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With the skyrocketing prices of Pokémon Trading Card Game collectibles in 2022, many fans may be wondering whether it's worth getting their Pokémon cards graded by a professional grading company. Despite releasing decades ago, the Nintendo tabletop game has seen a major revival in popularity which has resulted in many cards now being worth thousands of dollars. Because of the TCG's massive rise in value, many collectors are now contemplating whether it's worth getting their childhood collection of Pokémon cards graded.
When the TCG originally launched in the 1990s, no one could have predicted that some Pokémon cards would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars someday. In 2022, many classic TCG collectibles have continued to fetch incredible prices, such as the Base Set Charizard card which has now sold at auction for as high as $420,000. Pokémon card prices rose so high that even celebrities began investing in them. In April 2022, Logan Paul's world record Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card actually broke a Guinness record after the YouTuber paid a staggering 5.2 million dollars for the rare promo item.
How To Get Your Pokémon Cards Graded
Although the TCG has seen a major surge in prices since 2019, the majority of the Pokémon cards that have fetched a lot of money were all graded. To get Pokémon cards graded, collectors simply send their cards to companies such as PSA and CGC, who will then rate the TCG collectible's quality with a grade. The grade a Pokémon card receives can make the difference between it being worth a hundred dollars or thousands of dollars.
Looking for a quick visual guide on how to get your Pokémon cards graded and how much getting a Pokémon card graded costs? Check out the video from P4C below, which shows how to get a Pokémon card graded in five easy steps!
While there are many benefits to getting Pokémon cards graded, there are also some drawbacks as well.
Pros Of Getting Pokémon Cards Graded
Collectors who want to buy & sell collectable TCG Pokémon cards for a profit will in most cases need to get them graded. The difference between a graded and an ungraded Pokémon card is substantial. For example, the highly sought-after Alternate Art Rayquaza card from 2021's Evolving Skies expansion can be bought for $130 without being graded, while the same exact card has sold for as high as $500 after being graded a 10 by PSA.
Fans who get their Pokémon cards graded can increase their collectible value in most cases by a lot. Another benefit of grading is protection, as most companies will send the Pokémon card back in a sealed slab of plastic. While fans can store their cards in binders or penny sleeves, grading slabs are generally the safest way to secure cards from taking damage. Many collectors will send even their worthless TCG Pokémon cards into grading services, just to get their favorite cards secured in the tough slabs.
A major issue plaguing the Pokémon TCG in 2023 is counterfeit collectibles. Scammers have come a long way since the 90s, and are now able to create fake Pokémon cards that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Fans worried about whether their cards are fake or not, can have peace of mind as grading companies also authenticate card collectibles during the rating process. This means collectors can buy and sell their Pokémon cards knowing that they are guaranteed to be real.
Cons Of Getting Pokémon Cards Graded
Despite all the positives to graded Pokémon TCG cards, there are also some downsides. The cost of getting a Pokémon card graded is pretty high, and can result in situations where players actually lose money. At PSA, it cost around $18 to $30 to get a Pokémon card graded by the company. Rare cards from modern sets such as the Pokémon Brilliant Stars TCG expansion may end up being worth less than the grading fees depending on the score it gets.
For instance, a fan that submits their Pokémon card for grading may lose all potential value if the card doesn't come back with a perfect grade of 10. There are many factors that can play into a Pokémon card getting a 9 grade instead of 10, such as scratches, whitening on corners, or off-center printing.
Because of the TCG's recent resurgence in popularity, it's also resulted in Pokémon card grading companies like PSA and CGC becoming slammed with people trying to send their cards in to be rated. As a result, wait times are extremely long. According to PSA, a single Pokémon card can now take up to 150 days to get graded and sent back.
Collectors who want to speed the process up will have to shell out at least $100 in order to get their cards back within thirty days. So not only will it take up to half a year for most fans to get their Pokémon cards graded, but their cards might end up not being worth anything if they end up receiving lower than expected scores.
Another major problem collectors face are TCG Pokémon cards losing value. While its true graded cards have a better chance of growing in price, there is no guarantee that the market will always be strong. In order to combat scalpers and TCG shortages in 2021, The Pokémon Company began to massively increase the production of Pokémon card products worldwide.
This means there will now be a higher population of cards circulating in the market than ever before. Because scarcity was largely the driving factor behind skyrocketing TCG prices in the past, the higher population of cards means a potential drop in card values. Collectors could spend thousands of dollars getting Pokémon cards graded only to find out that many of their cards have dropped below the price they invested into grading.
As a result, most modern collectibles from Pokémon Sword and Shield TCG sets might not actually be worth getting graded. Until grading costs or wait times go down, collectors may only want to get their classic Pokémon cards rated. Because they are out of print, retro expansions such as Team Rocket and Jungle have continued to climb in value.
Card grading offers a lot of positives for Pokémon fans who want to keep their collection secure and safe. However, sellers trying to make a profit off of the Pokémon Trading Card Game will need to think twice before paying for Pokémon card grading, as there are both pros and cons to investing in the game.
Source: PSA
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Pokémon Trading Card Game
- Released:
- 1996-10-20
- Franchise:
- Pokemon
- Genre:
- trading card game
- Publisher:
- The Pokemon Company, Wizards of the Coast
