Team Rocket's Articuno

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $142.92, raw the card sits at $1.98 — 72,3× as much. Of 152 copies already graded, 61 % received a 10 and 12 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $123.51 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 8 auctions the median was $5.42, across 44 fixed-price sales $2.33. Auctions therefore fetched about 132 % more — worth it mainly for sought-after cards with several bidders.

Half of all sales fell between $1.56 and $3.68, with a median of $2.08. 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 $1.12. Offers well below $0.67 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 $1.98 (210), German $1.30 (15). English fetches about 52 % more.

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.