If you pulled an Umbreon VMAX #215 and it's still sitting raw in a toploader, the case for sending it to PSA is about as strong as grading math gets in Evolving Skies. Of the 31,985 copies graded so far, 68.9% came back as 10s. After PSA's fee and the eBay selling fee, a raw copy sent in is worth $338.51 more on average than the same card sold as it is, and that's the widest margin of the 10 cards we can price as slabs.
That's the headline case, but it isn't a lonely one. All 10 of those cards come out ahead of selling raw, and that holds even when every copy that grades below a 9 is counted as worth nothing, which is a harsh way to keep score. The edge comes from different places. The VMAX Secret Rares gem easily, with Sylveon VMAX #212 at 71.7% and Glaceon VMAX #209 at 71.0%, yet their 10s sell for only 1.7x and 1.8x the raw card. The V cards work the other way around. Umbreon V #189 gems on just 43.1% of submissions, the stingiest rate in the group, but a PSA 10 sells for 2.7x raw, and that's enough to leave grading ahead by $91.70. I'd have guessed the harder grader was the worse bet, and on these prices I'd have guessed wrong.
Grade it or keep it raw: the ledger, as of November 15, 2026
| Card | Raw | PSA 10 | PSA 9 | Gem rate | Graded, after fees | Raw, less eBay fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umbreon VMAX #215 | $2,324.94 | $3,904.89 | $2,050.00 | 68.9% | $2,355.00 | $2,016.49 |
| Rayquaza VMAX #218 | $1,223.16 | $2,100.00 | $1,060.00 | 67.6% | $1,240.45 | $1,060.69 |
| Dragonite V #192 | $475.27 | $1,000.00 | $444.00 | 50.1% | $525.49 | $411.90 |
| Rayquaza V #194 | $468.64 | $1,099.49 | $435.00 | 50.5% | $529.30 | $406.15 |
| Umbreon V #189 | $375.04 | $1,001.98 | $340.00 | 43.1% | $416.65 | $324.95 |
| Leafeon VMAX #205 | $372.13 | $530.00 | $350.00 | 71.4% | $331.16 | $322.42 |
| Sylveon VMAX #212 | $361.04 | $600.00 | $323.74 | 71.7% | $373.33 | $312.80 |
| Glaceon VMAX #209 | $287.34 | $504.99 | $244.00 | 71.0% | $297.70 | $248.87 |
| Espeon V #180 | $227.95 | $480.00 | $219.13 | 50.0% | $215.04 | $197.35 |
| Sylveon V #184 | $180.90 | $391.81 | $179.99 | 51.4% | $174.54 | $156.53 |
Leafeon VMAX #205 is where the margin gets thin. It gems at 71.4%, a shade under Sylveon VMAX, but its PSA 10 sells for $530.00 against a raw price of $372.13, and after fees the expected edge over selling raw comes to $8.74. Shipping to PSA and back isn't in that figure, and on a card at that price I'd expect postage and insurance to take a real bite out of it. Then there's the 9. On every card in the group a PSA 9 sells for less than the raw copy, from $2,050.00 for an Umbreon VMAX that goes for $2,324.94 loose down to a Sylveon V #184 whose 9 at $179.99 sits a hair under its raw $180.90. Sending any of these in is a bet on the 10, and a 9 means you paid a fee to own a cheaper card.
Raw copies slipped across the top of the set
Most money lost per card
- 1
Rayquaza VMAX #218$1,278.52 to $1,223.16slid steadily; no single day carried more than 28% of the move-4.3% - 2
Dragonite V #192$505.93 to $475.27most of the move came in one day, October 24-6.1% - 3
Sylveon VMAX #212$384.06 to $361.04fell over the window, but 36% of the move came on October 28-6.0% - 4
Glaceon VMAX #209$307.86 to $287.34slid steadily; no single day carried more than 28% of the move-6.7% - 5
Sylveon V #184$198.08 to $180.90slid steadily; no single day carried more than 20% of the move-8.7%
Raw prices mostly went the wrong way. Umbreon VMAX was the only card of the 10 whose raw price rose, up 2.7% from $2,264.70 to $2,324.94 on TCGplayer's market prices between October 17 and November 15. Rayquaza VMAX #218 gave up $55.36, the biggest dollar loss in Evolving Skies, sliding steadily from $1,278.52 to $1,223.16 without one day doing most of the work. Dragonite V #192 was the exception to the slow bleed, with most of its 6.1% drop landing on October 24, and Sylveon V slid 8.7%, from $198.08 to $180.90. Across the set, 23 of the 32 cards that cost $20 or more at the start got cheaper. My read is that a softer raw price lowers what you give up by grading instead of selling, so the slab case firms up as the loose card weakens, though these figures can't say whether graded prices will hold where they are.
If the stack of raw hits were mine, the Umbreon VMAX and the Rayquaza VMAX would be the first two in the submission box, with margins of $338.51 and $179.76 that leave room for a disappointing grade on some later copy. Rayquaza V #194, ahead by $123.15, and Dragonite V, ahead by $113.59, would follow, since their 10s sell for 2.4x and 2.1x the raw card, enough to carry gem rates that hover around a coin flip. The Espeon V #180 and Sylveon V margins of $17.69 and $18.01 are close enough to nothing that I'd only bother if they were already riding along with bigger cards. Leafeon VMAX stays in its sleeve. Its 10 is easy to get and barely worth having, and $8.74 of edge, before a single stamp, isn't enough to make me put it in the mail.
Population: Evolving Skies, 237 English cards with a TCGplayer market price on both October 17, 2026 and November 15, 2026. Every move compares a card to itself on the same TCGplayer product, first day against last, before anything is ranked or summed; a set total is never compared across days. Prices are TCGplayer market prices for the flagship printing, read from our daily price file. Graded figures are sold medians from our graded comps, PSA population counts come from our daily registry snapshot, and the expected value counts the PSA 9 outcome as well as the PSA 10, net of the grading fee and selling costs. The expected value sits beside the raw price less the same eBay selling fee, so the two compare like with like. It counts copies that grade below a 9 at nothing and leaves out shipping to PSA and back. Angle: whether grading pays: PSA 10 and PSA 9 sale prices against the raw card, the gem rate, and the expected value after fees.