Value comparison
Raw vs Graded Card Value
Raw and graded prices answer different questions. A graded sale includes a company, official grade, holder, wait and submission cost; a raw sale can happen sooner with less capital at risk.
Compare net proceeds on the same fee basis and use recent completed sales for the exact variant.
Dated CardRevive starting prices and planning assumptions
Assumptions reviewed 13 July 2026. PSA and BGS defaults use CardRevive's published middleman starting prices effective 11 July 2026. TAG uses an illustrative external planning placeholder because TAG is not a currently listed CardRevive middleman service. Every value remains editable: final fees, declared-value rules, eligibility, insurance, shipping, upcharges and turnaround can change. Replace every default with the confirmed service and shipping quote before deciding.
Verify current CardRevive middleman services and starting pricesCompany context for this decision
PSA
- Editable fee default
- A$172.00 AUD
- Illustrative turnaround
- 5–95+ days
- • CardRevive models PSA as a single overall 1–10 grade estimate, not an official result.
- • A straightforward overall grade can be easier to compare, while it provides less condition detail than a subgrade-oriented label.
- • The default fee is CardRevive's published middleman starting price; confirm the service level, declared-value rules, final fees and card eligibility before dispatch.
BGS
- Editable fee default
- A$55.00 AUD
- Illustrative turnaround
- 5–75+ days
- • CardRevive's BGS-style estimate separates centering, corners, edges and surface before deriving an overall estimate.
- • Condition detail can help explain why a card may not reach the next grade, but CardRevive cannot predict an official label.
- • The default fee is CardRevive's published middleman starting price; confirm label options, declared-value rules, final fees and card eligibility before dispatch.
TAG
- Editable fee default
- A$31.00 AUD
- Illustrative turnaround
- 2–45+ days
- • CardRevive presents a TAG-style estimate mapped from its own condition model; it is not TAG's proprietary photometric result.
- • TAG is not a currently listed CardRevive middleman service, so this editable fee is an illustrative external planning placeholder rather than a CardRevive price.
- • Compare the report and holder experience you want, rather than treating a numerical estimate as interchangeable across companies.
- • Check current supported cards, service features, shipping and eligibility directly before submission.
Match the card before matching the price
Set, printing, language, card number and variant can matter more than the grade label. Reject comparisons that are not the same collectible.
- • Use sold transactions rather than listed prices.
- • Separate raw condition levels when possible.
- • Match company and official grade for the graded case.
Account for time and liquidity outside the formula
The calculator shows money, not how quickly either version may sell. A thin graded market or long submission delay can make a small modeled gain less attractive.
Worked illustration
Example: a headline multiplier after real costs
The graded headline is much higher than raw in this example, but the decision uses incremental net proceeds after fees and shipping.
- Starting value
- A$40.00 AUD
- Expected graded value
- A$140.00 AUD
- Service + shipping
- A$77.00 AUD
- Selling fee assumption
- 13.0%
Modeled result: grade. Break-even versus selling raw is A$128.51 AUD, and the modeled difference versus selling raw is A$10.00 AUD. This is an illustration, not a forecast.
Anonymous calculator
Compare raw and graded net proceeds
Enter what the card can sell for raw now and a conservative graded value. The result isolates the incremental gain after the grading path's costs.
Planning assumptions only. Replace the company fee and turnaround with your current quote. All amounts are AUD.
The likely-grade and one-grade-lower sale values create a transparent local grade/value slope for the break-even-grade estimate. Replace both with sold evidence; card prices are not reliably linear.
Modeled next step
Grade
Your assumptions put the graded path ahead of selling raw by A$10.00 AUD before tax.
- Versus selling raw
- A$10.00 AUD
- Estimated economic profit
- A$4.80 AUD
- Break-even versus raw sale
- A$128.51 AUD
- Simple modeled ROI
- 4.1%
- Approx. break-even grade
- Grade 8.7
BGS fee and 40-day turnaround are editable assumptions. Break-even versus raw sale includes the raw alternative's modeled selling fee.
- • The likely grade and future sale value are estimates, not guarantees.
- • Taxes, insurance, currency conversion by your payment provider, and unexpected service charges are not included.
- • The break-even grade uses your two sale values as a local A$35.00 AUD-per-grade slope. Real card prices can jump or flatten between grades, so verify sold listings at each grade.
Questions collectors ask
Why can a higher graded price still be a poor decision?
Because the grade may not be achieved and submission, shipping, selling fees and raw opportunity cost can consume the price difference.
How many sold listings should I use?
Use as many recent, genuinely comparable sales as the market provides and reduce confidence when the sample is small.
Should raw and graded values use the same marketplace fee?
The calculator uses one percentage for a clean comparison. If you would use different channels, run separate cases with each realistic fee.
Estimate likely condition before choosing the graded value
A CardRevive scan can narrow the plausible grade range so you can research the matching sold values.
Start with this card