Is it worth grading?
Most grading advice stops at "it depends." This works the numbers. Enter what your card is worth raw, what your submission costs, and an honest estimate of your odds — and see the point where grading stops paying for itself.
This is the one number we cannot measure for you — and the one that decides the outcome. Be honest: centering alone caps a lot of otherwise clean cards at a 9.
Worth grading at any realistic odds. Even a 9 clears the $50.00 it costs to submit, so you are not betting on a perfect grade.
Slab values apply the median premiums we measured across 3,099 cards (15.9× raw for a PSA 10; a 9 at 4.2× less than a 10). They describe a population, not your specific card — a card with real graded sales will have its own figures on its card page. The model assumes the only outcomes are a 9 or a 10, so it is the optimistic case: real submissions can come back lower.
Where these numbers come from
The slab values are not guesses or the commonly repeated "a PSA 10 sells for about twice the raw card." We hold live raw and graded pricing for the same printings, so we measured the premium directly across 3,099 variant-matched pairs from 20 expansions: a median of 15.9× raw for a PSA 10, and a PSA 10 running 4.2× the PSA 9.
Before you submit
The calculator is only as good as the odds you put into it, and the odds come down to the physical card. Two things are worth doing first: measure the borders the way a grader does — centering is the defect that most often caps a clean card at a 9 — and inspect the surface and edges under good light. Then pick a grader with PSA vs CGC vs BGS, and check what your card is actually worth raw with the value checker.
Frequently asked
How much does it cost to grade a Pokemon card?
At entry tiers the fee is typically around $20–$30 per card, and you also pay postage in both directions plus insurance, which realistically adds another $20–$30 for a small submission. Higher declared values push you into more expensive tiers. The calculator takes both the fee and the shipping as separate inputs because the shipping is the part people forget.
What odds of a PSA 10 should I assume?
Nobody can give you a trustworthy number, which is exactly why it is an input rather than a fixed assumption. It depends on the card's centering, surface, edges and corners, and on how strict the grader is with that era. If you have not inspected the card closely under good light, you are guessing — and guessing high is the common mistake.
Why does a PSA 9 matter so much in the maths?
Because it is the likely outcome for any card that is not flawless, and it is worth far less than a 10. Across the cards we measured, a PSA 10 sells for a median of about four times the PSA 9. That gap, not the headline 10 multiple, is what usually decides whether a submission was a good idea.
Is this calculator accurate for my specific card?
It applies population medians, so treat it as a sanity check rather than a valuation. If your card already has real graded sales, its own card page shows those actual figures, which are always better than an estimate. The model also assumes the only outcomes are a 9 or a 10, so it is the optimistic case.
Should I grade a card worth under $30 raw?
Almost never for financial reasons. The submission cost alone typically exceeds the entire value of the card, so even a perfect grade struggles to break even. Grading a card that cheap is a preservation or sentimental decision.