Nice condition is one thing.  I get that - dirty, dinged corners, creases are less desirable - but it seems like with better printing capabilities today that centering is the main focus of grading, and it has translated to vintage items.  I feel the focus on older collectibles should be elsewhere such as damage from handling or simply just "aging."  Shouldn't "out of the pack fresh" be a gem mint 10 as long as there weren't obvious printing flaws?  I really doubt that you cared about centering as an elementary student when it was just something fun to do.  Could your 10-year-old eye really detect the centering difference between what PSA would grade as a 9 compared to a 10? 

And you're correct that grading shouldn't be about the money, but that's what it has become.  It should simply be a way for a recognized authority, using a transparent standard, to 1) verify that the item is genuine, and then 2) qualify the quality of the item.  In my opinion, it's the consumer that has become obsessed with owning the gem mint 10 that has turned the hobby into a business, not the act of grading itself.

I think one feeds the other like chicken and egg.  Grading companies filled a need for the obsessed and then created a new need for folks who previously didn't really care once the $ kicked in....slowly the grading population is being penetrated by other companies and PSA changing its standards making older graded cards somewhat obsolete is all part of the game to keep people chasing this.  Instead of .5 grades, soon the .25 grades will come and all those PSA8s that really could be 8.25 or 8.5 of today will need to be regarded.....and those collections that lead the PSA race will need to be regarded to get some decimal bump ups....

Yes, I bid $650.  Did you win a lot of the 9's?

I really wanted the Mulers. But as I said someone wanted it more.  I got the Tied, Gadzooka, and Grave Train also on that day.  The Mr. Mean, and the Have a Temper the Day before and the Shots Tissue the day before that one.  Also got 90 dollars in ebay bucks for my troubles. 

From what I've seen on set images, I'm diggin' the All detergent and Swiss Miss parodies. The artwork on those two really stand out this month.

Steve, yup those are Shanes!  He’s done a bunch of sketch sets under the name Kid Grimm but those are his first two Wackys and I agree cool stuff and of course “ Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl”

So, since the October Wackys just arrived, that means the New Attackys should be following soon, right?

Your optimism is charming. We all live in hope.

Thanks!! On ebay now if anyone's interested.