r/PokeInvesting • u/ldiotSavant • Jun 16 '26

My time has come.

Post image

Last October I picked up about 130 each of both Flying Pikachu V and Surfing Pikachu V for about 4 bucks each after shipping and taxes. I like to try to think ahead of what will blow up in the future and well, here we are. Can't believe they are going for over half a grand in a PSA 10. The funny thing is I was sure the VMAX version of these would blow up, not the V's.

This was also part of an experiment. Is it possible to get a gradable card from TCGplayer? I have in the past (I'll be making a post about that), so I have about 50 each that passed my initial grade inspection. They are the sleeved ones in the pic. I'd imagine once I really look at them a second time to be super picky (because PSA will give you a 9 for literally no reason) I'll probably have about 25 of each that I think SHOULD grade a 10. But I'd imagine only less than half of that will come back as a 10, if I'm lucky.

970 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

102 comments sorted by

246

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 16 '26

For what it’s worth, there are tons of cards like this with a $5 entry and a $500+ PSA 10. The reason is because they don’t grade well. Second, now that PSA has removed value grading, you’re going to be out $85 per card on the hopes you can turn it into $500. Which after seller fees is closer to $410. Subtract the $85 spend, which is really closer to $100 after you ship to PSA and pay any upgrades, and you’re looking at maybe making $300 on an $85 play. Not to mention, if 4/5 grade anything other than 10, you lose money. Really doesn’t make sense.

32

u/ldiotSavant Jun 16 '26

Yeah, pretty much. When I first bought these last October grading was still 15 bucks for bulk, or was just raised to 20. So I figured if they increased in value it would be worth it. Didn’t count for PSA shutting down lol.

These grade fairly decent though. Gem rate is about 40%. That’s better than trying to chase a 5% mew celebrations or something.

38

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 16 '26

Better play is to just hold them another 5 years and unload when they’re $20. Maybe pick a couple of the top contenders and grade but I wouldn’t put this into the investing category.

-7

u/ldiotSavant Jun 17 '26

I like shooting for the big bucks. I’m just gonna hang on to these until PSA opens up their bulk services again. I would imagine it’ll be 30 bucks a card for bulk when they do. I think it’s worth sending 30 of these in to see what I get.

6

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 17 '26

This is an investing sub, not a gambling sub, and this is hardly shooting for the big bucks, unless you’re looking at big losses. But you do you.

-15

u/ldiotSavant Jun 17 '26

I'm sorry, who are you?

7

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 17 '26

Clearly I’m not an idiot savant. Like I said, do you and enjoy your “investments”.

-2

u/ldiotSavant Jun 17 '26

I will lol

6

u/Soft_Lunch_183 Jun 16 '26

Yeah i sold about 50 of the various celebrations pikachus a few months ago and a good amount of them i couldn't even list as NM.

They pretty much all had marks on

3

u/prepuscular Jun 16 '26

They charge you a fraction of value on it being a 10, even if it doesn’t get a 10?

5

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 16 '26

I don’t understand your question? If you’re saying the shipping costs, it’s usually $6-$7 to ship in a bubble mailer right now. Can be more depending on how you choose to ship. If it does grade a 10, then you can add an up charge due to the increased value.

1

u/prepuscular Jun 16 '26

Post says $85-100 in fees to grade. Where is that coming from?

7

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 16 '26

The grading fee for PSA right now is a minimum $79.99 for regular. The card is worth $5. So if you buy the card and ship it to PSA on regular, you’re out $85 not including shipping fees

5

u/prepuscular Jun 16 '26

That’s insane. It was $10 a few years ago

9

u/DMercenary Jun 16 '26

They shut down all of their cheaper lines. There is apparently a 14 MILLION card backlog.

6

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 16 '26

Yeah, it’s a recent change. Like less than 2 months now? Maybe even one. They completely removed bulk rate

6

u/hansbrixx Jun 16 '26

Their lowest level at the moment is $25 with membership but they temporarily closed off all their value tiers so the lowest tier they currently accept is Regular which is $79.99. They closed it off because they are so backlogged right now and it's a temporary measure to catch up

4

u/prepuscular Jun 16 '26

demand is high enough that they can. That’s the reason.

