Rocket's Articuno ex

A PSA 10 currently sells for about $10,682, raw the card sits at $887.43 — 12,0× as much. Of 1.149 copies already graded, 8 % received a 10 and 26 % a 9. Mathematically, submitting returns $2,586 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 40 auctions the median was $641.07, across 56 fixed-price sales $538.20. Auctions therefore fetched about 19 % more — worth it mainly for sought-after cards with several bidders.

Half of all sales fell between $179.59 and $369.83, with a median of $293.90. 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 $132.87. Offers well below $79.72 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.