Do creases still bother collectors as much

[itjclarke]

Personally, I'd choose a nice, sharp cornered, clean image card that's OC over a perfectly centered one with a crease. I also remember creases as the "kiss of death" when collecting as a kid, and know all my friends who collected back then felt similar.

I think that it was very different then though, when we actually handled ALL our cards raw. You could see the creases more easily and often feel them, as well as feel how different dinged corners felt than razor sharp. Now most available/for sale high value cards are graded, and I think the premium on flaws that stood out more on a raw card (creases, fuzzy corners or edges, indentations, etc) are less noticeable to collectors who may never even touch the card (I own many I'll likely never touch).

Though it seems centering has probably always been appreciated, I think it's premium is in part driven recently by the fact these cards will forever be framed in a TPG holder. I think this draws more attention to the card's framing, and the fact the card will never be handled, minimizes the negative impact of crease/wrinkles, etc.