Have you ever deliberately purchased a "placeholder" card?

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by Ronnie73

I do if the TPG population reports combined are in the low single digits. At that point, I know sometimes you have to take what you can get and if a better one comes up, then its time to make the decision of an upgrade.

Totally agree. I have purchased many placeholders for back runs and some remain place holders bc I can't find a better example (low pop) or a better example at a reasonable price. I have also purchased nice looking cards that I want, albeit in a lower grade than I want, and work my way up the grade scale -- for example, I bought a 51 bowman Mays 4, and when I nice 5 came along, I bought that and sold the 4. This allows me to inch up on big time cards one level at a time (btw I ultimately want the Mays in a 7 at minimum). To that extent they are placeholders

[edjs]

I do it all the time. The only problem I have with it is once I have the "placeholder," I end up moving on since that particular card is checked off the list.

[Piratedogcardshows]

I have done it many times as well. Sometimes the placeholder is a permanent addition even after I upgrade the card.

[ullmandds]

absolutely!

[kmac32]

Absolutely as sometimes that is all you can find for an example

[Stampsfan]

Never at the time. I always try and stay in the mode of getting things in the preferred condition.

However, I seem to have this habit that when I complete (or nearly complete) a set, I tend to go back and upgrade to some of the higher quality examples.

[sterlingfox]

All the time.

Have only tried to upgrade one so far, and the graded PSA 6 example in hand actually didn't look better than my PSA 4. Still can't decide which to keep. The set avg is around 7.75, so in theory, I should keep the 6 so that it's more in line with the rest of the set. Or, I should just get rid of both and find an 8

[rats60]

I bought this as a placeholder. I hope to find one someday with corners, without creases, paper loss and pin holes. It will take saving up for a while.

[oldjudge]

Absolutely, in the Old Judge set, where all the cards are relatively scarce and some are incredibly rare, you get cards you need when you can. It may be years before you see a better copy, if ever.

[mantlefan]

Absolutely. I really dislike having a 99.2% completion rate on a set. In difficult sets that I might be trying to complete in a 7 or 8 grade, I'll often add 5's or 6's to fill them out. Lately I've been adding high end 5.5's to finish my 1953 Bowman Color Baseball set.