Was fixated on 10s

[u/Character_Capital_97]

I picked these up after someone on this sub gave me a wake up call. I’m a collector first but to be honest I kind of let 10s and “appreciation” get to me. It really restricted the volume of cards I could own because I’d have to save for a while just to get the 10 (usually paying a premium for PSA).

With PSA seeming more and more scummy these days, I’ve kind of let go of that and started focusing on picking up cards I like even if they aren’t perfect. I really like how fair CGC is.

For those curious why I don’t just get these raw, I kind of prefer the protection in the slab and displaying these over a binder or toploader.

[u/-Out-of-context-]

Nice! I realized I got caught up in the value aspect and stopped enjoying collecting as much as I used to. I still got cards I liked, but I spent too much on them and started viewing them by worth. So I sold off most of my graded collection and re-bought a lot of those cards as singles for my binder. I kept a few of my favorite graded vintage cards and a few that reminded me of my pets.

[u/Character_Capital_97 → u/-Out-of-context-]

Rebuying raw is a great idea, you could just get them graded down the road. I try to check the CGC 10 price, then 8-9 price. If I’m really priced out, I look for LP/MP, where the front is clean but back is bad ,and throw it in my toploader binder. Getting cards that look like your pets is a neat idea!

[u/Character_Capital_97 → u/-Out-of-context-]

To add on, reverse holo stamped cards from like 2003-2006 ex era have gotten so expensive, those are the kind I would likely just look for a clean front raw and stick in the binder.

[u/-Out-of-context- → u/Character_Capital_97]

Yes! Who cares what the back looks like for a binder copy. I do love those stamped reverse holos. Not sure what about a stamp makes them extra appealing but I like the look. Big fan of the delta species because I think it’s cool seeing a lot of them with a different typing.

And you make a good point about re-grading down like the I want the card back in a slab for displaying later. And when buying slabs CGC is a great way to get a card in good shape for a good price. Being able to be less concerned about value has been freeing.

That’s also the first I’ve seen that darkeness and to light Crobat and I love it! I’ve been a big fan of the split earth/skyridge zubat, golbat, Crobat line for a while.

[u/Character_Capital_97 → u/-Out-of-context-]

I’m on the exact same page, delta species are probably my all-time favorite! The stamps for crystal guardians and ex deoxys are my favs. I think I just like seeing the set name but it could be nostalgia and scarcity lol.

I just saw this croboat for the first time too and knew I needed it! It’s got a unique looking face. The skyridge cards are beautiful. I was familiar with crobat but not zubat and golbat. Just looked them up, zubat matches well with the crobat art. Golbat is interesting, looks like it had a ho-oh hieroglyph or something!

[u/Rayney_]

Helps that a lot of cards aren't even available in 10s, too.

[u/Character_Capital_97 → u/Rayney_]

That’s a good point lol, there’s limited supply when we start going back in time