good question
Depends on the card, but I'm kind of with your old buddy, Bob, or at least I was for years. I always separated factory mistakes from those caused by handling and wear, at least within reason (95/5 centering was always offputting, so too the print defects that give the player an extra eye or some huge abscess on his neck).
Lately though, I focus more on centering for all mainstream issues (I am extremely forgiving on back centering though). For example, I'm slooooooowly gathering Philly gum football sets, and will only buy very, very well centered cards. I could have completed these sets, even in my preferred grade of 8, if I ignored centering and just bought whatever came up for auction. Instead, I'm about half way on some, worse on others. Still, I know there are just so many of these out there that if I'm patient, I'll be happier with my set(s). If the corners are strong 8s but the card is not well centerd, I'll bide my time.
Prewar and scarcer items are a different story. There I grab what I can afford and worry about upgrades if and when I ever see the card again.
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