Moonstone Research · Weekly series
Weekly Grade Plays
The ten best cards to buy raw and send to PSA this week, ranked by the real raw-to-PSA-10 ladder. Every graded median here is our own, rebuilt from individual eBay sold listings with wrong-card and wrong-printing titles rejected. The PSA 9 line is on every pick because a 9 is what usually happens, and on some cards the most likely outcome loses money.
This series is separate from Weekly Buys, which tracks buy-and-hold positions only. Grading is a different bet: the upside needs a gem copy, so raw condition is everything. Net figures assume 13% selling fees and $25 per-card grading. Not financial advice.
Edition 2026-W35 · data as of 2026-08-25
9 of 40 candidates cleared every gate
Raw $108PSA 10 $1,425 (45 sales)PSA 9 $197 (83 sales)13.2x ladder
If it gems: about $1,107 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: +$38.37. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $39.04PSA 10 $497 (40 sales)PSA 9 $94.86 (37 sales)12.7x ladder
If it gems: about $368 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: +$18.49. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $33.21PSA 10 $350 (35 sales)PSA 9 $35.39 (86 sales)10.5x ladder
If it gems: about $246 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: −$27.42. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $38.13PSA 10 $320 (377 sales)PSA 9 $42.99 (189 sales)8.4x ladder
If it gems: about $215 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: −$25.73. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $38.85PSA 10 $325 (320 sales)PSA 9 $49.99 (356 sales)8.4x ladder
If it gems: about $219 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: −$20.36. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $240PSA 10 $1,780 (22 sales)PSA 9 $315 (21 sales)7.4x ladder
If it gems: about $1,284 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: +$8.89. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $95.4PSA 10 $700 (61 sales)PSA 9 $75.5 (124 sales)7.3x ladder
If it gems: about $489 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: −$54.72. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $87.43PSA 10 $430 (223 sales)PSA 9 $93 (312 sales)4.9x ladder
If it gems: about $262 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: −$31.52. Condition decides which one you get.
Raw $93.17PSA 10 $347 (428 sales)PSA 9 $84.99 (348 sales)3.7x ladder
If it gems: about $184 net after 13% fees and $25 grading. If it comes back a 9: −$44.23. Condition decides which one you get.
How this list is built. Candidates are the chase cards of every tracked set with a raw TCGplayer market between $15 and $250. For each, we pull its recent eBay graded sales and rebuild the PSA 10 and PSA 9 medians from listings verified to be this exact card and printing. A pick must show a PSA 10 median on at least 15 verified sales, a ladder of 3x or better, and positive net proceeds at gem after fees and grading cost. Editions are immutable once published.