Pikachu

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $1,384, raw the card sits at $18.69 — 74,1× as much. Of 1.234 copies already graded, 14 % received a 10 and 42 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $311.45 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 33 auctions the median was $19.67, across 90 fixed-price sales $16.64. Auctions therefore fetched about 18 % more — worth it mainly for sought-after cards with several bidders.

Half of all sales fell between $11.67 and $19.46, with a median of $15.93. 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 $8.85. Offers well below $5.31 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.