium for that instead. For items with more availability, the 9.5 price will trend a lot lower.
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If a buyer collects psa 10, which a lot do, they wont pay the premium as its not a psa 10 and is only a gamble to make it a psa 10. If someone wants card condition they may pay psa10 price or more as it could be better than some 10s out there.
In a world where graded cards were bought and sold on condition, probably more often than not. But we donât live in that world. Assume that the 10 trumps every sub-numerical iteration of 9.5.
If however the 9.5 is in supreme condition and you think it deserves special attention, put it up at the premium with excellent pictures and hope someone thinks enough of it to give you a fair offer or BIN it.
I recently saw two PSA 10 copies of a card Iâm thinking about buying. One sold for 1K, the other is still available at just under 3K. Iâd rather BIN the latter than buy the former at 1K, the condition is lightyears apart.
I totally misread his post and thought he was asking more about the conditional differences in terms of valuation which the market value seems to matter more in terms of numerical final grade than anything else (disregarding conditional aspects).
Anyway, I definitely agree that in general a PSA 10 is going to outweigh almost any 9.5 in terms of valuation, since many people would prefer a 10 as opposed to a 9.5 and value it higher in almost every case. However as you said from a strict conditional point of view, a BGS 9.5 with 2x 10 subs is just 0.5 from Pristine so depending on your collection preferences some out there may view that as a strong Gem grade. I can say with certainty that among my PSA 10s some are stronger/weaker than others⌠meaning some are probably 9.5 quad while others would be 9.5 quad+ or ++ and Iâd wager at least 1 of mine might even have a 9 sub-grade equivalent but the vast majority are âtrueâ Gems to my subjective eyes.
In the end I would say it really comes down to what you value in the card as a collector: Does one care more about certain specific conditional aspects? Or is it more important to just have a 10 grade on the case?
I know for myself itâs very nice to have that 10 grade, but I have several 9.5s that I donât have any intentions of selling and I consider them to be some of my best cards that I own (this includes other non-Pokemon cards mainly). I have just a single 9.5 Pokemon, a CGC 9.5 that is in exceptional condition on-par with my PSA 10s to my eyes.
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âPerfect 10â is an identifier every collector immediately understands regardless of experience. 9.5 will always be less than 10 in mass consciousness.
But in actual substance, we know these grades are basically identical with a tilt in favor of BGS and, most importantly, a PSA 10 is not necessarily a perfect card. A BGS 9.5 with subgrades is a more nuanced and descriptive grade than a flat 10 which accommodates some flaws without listing them. An experienced collector who âbuys the card, not the gradeâ knows what theyâre getting when they buy one over the other. If you have enough competition among experienced collectors, I would say that 9.5 is the more âvaluableâ card.
But on the mass market, PSA 10 is hard to dethrone and that will always attract more competition when theyâre listed.
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