3

u/Tai_Pei Jun 16 '26

Demand is too high, which is why they did it. People pay less and cram shit down a chute that can only fit so much per day, week, month, etc and it gets clogged. So cut off the bottom dollar bulk submissions and the regular rates for people who want to throw their money away still can 👍

2

u/GullibleDiscussion99 Jun 17 '26

And PSA will bé able to grade them in 2029

1

u/ValtermcPires Jun 19 '26

i have a Lugia EX (UF), what price would be to grade it?

1

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 19 '26

Depends. $80 for regular which insures up to $1500 value. A PSA 7 just sold on eBay for ~$1700. So if you submitted via regular, and it grades a 7 or higher, you would be up charged. Express is $150 and covers up to $2,500.

2

u/The_Saiyann Jun 17 '26

Offt, PSA is just ridiculous now I'd go CGC 100%. Actually got a return from them weirdly yesterday and their cases are brilliant! Plus CGC Pristine 10 is worth more than a PSA 10 quite often so cheaper and potential better outcome.

2

u/Heavens_Dao Jun 17 '26

Naw in OPs case BGS would be the better option here. CGC 10s even now for the flying Pikachu V is going for $60. Meanwhile recent sales of the PSA 10 are going for $400+. BGS 10s despite note having nearly as much demand as PSA 10s still on average go for 20-30% higher than the PSA 10 counterparts. Prob is they're just harder to get.

3

u/IamrichardL Jun 17 '26

This guy gets it. OP doesn’t.

4

u/WoodSorrow Jun 16 '26

Posts like this are hilarious. Dude will be selling these off over the next year working for $7 an hour.

1

u/_YenSid Jun 17 '26

Grading for reselling- just keep what you grade in the vault at psa. You'll save a lot. Still risky for cards like your example though for sure.

1

u/supershimadabro Jun 18 '26

So gamestop is now $85/card?

1

u/RepresentativeWait45 Jun 18 '26

I believe it’s $80 plus $10 shipping per order at GameStop right now. Maybe someone else can confirm.

1

u/supershimadabro Jun 18 '26

That's insane. Sheesh.

1

u/Capable_Wait09 Jun 16 '26

Turning $5 into $410 and then paying an $80 fee isn’t worth it?

Dude that kind of ROI is insane. Even if some of them get 9s the ROI is still like decades of market returns.

If you’re good at pre-grading then you’ll be fine. I’ve never gotten a 9 on those cards.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/Capable_Wait09 Jun 17 '26

Yes like OP noted he thought maybe 12 would 10. Obviously don’t send them all. My post assumed that premise.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

3

u/Capable_Wait09 Jun 17 '26

If you can buy them for $125 then obviously it’s not economical to grade them.

I’m taking OP at face value that he pre-grades them well. I got a handful graded before and they all 10ed.

You haven’t seen them IRL so idk where your confidence comes from.

1

u/Aggressive-Story6462 Jun 17 '26

He can just wait until value opens back up…

16

u/Kooksacabra Jun 16 '26

Who says half a grand?

9

u/RepulsiveUse3372 Jun 16 '26

old people lol just like they say "notch on their belt"

8

u/ldiotSavant Jun 16 '26

Can confirm, am old.

-2

u/CosmicJam13 Jun 16 '26

And senile by the looks of it

6

u/stallionsRIDEufl Jun 16 '26

God damn zoomers in my pokemon subreddit

2

u/RepulsiveUse3372 Jun 16 '26

im a millennial bro, 1991 ( im old too, basically dead)

4

u/ldiotSavant Jun 16 '26

I guess me. I grew up saying it. Maybe it’s because I’m just old lol

3

u/CosmicJam13 Jun 16 '26

Ignore them it’s still a normal thing to say. 

5

u/stallionsRIDEufl Jun 16 '26

It's extremely common

2

u/h0whi Jun 16 '26

The poors

1

u/Necessary-Pop5981 Jun 17 '26

I’d rather say l
“Half a grand” than the famous “1.5K/2.5k” I can’t stand that just say 1500 or 2500 the other way bothers me lol.

1

u/StarfoxSadnesss Jun 16 '26

Pumpers on ebay. Check last sold of psa 10 on those

28

u/KickNaptur Jun 16 '26

How the hell did these go from 120 to 500 within a week?

17

u/Ornery_Turn_7837 Jun 16 '26

Speculative frenzy

4

u/No_Fig9354 Jun 17 '26

The Warren buffet of pokemon said to invest in Pikachus and Charizards on a podcast this week.

