Pikachu

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $8,791, raw the card sits at $121.35 — 72,4× as much. Of 1.717 copies already graded, 2 % received a 10 and 18 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $439.91 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 111 auctions the median was $115.28, across 208 fixed-price sales $98.53. Auctions therefore fetched about 17 % more — worth it mainly for sought-after cards with several bidders.

Half of all sales fell between $67.34 and $115.90, with a median of $88.73. 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 $44.73. Offers well below $26.84 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: German $136.43 (20), English $96.78 (321), French $67.05 (24). German fetches about 103 % 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.