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Marc S.there are pop 1 highest population cards that come onto the market every month/year. Even if they do not exist until they are graded -- most dealers, collectors, etc. can place an approximate value estimate on those cards. Whilst it is certainly harder to do so with more esoteric, condition-sensitive, or less widely-collected issues, approximations can certainly be done.
For what it's worth, SMR in the aggregate is a fairly horrific guide for accurate pricing. We think that auction results, VCP or other online resources, etc. have significantly better data and insight on real-time pricing trends.