Does anyone else enjoy buying mid grade PSA cards?

orioles93

Im just wondering if anyone else out there buys only PSA 4, 5, and 6s like i do for the most part. You can usually get great vintage cards in these grades with great eye appeal and that look very nice. The best part is that you dont have to break the bank on one card when you get them in these grades compared to a 7 or higher. Just thought id ask!

WinPitcher

Depends on the set.

jwgators

I do. I am starting a 1954 Topps set in 4-6 and I am loving it. That is until I get to the rookie cards.

ThoseBackPages

absolutely!

jswieton

I am a big fan of a well centered PSA 5 when it comes to my signed HOF vintage rc collection.

cadets68

I love them. I buy them from the 1950-1960's. 5's can be centered nicely and 6's can have great corners.

They are similar to the raw cards I would buy from those years.

Shwn

perkdog

I think CU member tjmac collects psa 5/6 grade cards and has one of the nicest collections of baseball from the 1950's through the 1960's, they present nice and he has alot of bang for his buck, if you do a search on "show your collection" you will see what Im talking about.


TJMAC

CW

Yeah, I'd say the majority of my graded collection is in 4, 5, and 6 grades.
When I go to the safety deposit box to check 'em out, or when I look at
scans, I enjoy my cards just the same as if they were high grade (but
the checkbook takes lighter hits throughout the year). I have no issues
with high grade card collectors, and I live vicariously through the scans
they show here. To each their own.

It does take some patience to find mid grade cards with really nice eye appeal,
and you might have to pay a slight premium over a typical card in the same
grade, but the challenge makes the hobby enjoyable.

orioles93

Thanks for showing me that perkdog! Thats what im talking about. Mid grades look very nice and they are very reasonably priced. One can put together a very nice looking collection like he has on a budget.

judgebuck

Yes sir, I buy 5s and 6s, and occasionally a 4. I had complete raw sets: 1951-55 Bowman and 1954-72 Topps, many low to mid grade. I decided to upgrade by getting graded key cards and replacing the low grade other ones. If you want an affordable set, I recommend buying the key cards in 5 and buying nice lots on the others. Be patient, and don't buy badly off center cards. In all my upgrades, I'm having the most diificulty in getting a 5, 6, or 7 1967 Topps Colavito.

bobbyw8469

Yes. I am building a 1933 Sport Kings set, and mid grade is the only way I can find that they are affordable.

Juggs

I basically buy any card on my wish list in a 5 or 6 for pre 1970. The savings is huge and the card condition is still very nice. I also target raw cards that I believe will grade out at 6 (or better) because you can usually get those quite cheap, unless you're dealing with someone who thinks they have minty gold.

detroitfan2

I'm 1500 cards into my 1950's Topps Mega Set, and only a few are as high as 7's. Of course that still leaves me with 1800+ to go, but that's just details.

I've always been convinced that if you broke a card out of a PSA 6 holder, the Mr. Mints of the world would call it near mint at the worst.

elsnorto

Absolutely. While I can appreciate a minty card, I am not driven by having "the best" in my collection.

That's a good thing too since I would have trouble focusing on a few high grade sets.

For the same money I can put together more of the classic sets I always wanted to build.

My graded sets are mostly vintage football from the 30's in PSA 3, 40's in PSA 4, and 50's in PSA 5.

For me it is more about owning a nice sets instead of having a few minty ones.

Snorto~

54topps

I enjoy buying PSA 5's and 6's for cards from the 50's. You cant beat them for the price.

mcolney1

I can't find the link to the guy with the box of 1950's baseball he made up like a shoebox of old. I think some of those cards were PSA 4-6 crackout that display very well raw. Can anyone find that link?

Like detroitfan2 said, many PSA 6 are called NM to Mint in raw condition at the dealers tables. Isn't Waverly know for breaking sixes and selling them as mint.

Downtown1974

<< <i>I can't find the link to the guy with the box of 1950's baseball he made up like a shoebox of old. I think some of those cards were PSA 4-6 crackout that display very well raw. Can anyone find that link? >>



Found it for you.

