Posted By:
warshawlawIt all depends on the card and the collector. Some issues are so rare (e.g., 1928 PCL Exhibits) that you take what you find. I happily purchase p-f cards from rare sets because I know I may not find them again for years. My 1926 Zeenut Lefty O'Doul looks like it was folded in half and rolled up, but it's mine...
Some cards are so common (e.g., T206 HOFers) that you may not want to pay $800-$1,000 for a midgrade card. I am content with my "1" red portrait Cobb because there was no way in hell I was going to pay the freight on a "4"; I'd rather have three "1" Cobbs for the same price.
Some cards are not that rare but are so high demand that low grade is the only realistic way to collect. My caramel Cy Young cards are lower grade but no way could I bring myself to pay 10x-25x the price of those cards for better specimens.
While I don't want to repeat myself w/r/t investments and cards, I do not share the belief that lower grade cards are unsound investments. No, they will not be in Mastro but neither will many of the vintage collectors out there who cannot afford to spend $10,000 a card, even as an investment. Remember, an investment is worth whatever two people agree it is worth. IMHO lower end cards of primo players from popular sets have a ready market and one that will increase in size (unlike very expensive cards, which rely on a thin sliver of the populace for their continued value increases) as more people are drawn into the vintage area of the hobby but cannot or will not spend mega bucks on cards. Consider the lower grade cards penny stocks; lots of people do quite well on those. It all depends on your acumen in picking them.
Finally, there is a huge variation in 1's because the flaws that generate a 1 or even a 2 (why PSA doesn't have a "fair" category has always been beyond my understanding) can be multiple or a single severe one. I have some 1's that look like hell; others have a single flaw like album removal on the back, a small punch hole or clipped corner that generate a technical 1 but that look really nice in comparison. I will buy vg-ex with a small hole or a bit of back damage writing in a 1 slab all day long provided I am paying "1" prices for it.