Condition / grading obsession in the hobby

[Exhibitman]

Lots of factors at work:

I tend to like to get cards in the condition I had them when I was a kid. For me, that means the 1970s are pack fresh, the late 1960s look pretty good, say ex or better, and earlier cards are rougher. I am very happy with vg cards from the 1950s golden era of Topps, for example. That said, I will pick up better condition cards when the price is right.

As for slabbing, it is imperative for mail order and eBay. In person, like at the National, I can take the time to sift through and study the cards to see whether they meet my criteria. By mail or on eBay, not so much. A wrinkle here, a bumped corner there, etc. Dealers' standards varied so widely that a PSA or SGC or BVG is very useful.

So, to go back to the OP, I think TPGs have a place, but I have always found the registry competition over supposedly high grade cards to be incomprehensible. I see basically no difference between a 9 and a 10, and many 8s are just as nice. To each his own, except that the price inflation from deep pocketed collectors fighting over the 9-10 cards tends to push collectors down to lesser grades for their collections, which in turn pushes up prices for lesser grade cards. We're seeing that right now with Mantle and Aaron cards.