I Graded 33 Pokémon Cards with PSA. Here's the Profit and Loss Breakdown.
Every seller eventually asks if professional grading is worth the cost, risk, and long wait times. I sent 33 cards to PSA to find out, and this is a transparent look at the numbers—the good, the bad, and the break-even.
By NeoSatoshi
TL;DR
Quick answers
The core takeaways from this video, answered fast.
The Submission: Costs, Timelines, and Expectations
This case study is based on a single submission of 33 Pokémon cards sent to PSA. The cards were sent in mid-November and returned in mid-July, making the total turnaround time about 8 months. I used a middleman service in Switzerland, as I can't send directly to PSA from my location.
The total cost to grade all 33 cards was around $1,000, which works out to roughly $30 per card. This pricing is a critical detail, as we'll see later. Based on a previous submission with poor results, my main goal was to see if my pre-grading skills had improved and if grading this batch of cards would actually be profitable.
The Grades: A Mixed Bag of Results
After the long wait, the grades were in. My pre-grading had definitely improved since my last attempt, where I only received about 10% PSA 10s. This time, the results were better, but still not what you might hope for.
- PSA 10 (Gem Mint): 11 cards (33%)
- PSA 9 (Mint): 16 cards (48%)
- PSA 8 (Near Mint-Mint): 6 cards (18%)
While a 33% gem rate is a step up, having nearly half the submission come back as PSA 9s and a decent chunk as 8s immediately puts the overall profitability of the venture into question. For most modern cards, the real money is exclusively in the PSA 10 grade.
The Financial Breakdown: PSA 10 or Bust
After grading, I sold 31 of the 33 cards via auction on Ricardo, the Swiss equivalent of eBay. This is where the numbers show the stark reality of grading modern cards.
Depending on the grade, the same exact card can swing from a healthy profit to a definite loss.
Case Study: Charizard V
A perfect example is the Radiant Charizard. The copy that received a PSA 10 resulted in a $70 profit. The exact same card that came back as a PSA 9 resulted in an $8 loss. After accounting for the grading fee, the value of the PSA 9 was less than the raw card's value plus the cost to slab it.
Case Study: Hidden Fates Growlithe
This pattern repeated across the submission. A Hidden Fates Growlithe was a big winner.
- PSA 10: $135 profit
- PSA 9: ~$10 loss
- PSA 8: Over $20 loss
The data is clear: for these types of cards, a PSA 9 is a break-even proposition at best, and often a small loss. A PSA 8 is almost always a guaranteed money-loser.
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Not All PSA 10s Are Created Equal
Even getting the coveted PSA 10 doesn't guarantee a profit. A Torkoal card that graded a 10 still resulted in a loss because there's simply no market demand for it. The same went for a few other cards. Fan-favorite Pokémon like Charizard, Rayquaza, and Mewtwo are much safer bets, as they have a consistent base of collectors.
This was a lesson in market dynamics. A year ago when I sent these in, I was less experienced and chose cards I thought would grade well, without enough consideration for their actual desirability. A technically perfect but unpopular card is often worth less than a raw, popular one.
The Final Tally: Was It Worth It?
Let's look at the final numbers for the entire 33-card submission:
- Total Grading Cost: ~$950 - $1,000
- Total Graded Sales: ~$1,700
- Total Net Profit: ~$200 - $220
A $200 profit might sound okay, but it doesn't tell the whole story. That profit required an upfront investment of $1,000 that was tied up for 8-9 months. I could have sold those cards raw, reinvested the money into new inventory, and likely made more than $200 in the same time period through regular sales velocity.
Why This Experiment is No Longer Possible
Here's the most important takeaway. This entire experiment was conducted with a grading cost of about $30 per card. That price is no longer available. Today, the cost to grade a single card is at least $60.
If I ran this exact same submission today, my grading costs would double to nearly $2,000. The $1,700 in sales would result in a $300 loss. At current prices, sending in anything but high-value cards you are almost certain will get a 10 is a losing strategy.
The Verdict on Grading
For my business, the conclusion is clear. The combination of high costs, high risk of getting 9s or 8s, and extremely long wait times makes speculative grading a poor use of capital. The profit is only in the PSA 10s, and even then, only for cards with strong market demand.
While it was a useful learning experience, I won't be sending cards to PSA again under these conditions. The numbers simply don't justify the effort, risk, and opportunity cost of having inventory tied up for the better part of a year.
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