[ebrehm]

Card condition is important to me and I am willing to pay for it, and I do try to buy the card and not the holder, but I shy away from the very highest TPG grades because of the enormous price premiums attached. For example I have NM-MT 8 '33 Goudeys but don't buy Mint 9's, and I have Mint 9 Mickey Mantle cards but don't buy Gem 10's. Where one draws that cost/benefit line is of course arbitrary but that's where it comes out for me.

I do have some sets on the PSA registry, but I'd rather have an 8 that looks better than a 9, even though it earns fewer points. I put the attractiveness of the cards first, and let the ranking fall where it may. If someone else is more concerned about their ranking, that's fine too.