Is it worth grading Pokémon packs and cards?

In most cases, yes – grading can absolutely be worthwhile for adding value to rare, old and valuable Pokémon cards, especially when aiming for top grades like PSA 10 or BGS 10. However, for newer or more common cards, the costs may outweigh any gains unless submitted in very large volumes.

Grading should be approached selectively based on rarity, condition, desirability and potential upside. This comprehensive guide will break down everything you need to know about professional grading for Pokémon cards and sealed products to decide what is worth submitting.

Overview of Pokemon card grading

Grading involves having your cards professionally assessed, authenticated and sealed in protective cases by established companies like PSA, BGS or CGC. It can significantly increase value, but also costs money upfront.

Here‘s a quick overview of the grading process:

• Cards are examined under magnification and light testing by expert graders.

• Their condition, centering, edges, corners, print quality and eye appeal are all analyzed.

• Graders assign a numeric score from 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect gem mint condition.

• Cards are sonically sealed in rigid plastic slabs labeled with their grade, unique ID and authentication markings.

• Turnaround time can range from weeks to months depending on service level purchased.

• Costs start from around $30 to $50 per card, potentially going over $100 for higher declared values.

So in summary, collectors submit their cards to a reputable grading company, pay their fees, and after some waiting, get their cards back encapsulated in plastic cases along with an official grade.

Key benefits of professionally grading cards

There are good reasons for the high and rising popularity of Pokemon card grading:

• Increased Valuation – Graded cards sell for markedly higher prices compared to raw, especially for grades of PSA 9 or PSA 10.

• Authentication – Grading by respected companies removes doubts and helps prove legitimacy.

• Protection – Hard plastic slabs preserve and safeguard the card‘s condition from wear.

• Liquidity – Graded cards are easier to sell online or at auctions compared to raw cards.

• Display – Slabs let collectors neatly show off prized cards in their collection.

• Legacy Value – Early sets become harder to find in top grade over time, increasing desirability.

Professional grading has therefore become almost essential for collectors targeting vintage, ultra rare cards or perfect 10 grades.

Factors impacting Pokemon card grading scores

A Pokemon card‘s condition is pivotal, but graders also analyze:

Centering

How well aligned the card front is within the printed margins and borders. Miscuts lower centering score.

Corners

Any noticeable fraying, bending, softness or bluntness to the card corners will hurt grade. The sharper the better.

Edges

Marks, roughness, chipping or whitening along the card‘s edges bring down score. Cleaner edges mean higher grades.

Surface

Any scratches, dents, print dots or coloration imperfections on the card face negatively impact surface score.

Eye Appeal

The overall look of the card front. Unique patterns or cool errors may increase eye appeal.

Other aspects like holofoil scratching, back whitening and text legibility are also checked over in detail.

What Pokémon cards are worth grading?

In theory, any card can be graded but for most newer, common cards the cost will outweigh value gains. Grading becomes a smart decision for:

• Rare first edition or promotional cards – Especially from early sets like Base Set or popular vintage sets.

• Iconic ultra rare cards – Specific rare cards from certain sets like Charizards, Gold Stars or Crystals.

• High value cards from 1999-early 2000s – Any holo, rare or ultra rare cards from the Wizards of the Coast era.

• Unique misprints and oddities – Errors and miscut cards also attract collector interest when verifiable.

• Perfect condition cards – Mint raw cards that could potentially achieve PSA 10 or BGS 10 grades.

• Sealed booster products – Grading can also apply to boxes, packs, tins – ideally the older the item, the better.

Do your own research before submitting to gauge expected gains versus costs. Target submissions where value uplift clearly exceeds grading fees and shipping expenses.

Pokemon card grading – pricing and timelines

Grading service costs typically range from $10 to $100+ per card depending on the declared value and desired turnaround time:

Company	Base Per Card Rate	Turnaround Time
PSA	$50 (Standard), $150 (Express)	6-12 months, 3 weeks express
BGS	$30 (Economy), $150 (Immediate)	3-6 months, 24 hours immediate
CGC	$15 (Value), $75 (Express)	1 month, 5 days express

Cheap $10 bulk rates from PSA and CGC only make sense at scale (500+ cards). For individual collectors, expect $30 to $50 per card.

Total grading costs add up quickly for larger collections, so be selective and only grade your best cards likely to see solid gains in value.

