Gyarados

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $1,628, raw the card sits at $184.30 — 8,8× as much. Of 537 copies already graded, 31 % received a 10 and 35 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $829.10 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 34 auctions the median was $157.21, across 70 fixed-price sales $138.39. Auctions therefore fetched about 14 % more — worth it mainly for sought-after cards with several bidders.

Half of all sales fell between $84.18 and $177.88, with a median of $123.59. 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 $56.12. Offers well below $33.67 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 $144.69 (84), German $73.68 (11). English fetches about 96 % 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.