Posted By:
T206Collector...supply and demand as well as scale.
With respect to supply and demand:
a) Supply. For any card issue -- and especially so in pre-war -- there are less of a supply of higher graded cards than lower graded cards.
b) Demand. All things equal, people like higher graded cards for the same price. That is what drives the price up for some and down for others.
When you have diminishing supply and heightening demand, prices will rise. This is especially true when people are competing with each other for registry rankings.
But I think the question really goes to grading scale. Keep in mind a few things: the difference between a 5 and a 6 is not just "one point" on the grading scale. It is actually 2 tiers now, given half grades. (In SGC land, it is the difference between a 60 and an 80, which is 20 points, by the same logic.)
I also think the question goes to what people are willing to tolerate as far as imperfections. After you hold a bunch of SGC 80 and SGC 60 T206 cards, you can certainly see why some people would consider paying twice as much (or more) for the 80. For me the tougher question is the difference between a 7 or 8 ...or a 9 and a 10. Then it's like we're talking about diamonds.
Have you ever shopped for a diamond? People pay thousands upon thousands more for diamonds that look the same to the naked eye, but under a 10x loupe you can see "clouds" in the cheaper diamond. It's all about what the market defines as relevant, in terms of supply and demand, and then what people are willing to pay. If your point is that you'd take the cloudy diamond every time, then all that means is your life choices are different from someone that strives for perfection in diamonds.
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