Grading risks – potential loss in value

While grading offers many advantages, there are also some risks collectors should be aware of:

• Grading costs may exceed any gains – This applies mainly to newer, common or damaged cards unlikely to increase much in price.

• Loss or damage in transit – Cards could get lost or damaged while being handled and shipped to/from grading companies.

• Broken seals – If plastic slabs are ever opened, cards lose their verified grade and authenticity.

• Condition drops – Post-grading wear like scratched cases immediately lower appeal and value. A PSA 10 could plummet to PSA 7 status if mishandled.

• Subjective grading – Disagreements occasionally around 9, 9.5 or 10 grades means they may not match internal expectations.

• Market changes – As collector preferences shift, once valuable graded cards may lose relevance and demand over time.

Insuring valuable submissions provides partial protection. But being highly selective is important to avoid excessive risk of lost time or money.

To keep sealed or open vintage packs?

For older, rarer sealed Pokémon products like booster boxes, collectors face the dilemma of keeping them sealed or opening them to grade the cards within:

Pros of keeping sealed:

• Condition stays as-is preventing any wear and tear from opening.

• Complete packaged items may retain greater historical or collectible significance.

• The mystery of unopened contents remains exciting.

Pros of opening:

• Grading valuable pulls maximizes value.

• Grading fees per card are lower than buying back equivalent graded cards.

• Opening enables condition verification of contents.

• Factory oddities only apparent when opening, like crimped seals or miscut cards.

For vintage sets and promotional items, market demand for both sealed and graded cards must be evaluated. But for modern sets, opening offers more upside in our era of grading.

Investing in Pokemon cards

Here are tips for investing in cards for long-term value growth:

• Iconic chase cards in PSA 10 – Target perfect grades of the big hitters like 1st Ed. Charizards.

• Underappreciated WOTC cards – 1990‘s cards of popular Pokémon before the spike.

• New flagship set sealed products – invest early in new sets, ideally pre-release.

• High end master sets – Full high grade base, jungle, fossil sets command premiums.

• Speculate on hype – Buy potentially undervalued cards getting publicity.

• Foreign exclusives – Cheaper initially but gain value as harder to obtain than English versions.

• Modern high-end alt arts – Flagship rainbows, gold cards, etc. from XY onwards.

• Mint raw copies of desired cards – For those who can self-grade confidently.

Thorough research to buy quality cards and sets with upside helps maximize investing value and returns.

Top 10 most valuable Pokemon cards sold at auction

Here are the all-time highest public sale prices realized for Pokemon cards:

Card Name	Sale Price	Auction Date
Pikachu Illustrator	$5,275,000	Jul 2021
1st Edition Shadowless Charizard Holo	$369,000	Oct 2020
Tropical Mega Battle Super Secret Rare Tropical Wind	$195,000	Oct 2020
1998 Japanese Promotional Kangaskhan Family Event Trophy Card	$150,100	Apr 2021
Shadowless 1st Edition Charizard Holo	$144,300	Jul 2020
2005 EX Deoxys Master‘s Key Gold Star Prize Promo	$143,343	Mar 2021
Japanese Tamamushi University Magikarp Trophy Card	$130,000	Aug 2021
2005 EX Deoxys Power Keepers Dragonite Error Card	$100,100	Mar 2022
Umbreon Gold Star POP Series 5	$90,000	Jun 2020
Blastoise Commission Presentation Galaxy Star	$84,000	Jan 2022

This demonstrates the incredible demand from investors and collectors for early, ultra rare Pokemon cards in pristine condition.

Undervalued picks – Hidden gems

While heavy hype surrounds rare Charizards, here are some lesser-known cards offering value:

• Neo-series Shinings – Spectacular cards overshadowed by Gold Stars.

• Skyridge & Aquapolis Holos – Some of the most striking card art ever printed.

• World Championship Cards – Tiny print runs, only given to event finalists.

• Early vintage Japanese cards – Cheaper than English versions and lower pop.

• Alternate Arts from XY onwards – Modern cards with long-term potential.

Card	Est. PSA 10 Value	Print Run	Notes
Shining Celebi (Neo Revelation)	$1,800	SH1/SH105	Stunning full art shining
Scizor Aquapolis Holo	$425	H30/H32	Amazing rainbow holofoil effect
2005 World Championships Mew	$2,000	150 copies	Only given to 2005 finalists
Brocks Grit Full Art Trainer SM12	$650	Ultra Rare	Striking minimalist artwork, Japan exclusive

Many hidden gem cards are yet to fully catch collector awareness, offering value.

