Similar to last post
For rare stuff - the holder it's in matters A LOT less to me although has helped me at times because imho PSA actually under-grades certain things horribly.
For more common cards I echo your sentiment - I have no problem paying a premium for an exceptional looking card for its numeric grade, but will not pay for the next grade up because if I am patient I theoretically could find one of those "nice" for its grade as well if I wanted to spend more.
The "A" is a really interesting question. I was just thinking about this yesterday. There is a high profile card listed for sale that is an "A". Outside of the fact that it is likely trimmed, it is a fantastic looking card. I took a look at the low grades of the same card for sale/sold. Need to get to like a "5" level to find a card visually as nice - a 5 is about 4-5X the price that is being asked for the "A". It is tempting, but I am dissuaded largely by how shunned these are in the marketplace. I looked at the 1's and 2's and 3's and wouldn't consider buying them at all because of how visually poor they are. I don't ignore the marketplace when making decisions - so as tempting as it is (and aesthetically incredibly more pleasing than the lower graded copies), I don't buy "A" cards.
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