LINK

cardbender

Wow, I'm kind of surprised at how many here collect mid-grade cards.

I guess when I think of 'grading' the number that pops into my head is PSA 7 or higher for vintage.
There's nothing wrong with collecting any grade in my opinion.

A question then, if you collect mid-grade cards, why do some of you guys get them
graded at all or buy them already graded? I mean are there sellers out there who
are doctoring lower end cards in the VG range and trying to get them into PSA 5-6 holders?
Has this been a problem with anyone, buying doctored raw cards, so you feel more comfortable
buying them in slabs already?

Again, I'm not knocking this type of collecting, just mainly want to know the reason(s) behind it.

detroitfan2

<< <i>Wow, I'm kind of surprised at how many here collect mid-grade cards.

I guess when I think of 'grading' the number that pops into my head is PSA 7 or higher for vintage.
There's nothing wrong with collecting any grade in my opinion.

A question then, if you collect mid-grade cards, why do some of you guys get them
graded at all or buy them already graded? I mean are there sellers out there who
are doctoring lower end cards in the VG range and trying to get them into PSA 5-6 holders?
Has this been a problem with anyone, buying doctored raw cards, so you feel more comfortable
buying them in slabs already?

Again, I'm not knocking this type of collecting, just mainly want to know the reason(s) behind it. >>



Cardbender, those are fair questions. For me, I think there are multiple reasons, and I must preface this by saying that my mid-grade PSA cards are strictly from the 1950’s:

(1) I’ve convinced myself that for cards that routinely sell for $20+ in raw condition, you can get the same card in the same condition in a PSA slab for pretty much the same price, and you get the peace of mind of knowing that the card is not altered.

(2) With regards to more inexpensive cards or commons, let’s face it, nobody in their right mind is going to send in a common 1957 Topps baseball card to have it graded a 5 or a 6, only to sell it for less than the cost of grading. Given that the average submitter is in their right mind and is more knowledgable about card grading than your average human being, and that person “pre-graded” the card as better than a 5 or 6 (i.e. the person would grade the card raw as near mint or better, otherwise they would never send it in), at the end of the day it means that you’re getting a pretty damn nice card when you buy a PSA 5 or 6 . . . that is, you’re getting what someone “knowledgable” thought was a near mint card or better. Not sure if this makes sense.

(3) At some point, either I or someone in my family is going to have to do something with my cards. Having them all PSA graded makes them a lot easier to liquidate.

(4) The registry is a powerful drug, even for us people with no money, and especially for us people with no money who can’t decide what they want to collect so they collect everything.

BaltimoreYankee

Yes!! I love buying PSA cards in lesser grades because many of the PSA collectors are after higher grades and there are bargains to be found in lesser grades.

Generally, any 1950's cards that I buy are PSA 4 or 5. Plenty of bargains to be had in 1960's cards in a PSA 6 and they have great eye appeal. I can also find some good deals on eBay for PSA 7 1971's (for true auctions, not jacked up "buy it nows"). Generally, anything in a 7 or higher, I leave encapsulated and crack open the others.

fiveniner

<< <i>Im just wondering if anyone else out there buys only PSA 4, 5, and 6s like i do for the most part. You can usually get great vintage cards in these grades with great eye appeal and that look very nice. The best part is that you dont have to break the bank on one card when you get them in these grades compared to a 7 or higher. Just thought id ask! >>

I have a 53 Bowman color on the registry with low grades and peek at mt 51 Bowman Football (Mid Grade).I have several pictures of the 53s and the entire 51.
Click the link.

itzagoner

no.

but, allow me to make an observation. it's not old news.

when i first got into this business "way back when", and put a lot of time and effort into helping people liquidate collections, the large majority of their vintage cards would have likely been classified as mid-grade, and there was a lot less PSA plastic in the mix, if any.

