Importance of Qualifiers
 

Over the years I have found some really good deals on cards because of their grade qualifiers. I have found that even though a card may have a strong PSA grade, qualifiers like (MK) and (MC) will cause a good bit of bidders to shy away from them. How important is it to each of you as a collector when you see a Q next to a grade on a card and by how much do you take off your offer when you see it.

My personal opinion is that not all qualifiers are created equal. I will over look a pencil mark or odd smudge over an (OC) off center or (MC) miscut just about every time. Some qualifiers are just too much to get over but if its tolerable I usually offer about 10% less than what a clean grade would bring. Tell me your thoughts.

Qualifiers are generally considered to be a reduction of two points, so a 5 (MK) should be worth a 3.

But it really is up to you how much of a problem the qualifier is worth.

Wow, I would take a 5 (MK) over a 3 any day of the week but that's just me. I honestly need to seek them out for my personal collection as I don't think I will be able to get higher end cards in decent shape without qualifiers.

MK in particular can be almost a non-issue for me. As you mention, a bit of pencil on a pre-war card can be worth it for me if it takes 1-2 grades off the price.
I've seen writing on the backs of cards - for example, brief updates on a player's career - that I think diminish the card very little. Overall I prefer clean cards, but some marks, especially those that suggest a genuine interest in the card and the player by a kid in the 1930s, can add a bit of character that helps make up for the "damage."

To get a post moved it is best to ask Leon directly instead of posting a message in your thread. By posting it in the thread it may never be seen by Leon or another moderator.

I contacted him.

Usually if it is (MK) and I bought it, I didn't have any plans to sell it. There are some cards I covet and a stamp mark or something that doesn't over all distract from the card won't deter me from snatching it up

I like cards with pinholes.not just because they are cheaper. I think it's cool to think that at one point the card was on the headboard,wall,etc of a young fan. That love for the player and card is pretty much what drives us all. That kid might have grown up and wanted to regain that card.

One of my favorite cards is a Magie error with pinholes. I imagine a young fan having this card in 1909 and knowing his name was misspelled, but the hobby didn't know for decades.

I stay away fron qualifiers for the most part. But using the generally accepted two grade deduction I would value a card at much less than just 10% off the non qualified price. In some cases it could be a 80-90% drop with the medium to higher grade vintage cards.

Wow that's a epic card! I feel like this is part of the birth of collecting. It shows that they were well loved and kept. And maybe when that kid grew up the want for that card turned him in to one of the first collectors.

A few of my first vintage card looked as if they were in spokes or were flipped on concrete.

I have never owned anything above a PSA 3.5 and probably never will. I can certainly see the crowd that is actively hunting 6 or 7s and above as having an aversion to qualifiers.

In that grade range I would be even more inclined to stay away from an OC and MC qualifier. Centered cards look so much better in my opinion, and the premium you'll pay will be much smaller. An MK could be fine depending on the card.

I see great looking centered cards on the pick up thread all of the time in the 1-3 range. If you're only looking at 10-20% more than an OC I'd say that's money well spent.

I have passed on a lot of sharp OC and MC cards for the reasons you just stated. I usually look for MK cards because I find them to be a good deal. If I can stand the mark then I will usually bid or buy.

Depends on the card and the set. For some a OC is not an issue for me.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...A%209%20oc.jpg

The two-grade thing is not a consistent rule. I've seen cards that merit higher and lower grades at the same levels.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...%20Jackson.jpg

My experience with really sharp, really nice qualified 9s is that people will pay a premium for them versus a straight 7, especially when the qualification is mild.

I like when a T206 gets a two grade knock instead of receiving a MK qualifier, especially when the MK is a wet sheet transfer.

I love qualifiers, I love the fact that you get a nicer card for less money, and I love the fact that the general public hates them! There is less competition for the cards with qualifiers. Everything adds up to a win/win for me.

Some qualified cards present well

http://www.qualitycards.com/pictures/05211150.jpg

Just a matter of selling the holder not the card...

Qualifiers?
 

I love 'em. I would never have been able to buy this one had it not been for the OC qualifier. I wish I still had it.( took an offer I couldn't refuse)

I'll keep this one for a long while . . . . . . .

I don't have any, but I suppose if I could get a nicer card for the same price as a worn one I'd be all for it.

Qualifiers have always seemed silly to me. On some cards like the two basketball ones above they don't seem to be applied with any criteria at all. And centering is supposed to already be part of the grade.

So to me qualifiers have always seemed like the slab version of that guy at the flea market who's got a beater and calls it near mint because it would be mint except for the 5 creases and the corner the mouse ate.

Steve B

I stay clear of all qualifiers - from my experience, NQs hold their (resell) value better.



I do have to admit...Steve...that Gehrig is a lot better looking than my PSA-5 NQ
.

Many investors in the hobby today are buying lots of holders with high numbers on flips and crappy looking cards inside (crappy looking to me, anyway). So, in that respect it is selling the holder. But for the rest of us it makes it fun to find the right card, irrespective of the holder and what a grader thought it was. Qualifiers are subjective so each is different. I don't mind an MK on a card with an erased mark on a blank back. All that does is save me money if I want the card. That is a good thing.

I don't like Q's and don't buy them, but I like this post. You are so right. There is a story behind every card.

Yep. Funny, I have no prob with slightly OC but would have no interest in a card with writing in it. To each his own.

Not all qualifiers are created equal. There are plenty that I back away from immediately because they are too distracting and then there are ones that I must have when I see the price in relation to the card and grade.

Looks like it makes a pretty big difference on the high grade high end stuff. A 9 OC 52 Topps Mays just sold on ebay for less than 2% of what a straight 9 went for. 480k vs just over 9k.

I posted that thinking the OC copy didn't mean much but I had no idea a straight copy sold for $480K!! :eek: