Ok so I have decided I'm going to pull the trigger on a BGS 10 Chrome Kobe RC.... I was up in the air about it for a few months because I could instead pick up a 9.5 for 1/3 of the price.... But in the end, as subjective as grading can be, I just love the thought of having a widely recognized label reading "Pristine" ....
What do you guys think of this whole subject? For example in this instance a 9.5 Kobe Chrome goes for about 450-650 depending on subs, while a BGS 10 goes between 1400-1700 .... If you had the choice & the available funds... Which would you prefer??
I'd rather have a 9.5 Kobe with good subs and possibly resubmitting later if I really wanted a 10. $1400-$1700 is just way too much for that card.
I agree way to much money, if I were you I'd buy the 9.5 and something else of his you want in 9.5
You'd have to be a BIG Kobe fan to pull the trigger. Me personally i wouldn't spend more than 1.5X for a 9.5 to a pristine... although typically that go for 3-5X. Looking at the population reports, they are typically 10x rarer, if not more... but at the end of the day, it's still the card in the holder you are paying for.
I wouldn't pay that much of a premium. The thing that a lot of people tend to overlook when it comes to graded cards is that the majority of cards are not graded. Therefore the population report is skewed toward just the ones that have been submitted so far. Sure a lot of nice looking cards will eventually get submitted for grading, but there are tons in collections that will never get graded.
Grading took off as it objectively defined the condition of a card for a buyer and seller (which is extremely important when dealing with cards online, since you cannot examine the card in person). I actually think grading is extremely useful and a valuable tool for vintage cards. However the whole idea of paying a super premium for a 9.5 vs 10, I just find ridiculous (as the difference between the 2 may just be microscopic or in some cases simply the person who was grading the card that day).
While the BGS 10 is rare for my money I'd be happy with a BGS 9.5 with 9.5-10 Centering. That's the most important/noticeable attribute when you look at this card. I have a BGS 9 and if I were to upgrade that's the way I'd go. I'd use the extra money for a nice auto and patch card.
Grading in general is starting to feel like a big time scam to me. I have so many nice graded 86 fleer cards from my set and the grading seems so inconsistent. My strategy is and will remain, find the grade before the epic price jump and then hunt down the best looking example for that grade. Doing that now with some vintage RCs (Wilt, Russell, West, Julius and Robertson).
If you can't tell the difference between a 9.5 and a 10 then it is not worth it IMO.