Is One Of These Cards $50,000 Better Than The Others?

[MattyC]

I agree that the most perfect 10s out there, that are truly GEM MT, are great cards. I also concur that the difference between those GEM MT cards and the most elite 9s is so small in terms of card quality, and so huge in terms of price, that it makes the 9s much, much better values to me. And I extrapolate that to apply to any card that jumps up enormously in price in GRADE X; I'd rather find one that looks identical, close to it, or even better in GRADE X-Y.

The bottom line for me is that this Aaron scenario proves (as so many other cases do; the last Brett 10 on ebay comes to mind) that there are guys spending huge money thinking they have the best card, when in fact they do not.

It's all about not being blinded by the number on the sticker, and trusting one's own eyes.

A TPG label is just an opinion. Sometimes the grade they assign matches the card, sometimes it's stingy, and other times it is overly generous. Other times it conforms to arbitrarily codified definitions that were made long ago, without the input of many collectors.

[esquiresports]

I don't know if it's that simple. Looking at big name HOF rookie cards, it seems that 9s and 10s (when there is a decent sample size) have consistently outperformed 8s and 7s over the last five years. Arguably, the "smart money" is on the investment value that comes at least in part with the grade. It's also typically much easier to move one example of a card versus six or seven or more.

[MattyC]

I agree that the investment and flipping goal does put a whole different spin on the discussion. If someone is going for investment and selling, I can see them wanting to buy and flip 10s.

If someone wants to buy the best looking card period without regard for the sticker or profit on resale, different story. And if someone wants to build a collection of beautiful cards on a set budget for keeping their entire lifetime, I guess that's also another story.

So I think you make a great point, in that one's goal in buying the card is key to determining the wisdom or folly of the purchase. I personally am not someone looking to buy a beautiful card just to sell it, but I agree an investor may want to do just that with 9s and 10s-- given how some buyers of those grades seem not to mind when certain examples don't merit the assigned grade.

That said, generalizing among the grades can also hide the fact that, percentage-wise, there have been some enormous profits seen on beautiful 8s and 7s, even on 1s and 2s. Granted the size of the take is smaller, but it can add up, if that profit is one's goal.

One can also argue that there are many more buyers for cards in a lower price range, as opposed to needing to find that rarefied buyer who can drop 50k on a card. There is something to be said for a broad and deep buying pool.

My personal focus is always on the card and not the sticker or the profit on sale. And if someone bought that Aaron 9 thinking it was better than all 8s, I would contend they were wrong. If they bought it to sell and turn a profit, I would say they will probably do well, unless more and more collectors begin to do comparative analyses when shopping, and see if the card in GRADE X is truly worthy of the grade, and is not outshined aesthetically by any extant lower grade examples.

[esquiresports]

Well said. I often find myself thinking and rethinking how I wish to approach collecting. While all of my bigger purchases have been based on sentimental attachment, they are also grounded in investment. Otherwise I couldn't make sense of it for me.