Quote:
Originally Posted by skelly423
This may come across as a cop-out, but my answer is it depends. Centering is a big part of my evaluation of a card, but I also look for bright colors (no fading or staining) and good registration. I won't buy a card if it doesn't have all 3 elements.
I'm quite happy to pay a premium if I can check all 3 boxes, but the amount of the premium depends on the scarcity of the card, the number of issues with the particular card/set. For example 1933 Goudey doesn't have a lot of centering issues, so I don't pay much of a premium for well centered cards. By contrast 1952 Topps can be difficult to find well centered examples of certain cards, so I'm comfortable with a bigger premium for centering.
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When I first rejoined the hobby back in 2016, I purchased many 52 Topps cards that weren't exactly centered, if you know what I mean?

That has changed now once I became more educated and read on here numerous times how important centering was. I have now, for the most part, become fairly anal when it comes to centering, but then again, since most of my remaining needed cards are pricey, I won't be as anal with those if and when the time comes.
A fairly recent upgrade for me, and if I happen to come across a more centered copy of other cards in my collection, I will also give them a shot if the upgrade is significant enough.