Salamence

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $373.53, raw the card sits at $3.97 — 94,0× as much. Of 476 copies already graded, 15 % received a 10 and 43 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $83.03 on average, before fees and shipping. Rule of thumb: submit when the value at a realistic grade is at least double the raw value — which is the case here. Centering decides it: an off-centre card will not get a 10. The grade distribution comes from the PSA Population Report; people pre-sort before submitting, so your own hit rate may differ.

Across 11 auctions the median was $1.12, across 37 fixed-price sales $2.40. Fixed price therefore fetched about 114 % more — for this card patience with a set price is the better route.

Half of all sales fell between $1.96 and $3.51, with a median of $2.33. Selling fast lands you nearer the lower end; with patience, good photos and a complete title the upper end is achievable.

The cheapest genuine sales were around $1.20. Offers well below $0.72 are typically fakes, mislabelled cards or a different variant — ask for photos of all four borders and a close-up of the surface.

From real sales: English $2.92 (120), Italian $2.72 (28). The difference is small — language barely matters here.

lastsold uses only real sales — eBay plus auction houses like Goldin & Fanatics — recent sales count more (recency weighting), outliers and fakes are removed. It's not an estimate but actual sold prices, separated by condition, language and grading.