Colress's Experiment

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $54.28, raw the card sits at $4.34 — 12,5× as much. Of 1.175 copies already graded, 58 % received a 10 and 31 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $42.08 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 14 auctions the median was $3.82, across 157 fixed-price sales $4.59. Fixed price therefore fetched about 20 % more — for this card patience with a set price is the better route.

Half of all sales fell between $3.69 and $5.53, with a median of $4.31. 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 $2.95. Offers well below $1.77 are typically fakes, mislabelled cards or a different variant — ask for photos of all four borders and a close-up of the surface.

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.