as any person might consider doing with an accumulation of cards, digging out the top quality stuff was my priority, but i still needed a way to move the bulk and i was quite fortunate to have buyers available and willing to take it.

the marketplace needs buyers at all levels of interest, otherwise there is no strength or diversity in the marketplace.

the same concept applies today, now that several million more mid-grade vintage cards have found their way into PSA slabs, the necessity of buyers and ultimately collectors has never changed.

it's not a source of enjoyment for me, since my personal interests are different, but i appreciate the fact that there are all different types of collectors around.

if we were all going after the same exact same cards, there would be a lot of very lonely ones.

vladguerrero

I also think it depends on the set, I wouldn't be into any mid grades sets past 1960.

I'm currently working on a 1933 Goudey Indian Gum set in PSA 5-6, and in those grades it's still far from cheap. 5's and 6's are great looking cards, at least in this set.

bking

I'd love to have a set of beautiful 5's for anything vintage - the kind of 5's that were all of the "WTH is the wrinkle I missed??" variety.

eagles33

I love me a good surface wrinkle. Nothing beats getting a sharp, well centered vintage card at a psa 4 or 5 price.

mcolney1

Great thread. Downtown 1974 is the KING of mid grade graded cards. Check out his link to old school collecting. I put it back on the front page...very, very cool and has inspired me to do the same. Tony

wrestlingcardking

I have most of the wrestling cards from the 19th century and I somehow have got some 7s with one 8 and I continue to upgrade. I wonder if it is really worth it as the people I show off my 5s to really do not know the difference between the 5 and 7. The fact that I know, keeps me upgrading....ugh!

cwazzy

I LOVE midgrade cards. They are BY FAR my favorite cards to buy. My line of thinking is that cards were produced to be looked at and played with. So I don't buy high grade cards because they obviously didn't get played with. Even if money weren't a factore I would still chose midgrade. I like the fact that my cards show wear. I just can't help but try to think what the kid who opened the pack was thinking when he saw the card. It's a cool way to connect to someone from another generation.

TJMAC

Thanks Perk for the compliment and posting the link. Mid grade (PSA 5, 6 & 7) 50 and 60's football and baseball superstars is where most of the money in my collection is at. I think there is great value there and they also hold their value. I do not buy raw because of overgrading and trimmed cards. I know what I am getting when I go with graded. Also, I know they are pretty safe from the elements in the encapsulated holder and easy to turn around if I have to sell.

Like itzagoner wrote, it is great there are different types of collectors around. It is so much fun looking at everyone's stuff and that is what collecting to me is all about. Downtown, I have said it before, but I will say it again, I really get enjoyment out of looking at your collection.

daddymc

I love mid-grade PSA cards for the value they offer. Just got this great looking Koufax and Musial today. While the Musial is a little lower than "mid-grade", I thought it had great eye appeal despite the obvious centering problem:

Brick

I have a warm spot in my heart for mid grade vintage cards. I do believe you should have consistency in quality throughout the set. I had completed 55 Topps Baseball and did not do this. I had PSA 3 to PSA 9. In hindsight I think I would have preferred all well centered PSA 5-6s.

Manofmoe

I am slowly but surely working on an all PSA '52 topps set in low grade, all 1's to 4's. Even in these grades the set will still be a beast for me to complete, but like others I like the security of knowing that the cards I am buying haven't been altered. I've also noticed that a lot of the low # commons that grade in the 2-4 range have great eye appeal that people probably had pegged higher and either missed or really underestimated the flaws. I still get just as excited to open up a package holding a PSA 2 as I used to the higher grade stuff!

Darin

I think my latest mid grade purchase was a 1962 Clemente PSA 6, just a very beautiful card for the grade, very well centered and actually could easily be a 6.5 or a 7. I like finding cards like that which I feel are high end for the grade.

NickM

If the price is right, absolutely.

I just added a 1961-62 Fleer PSA 4 Richie Guerin IA for under $2 (including combined shipping), and it looks quite nice.

Nick