Hi Robert,
I was actually looking for a thread like this. I'm getting back into collecting older cards (starting with the 1955 and '56 Topps sets I've always wanted to complete but never did...) now in my late 30's after at least a decade off from the hobby.
I've been there with the high-end, graded card hoopla - trust me. You get to the point where you really lose sight of the card as a whole and are only worrying about a grade on a case, or worse - fretting about only one corner on one card, or something equally ridiculous. I found myself up in the middle of the night looking at cards under a magnifying glass - really? Was my BVG 7 '56 Koufax better than the PSA 6 Koufax? At some point the hobby just got so frustrating to me at every turn that I kind of just put it aside. Since then I've gone back to school and had a family and realized that life is too short...
When I was a kid, the fact that a card was simply "old" was cool enough. If it was a card of a superstar that was all the better - and when I collected these types of vintage cards as a kid in back in the 1980's and early 90's - I was for sure not worried about some dinged corners or an occasional crease or other small flaw. Some of the most cherished cards that I recall having as a kid back then had some pretty serious issues from the PSA perspective. But when I look back now, that time period was when I had the most fun with collecting - hands down.
I'm hoping that getting back into collecting now with the ability to take things a bit less seriously will payoff. You are right, you can still get very presentable cards with a ton of eye appeal in the VG range - and for a fraction of what those who are participating in the high-end market wind up dishing out.
Good luck and long live those less than perfect cards!
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