"God pack" chase – Mythical all holofoil packs

God packs refer to ultra rare booster packs that contain exclusively, or almost exclusively, holofoil and rare cards.

These have existed since the Neo Revelations days, where roughly 1 in 1000 packs were seeded as god packs. In modern sets they remain equally rare.

For sets with multiple high end chase cards, opening a god pack becomes the golden ticket every collector and investor dreams of. Their uniqueness and scarcity immediately makes them immensely coveted.

Even partial god packs with 4+ holos still command high premiums and interest when they surface. Complete checklists with all Secret Rare pulls also fall into the god pack category today.

Identifying valuable cards still sealed in packs

Without tampering or damaging seals, it‘s almost impossible to definitively confirm a pack‘s contents in advance. But here are some potential tells:

• Heavier or thicker packs may contain more foils and better pulls, though light packs can still deliver positives. Weighing can help.

• Carefully examining transparent wrapper sections for glimpses of colors, patterns, edges, textures indicating rarer cards. "Searchers" try finding hits.

• Artwork variance on the pack wrappings or boxes is another clue. Some alternate arts have better pull rates.

• Vintage 1st edition shadowless packs were assumed by collectors to contain a guaranteed holo rare. Artworks helped confirm.

• Modern TCG pack codes can reveal rare hits, though publishers try minimizing this through randomization.

Overall though, true pack content confirmation remains extremely challenging without actually opening. For sealed items condition is paramount.

Top 10 most valuable sealed Pokemon products

Beyond singular cards, collectors also covet vintage sealed booster boxes, packs, decks and merch:

Sealed Product	Typical Price Range
1st Edition Base Set Booster Box	$350,000 – $500,000+
Pokémon Snap Station Booster Box	$250,000+
Base Set Booster Pack Wrappers	$12,000 – $22,000
Prerelease Raichu Evolution Pack	$12,000 – $18,000
1st Edition Fossil Booster Box	$8,000 – $15,000
EX Deoxys Booster Box	$5,000 – $8,000
Southern Islands Complete Card Set	$4,000 – $10,000
Shadowless Theme Decks	$2,500 – $4,500
Shining Legends Elite Trainer Box	$2,200 – $3,000
Generations Elite Trainer Box	$1,500 – $3,000

Complete packaged products from 1999-early 2000s are highly coveted by investors when still factory sealed. Even loose vintage booster packs command premium prices if verifiably legitimate.

Best places to buy Pokemon cards

For investing, collecting and reselling, here are top sources to obtain rare and valuable Pokemon cards:

• eBay – Largest general marketplace to buy both raw and graded cards, but beware of potential fakes. Exercise caution.

• PSA Auctions – Top auctioneer focused on certified, graded cards. Items often surpass eBay.

• ComicConnect – Leading high-value auction venue for sales exceeding $10k. Verified sellers.

• Heritage Auctions – Major auction house for premium collectibles including elite Pokemon cards.

• TrollAndToad – Reliable retailer with expansive inventory of older and newer sealed product.

• Japan4You – Import Japanese exclusive decks, promos and cards years before English release.

• Virbank City PokeMart Facebook – Buy/sell group for serious investors and completists. Requirements to join.

• Local Game Stores – Build relationships with owners who may offer early access to pre-release allocation.

Conclusion – Is grading Pokemon worth it?

Grading can be a highly rewarding activity for Pokemon collectors and investors targeting the right cards in pristine condition. But not every card is necessarily worth the grading fees.

Here is a quick summary:

• Iconic vintage holographic and ultra rare cards see big value gains from high grades.

• Perfect PSA 10 or BGS 10 copies of the most desirable cards have incredible upside.

• Modern cards must be weighed carefully – high end Secret Rares and alternate arts are safer bets.

• Seal products like booster boxes gain esteem over time, especially 1st edition or limited releases.

• Opening vintage packs enables maximizing card value through selective grading.

• God packs with exclusively holos are the collector‘s holy grail.

While no hobby investment is risk-free, with the right education, strategy and patience, Pokemon cards can be a lucrative asset class. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!