PSA 10 Out of Reach? Buy the 9 — But Only on the Expensive Cards

#PokemonTCG #PSAGrading #SunAndMoon A viewer asked the question: on Sun & Moon, if the PSA 10 is out of reach, is the PSA 9 the play on the popular cards? So I ran all 25 of the era's most popular cards against real eBay solds and the REAL grading fees. The answer is backwards. The 9 bleeds money on the cheap cards everybody calls safe — and pays thousands on the expensive cards everybody calls 10-or-bust. THE RULE The 9 pays when raw is expensive and risky — a slabbed 9 is a guaranteed clean copy, and buyers pay for the guarantee. On cheap cards there's no gamble to insure, so the fee eats the 9. THE 9s THAT PAY (after the real fee) • Latias & Latios GX alt art — raw $2,765.71, PSA 9 $5,506.39, pays +$2,141.68 • Gengar & Mimikyu GX alt art — raw $1,439.56, PSA 9 $2,675.43, pays +$886.87 • Mewtwo GX (Shining Legends 78) — raw $806.89, PSA 9 $1,528.30, pays +$522.41 • Burning Shadows rainbow Charizard GX — raw $336.13, PSA 9 $872.19, pays +$476.07 • Magikarp & Wailord GX alt art — raw $890.86, PSA 9 $1,456.75, pays +$366.89 • Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX alt art — raw $491.73, PSA 9 $904.55, pays +$352.83 • Lillie full art — raw $290.75, PSA 9 $442.42, pays +$91.68 • Honest break-evens: Pikachu & Zekrom +$8.18, Mewtwo & Mew +$4.25 THE 9s THAT BLEED • Hidden Fates Charizard GX — the era's most graded card (20,086), and the 9 LOSES $30.69 • Reshiram & Charizard rainbow −$48.94 • Charizard & Braixen −$38.17 • Hidden Fates shiny Charizard −$32.81 • Greninja & Zoroark −$26.28 • Cynthia full art −$13.88 BUY THE 9 ≠ GRADE FOR THE 9 Umbreon & Darkrai GX SM241: the 9 pays +$174.52 as a buy — but only 8.5% gem (13,031 graded, 1,113 PSA 10s). Grading raw for it is a lottery ticket. Buy the grade already on the slab. THE PAYOFF — THE 9 IS THE GRAIL Magikarp & Wailord GX SM166 (regular-art promo): raw $100.58, 1,421 graded, only 10 PSA 10s exist (0.7% gem rate). The 9 has sold at $2,786.50 — only 6 tracked sales, so that's scarcity, not a stable price. The 10: one eBay sale ever, $75,000 (Sep 30), plus one Goldin sale at $37,210. On this card the 10 basically doesn't exist. The 9 isn't the consolation prize. It's the grail. Prices are averages of real eBay solds pulled October 2026, with the real PSA fee tier for each card's value ($59.99 / $199 / $349 / $599). Markets move — run the math on today's numbers. Education & entertainment, not financial advice. ABOUT 2 BROTHERS 1 PACK I'm David — I run Creasey Collectables Distribution out of Indiana, I vend at card shows with my family, and I hide cards around Kokomo for people to find. Real math behind the hobby: pop reports and sold prices, no hype. CCD — Sealed Japanese Pokémon & One Piece, batch-order prices: https://ccdistribution.cc IG & Threads: @creaseycollects — new videos weekly. Rip. Grade. Repeat. #Pokemon #PokemonCards #PokemonCard #TradingCardGame #TCG #TradingCards #CardCollector #Collectibles #PSA #PSACards #PSA10 #PSA9 #GradedCards #CardGrading #SlabbedCards #PopReport #GemRate #Charizard #HiddenFates #BurningShadows #ShiningLegends #TeamUp #CosmicEclipse #UnbrokenBonds #LostThunder #UltraPrism #CrimsonInvasion #GuardiansRising #SunAndMoonBase #TagTeam #GXCards #AltArt #FullArt #RainbowRare #SecretRare #ShinyVault #Latias #Latios #Gengar #Mimikyu #Mewtwo #Magikarp #Wailord #Umbreon #Darkrai #Lillie #Pikachu #Zekrom #Arceus #Dialga #Palkia #Reshiram #Braixen #Cynthia #Greninja #Zoroark #PokemonInvesting #CardInvesting #Flipping #Reseller #TCGPlayer #EBaySolds #SoldPrices #PriceGuide #CardPrices #PokemonPrices #PokemonMarket #TCGMarket #MarketWatch #DoTheMath #CardShow #CardVendor #VendorLife #PokemonCommunity #PokemonCollector #PokemonHobby #PokemonFan #Nintendo #SealedPokemon #JapanesePokemon #BoosterBox #AltArtCards #ChaseCard #GrailCard #RareCards #ExpensiveCards #ModernPokemon #VintagePokemon #Collection #Binder #Slabs #SlabLife #PSASubmission #GradingTips #BuyPokemonCards #SellPokemonCards #PTCG #PokemonTradingCardGame #Kokomo #Indiana #Midwest #SmallBusiness #FamilyBusiness #2Brothers1Pack #CreaseyCollects #CCD #RipGradeRepeat #Honest #Facts #Analysis #Breakdown #Explained #Tutorial #Education #DeepDive #Learn #SubscribeNow #NewVideoAlert #WatchNow #Eevee #Eeveelutions #TagTeamGX #PokemonGX #Holo #Holographic #ReverseHolo #ShinyPokemon #PokemonPulls #PackOpening #RipPacks #OpeningPacks #BigHit #Hits #PullRate #PrintRun #CardCondition #Centering #NearMint #Mint #GemMint #PackFresh #CGC #BGS #TAGGrading #GradingCompany #SubmitCards #TurnaroundTime #DeclaredValue #CardInvestingTips #SmartMoney #FinancialEducation #SideHustle #MoneyTips #Hobby #Collecting #CollectorLife #PersonalCollection #PC #Whatnot #Fanatics #Auction #MostValuable #CardValues #PriceCheck #PriceDrops #Hype #Bubble #Investor #Speculation #Era #XYEra #SwordAndShield #ScarletAndViolet #BlackAndWhite #DiamondAndPearl #BaseSet #Jungle #Fossil #WOTC #BoosterPack #EliteTrainerBox #ETB #BoosterBundle #CaseBreak #JapaneseCards #Distributor