There Goes The Set "GPA" - Upgrading A PSA 7... To A Mere 2.5

mattyc_collection

For any guys who are all about finding the best-looking card, here's one you can appreciate...

So this has always been one of my favorite cards, since I was a little kid. Something about the composition of the photo in this one just gets me. Anyways, I was shopping for a higher grade at first. Nothing centered was out there. I just never see this card centered.

Then I happen upon this little anomaly on ebay, and happily threw the VCP grid all out of whack (a guilty pleasure of mine, heh heh) to get it. This little guy is up there in my low-grade to high-eye-appeal quotient-- and money saved.

I'm sure somewhere out there, someone came across the listing and was like, "That much for a 2.5?! That's insanely overpaying!" Meanwhile, to me, it was an absolute deal. Goes to show how funny collecting can be. There's some minor staining on the back, meanwhile the front smokes almost all I've seen. Thank you, technical grading guidelines

Of course, this card totally wrecks my Registry Set GPA, LOL. If I was shopping for a specific "high" grade, I'd have totally missed this bad boy. And if I bought the "8" and later saw this card, I'd kick myself.

thehallmark

"jealous" doesn't begin to describe the feeling...

ThoseBackPages

Sweet Jesus

Dboneesq

AWESOME pickup my friend!!!

mattyc_collection

Thx, fellas. Straight up, my collecting dream would be to find every card I want in this exact same grade and condition.

I forget whoever first told me about buying the best looking card no matter if it's a 9 or a 3, and better to "over" pay a premium over average for a great-looking card, than pay average for an ugly or average looking card-- but I'd love to buy that dude a steak dinner. I'm pretty sure I heard it here on these boards back in 2005 or 2006.

bobbyw8469

Hey...at least you bought the card and not the holder. We can rehash a certain PSA 9 that got cracked out 20 times before it became a 10, and worth 6 figures. I am in the same boat as you. I pay for the card, not the flip.

mattyc_collection

Bobby, just don't hate me if I ever have to sell it, and I crack/resub or review it to a 4+ LOL!

Indy78

Beautiful card!

I'm with you all the way on paying for eye appeal and not what's on the holder or the number on the registry set. That approach is how I built my 1975 Mini registry set and why although it would be nice to have all the cards in the set be all 8 or higher, it's not going to happen unless I find 8's that look substantially better than my 7's (I have fifteen 7's in the set). I see no point in paying $150 for a PSA 8 Claudell Washington, when my 7 with even the tiniest bit of PD will blow most 8's out of the water and I only paid $10.95 for it.

I've slipped up a few times and replaced perfectly good 7's with 8's that are just a tad nicer but $50-$75 more expensive. Although I'm happy with those cards, if I could take those transactions back, I would do it.

packCollector

beautiful card, there has to be something else there besides the stain for it to be a 2.5. even with that stain on the back it could be a straight 7 or 8 on a 53 bowman.

these are the prime examples why grading can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. we need it to keep the scum out but in cases like this it completely misses the point

esquiresports

That is one gorgeous card. I almost never look at the backs of my cards except when I first get them.

Sabrgeek

is it me or is one of the back borders all wacky. I think that is what caused the 2.5

mattyc_collection

The back left border is just entirely obscured by the flash; I should have a proper scan next week. The splotchy staining on bottom back border is what hits it-- I have a T206 Green Cobb PSA 2 coming in next week that is the same way. It also seems the Mick was in a photo album because around the card number on back there is some spotty fading of the ink.

MiniDuff

That is the hit matty, not the staining. Its the fade/scrape around the "Mickey" and "season" area. Takes nothing away from the aesthetic value of the card, it is a stunner, but it does gong the technical grade. Perfect pickup.

CDsNuts

MiniDuff is right. Technically paper-loss which knocks it down to a 2 automatically, then they gave the "gift" .5 upgrade. There should definitely be exceptions to grading standards and this is an obvious example. This card should be a 6 all day long and sell for 6 money.

Lee

mattyc_collection

Word up, Lee. I feel like I owe all my favorite cards to the same technical guidelines that often vex me. But as someone else said in another thread, grading can be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it's like that Monopoly card, "Bank error in your favor!"

The collector is really the final grader whose opinion counts most. I mean, none of us collectors were present way back when the (arbitrary) "rules" of the grading game were decided at some round table summit, LOL.

MiniDuff

Way back was much simpler:

Dealers cards were always "Mint"
Your cards were not.

Much, much easier :-P

orioles93

A lot better than this 2.5

LINK

76collector

Beautiful card. I have to say I have grown into buying the card and not the flip. It has taken some time though, as I often scan the bay for psa X.


Miniduff - SO TRUE ! This got a chuckle out of me.
Way back was much simpler:

Dealers cards were always "Mint"
Your cards were not.

Much, much easier :-P

mattyc_collection

<< <i>Beautiful card. I have to say I have grown into buying the card and not the flip. It has taken some time though, as I often scan the bay for psa X. >>



76,

I used to do the same thing. I'd think, "I want this card in GRADE X." Then I'd search for that grade, and in a way I was being myopic, and missing out on superior cards by shopping that way. Now when I want a card, I leave myself open to a wide grade range-- and time and again, it is in a lower grade than I intended that I find the best card!

mattyc_collection

Card came today-- here's a good scan on my Epson. Holder got chipped in transit (no bubble wrap?!), but thankfully it's all good. Reholdering is in its future though. I wish I could find a few more cards on my list in this exact same grade and condition!

bobbyw8469

That is one of the best looking fronts I have ever seen.

mattinglymint23

Congrats Matt. Another stunner. Enjoy.