I don't buy the weighted average of a less than complete set. The first denominator should be a complete run, everything else after that.

I was equally confused by this. A complete set should trump all.

I'm fine with the weighted average of a less than a complete set as long as you receive a weight of zero for the cards you are missing.

So in a 10 card set, if I have 9 PSA 9s but am missing the 10th card, that should yield a higher score than someone with all 10 cards graded as PSA 8s since 9x9 is 81 and 10x8 is 80.

In theory you could have 520, missing the big 4 and still take top spot. I don't know how they weight these things, it's not my bag, but without the big 4 you shouldn't take precedent over a 524 complete set. Just my opinion.

I was bidding on the portrait pose. But the pinholes eventually caused me to hesitate. I'll have to wait for another opportunity.

With noticeable paper loss no less. Oh well, so long as PSA missed it, it's all good.

If you have a PSA 1 Wagner wouldn't that be worth 10 points? That is equal 2 PSA 5 commons. Their weighting system doesn't always make sense.

A few thoughts
 

1) As Floyd points out - the weighting system in at least some cases makes NO sense! Years ago I asked how they determine the weights - I was told by PSA that the weight is based on the value of the card in PSA 8 - the higher the value, the higher the weight. With that information, I dove deep into the weighting in the Clemente master set registry and found numerous weights that made no sense - at the time I sent sales records on a bunch of cards and was able to influence the changing of a number of weights. I've just thrown up my hands and stepped a bit back from the registry since.

2) In addition, as Ryan so clearly points out, the registry being a significant price driver for PSA slabs, I do believe that PSA invests A LOT more $$ and does a LOT better job branding their company than any of the other grading companies. As I share with many at shows, my experience is that while the quality of grading (for better AND worse) is equivalent between PSA and SGC, PSA so far has maintained stronger market prices for equivalent grades.

3) Also agree with Matty about the price differential between as an example 8's and 9's given what those "in the know" know about the gross inconsistency (on a good day) in the grading process. Clearly there are deep pocketedd newer buyers that have much to learn. That said, there may be enough of them that in a practical sense it will not matter.


All of the above notwithstanding, it seems impossible to ignore some of the jaw dropping hammer prices on so many items

So, because of the weighting system, could you theoretically have a PSA 10 Wagner and no other T206s and have, like the #3 set on the registry?

Agree w/you, Ryan as learning about the weighting makes choices for cards very interesting. Agree w/you on the Wheat, too. I found a good deal on a 7.5 and when I saw the weighting, it became a no brainer.

As always, great set! I'll never be 100% complete but happy w/my 521. Hoping to get closer to your set but not looking forward to the 150-200 commons I need to upgrade...haha!!

The Registry was certainly a genius creation from the perspective of PSA, and how it ensnared so many participants.

Its salient feature, in my opinion, is how it got (and continues to get) so many collectors to spend money on cards they never really wanted, and would never really want, were it not for The Registry.

I, too, was once into it— and then I realized how deep into the weeds I had wandered. How far off course I had gotten, when I compared what originally would have satisfied me to what I was actually pursuing. The Registry also gets collectors to spend more time looking at other's sets with competitive eyes than looking at one's own cards with simple and pure enjoyment. And the cherry of lunacy atop all that, is that most Registry sets don't even feature pictures, so you wind up looking at a web page in a remote corner of the internet that shows only a grid with cards and opinions from graders who get it wrong a good deal of the time.

For me, the epiphany— or should I say intervention— came when my brother took me to task for spending thousands on commons. He had such a fresh, genuine, outsider perspective on it, that cut through the fog; he said something like, "Dude, what the &*@# are you doing? You just spent thousands on a Wayne Twitchell. Wayne Twitchell? Who the hell was Wayne Twitchell and why on earth would you spend that much on him? I don't care how few exist with that stupid sticker on it, you can get that same card in almost identical condition for so much less. You're a moron. Go spend that on a player or card you actually always wanted."

And like that, the spell was broken, LOL. I consigned that set and built my collection, going after all the cards I always wanted as a kid. I was back to collecting for myself, not for PSA, or to compete with utter strangers.

A PSA 10 Wagner would only be 100 points. A guy with 21 PSA 5 commons would be higher on the registry than the guy with the PSA 10 Wagner.

I had a pretty similar experience with the 1953 Topps set. It sort of broke my spell with the PSA registry, and I now own zero graded cards as a result.

Excellent, thought-provoking, and well-written post, MattyC. Thank you. -- Brian Powell

You think THOSE weights are ridiculous, the SIGNED WEIGHTS for the 1952 topps are exactly the same as the unsigned weights! You have guys living with a weight of 4 or 5, and guys who died in the 1950s, some with 2 examples known, worth 1 point!

Hmm. Sounds silly.

I think this hobby needs a crowd-sourced registry where collectors (not PSA) determines the value of each card in any grade from all TPGs. If I had the time, I'd build one, but alas, I do not.

See post #23 in the below thread from May. I wonder if it ever grew legs.

https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...72#post2098772

FWIW, which is admittedly nothing, that is my favorite Ruth Exhibit card.

That's cool. Hopefully one of these projects grows into something with broad appeal and adoption.

A little off Pre War, but surprised at hammer price for the
Lot 122 Nolan Ryan Rookie 1968 PSA 9 at $125,000.
Last one prior which sold 5/2021 was at $62K.

Prices like that are just wild to see. Could not even imagine that two years ago.