Thoughts on imperfect registration for 19th century cards
 

I'm looking at picking up something where the registration is off. Does this hurt the overall resale value typically and does it affect grading at all?

Yes and yes. Would lose some eye appeal collectors on the money side. Could lead to a reduction in grade or the rarer OF qualifier for Out of Focus, but that would be only if the card is a higher grade card; say maybe PSA 6 or above in the first place. Mid grade cards don't seem to get downgraded for registration issues as much.

It is all about eye appeal for the majority of 19th century collectors but grade still affects it somewhat, from what I have seen. The photo quality is what those collectors want, not necessarily the highest graded. I am positive there are exceptions to the rule though. When I have bought or collected those it was always more about eye appeal than grade.

Registration typically isn't the issue on 19th century cards as many are photographic. What is often a problem is fading. Either way, visual appeal is the key, and for some collectors the only factor that matters. I would take a sharp photo card with rounded corners and back issues over an SGC 80+ with a faded photo every time.

I presume he's talking about lithograph cards like Ginter's Champions or Goodwins.
Although the 1910 T202 card he posted in the other thread is definitely poorly registered and I would not expect it to get a PSA 8 if submitted today.

Yes, I'm talking about a Ginter :)

In real estate, my profession, there's a saying that goes "location, location, location". My analogy for 19th century photographic baseball collecting-- be it cards, CdVs, cabinets, imperial cabinets or mammoth plates, is "photo quality, photo quality, photo quality".