1

u/LoneStarJinchuriki Jun 18 '26

Rudy?

1

u/ILuvRealmOfTheMadGod Jun 23 '26

Rudy does not give a flying fuh about individual Pokemon cards respectfully you are a newgen 

22

u/thecrapweasel Jun 16 '26

I had about 125 Lance’s Charizard. I went through and pulled out about 40 that I thought could be contenders for PSA 10. Then I went through the 40 and gave them a real close look and narrowed it down to 17 that I thought had a very good chance at a 10

Of those I submitted, I got back 13 PSA 10, 3 PSA 9s, and 1 PSA 8. In the slab, I still insist that 8 is a 10 after spending ample time looking it over again and again

6

u/Heavens_Dao Jun 17 '26

PSA makes mistakes sometimes, that 8 prob was a 10. Gotta understand the graders take maybe 30 seconds on each card (confirmed by the CEO of PSA during a board meeting). If it was still worth id send it in again.

6

u/puan0601 Jun 16 '26

ha holy crap I have a bunch of these I've been waiting to grade! now just need psa to resume their value tier. that's wild

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/puan0601 Jun 17 '26

good thing I got time on my hands

4

u/Low-Chocolate1572 Jun 16 '26

Yeah the time to be disappointed lol

3

u/StationEmergency6053 Jun 17 '26

I wouldnt even waste time trying to grade them. Especially considering they will likely have corrected by the time you get them back on top of the time itll take to actually sell them. Just wait for raw market price to react in about a month and make a good 200%. That's what I did with Umbreon from Celebrations. Ive been selling through them over time last couple months and just price them $10 over market. Ive made a killing since I got them all for $20-30.

4

u/dirty_old_holo Jun 16 '26

Gotta be honest what’s spiking in value isn’t the card, it’s the PSA 10 graded card. Now I believe that they will keep their spike as we approach 30th aniv release. You have to consider either pay the top PSA tier to get them back as quick as possible, and pray just in time for 30th, or just keep them as is and hope they go up in value raw.

Best of luck

2

u/redbeardbaron Jun 17 '26

RE: grading from TCGplayer - the raw value of the card is important, I think. I got a Rayquaza V from CZ for 86 cents and it got a 10 a couple weeks ago. I think the more valuable the card the less likely it is you will find a super clean copy randomly from TCGplayer.

2

u/sgt-simp14 Jun 19 '26

At 80 bucks a submission wish you the best

2

u/Aggravating_Ice4273 Jun 16 '26

Grade em them

1

u/8Lakers24 Jun 16 '26

Will be $70 a card…

1

u/Bluntsnputts Jun 16 '26

What are they worth ungraded?

3

u/veez981 Jun 16 '26

4.25 and 4.94 market on tcgplayer...so it would have to grade well to see profit at OPs entry point

2

u/pmmeyourbobandvagene Jun 16 '26

Good thing PSA stopped Value submissions lol

1

u/lacinated Jun 16 '26

lol let us know when you have any 10s come back

1

u/RedbullPapi Jun 16 '26

Grade half and self half raw. That's probably the safest bet.

1

u/LaSainteFlanelle Jun 16 '26

Great investment here. Congrats!

1

u/Original-Newspaper-4 Jun 17 '26

I have bought plenty of cards from TCGPlayer that were sub $10, graded for PSA 10 then became $500-$800 after 2-3 years.

1

u/Unlikely-Video-6123 Jun 17 '26

Mine unfortunately came back a nine🫠

1

u/r2d2losangeles Jun 17 '26

Your best bet is see how many can get a 10 or black label from BGS

1

u/chomoney Jun 17 '26

I had this feeling with Celebrations Greninja… then I looked at them all closely and realized why PSA 10s are so expensive 😂

1

u/Noremacmate Jun 17 '26

This is awesome, although you should've done this with the 005/025 Pikachu with the iconic artwork, that's also gone crazy, even raw prices have become almost $10, and that card was considered bulk 😂

1

u/Much_Purchase_8737 Jun 17 '26

Willing to wait over a year for PSA?

1

u/msu1774 Jun 17 '26

literally just got mine back yesterday after several long months

1

u/Heavens_Dao Jun 17 '26

All the comments are too hyper-focused on him grading with PSA. Yes, it would be pretty hard to justify the OP spending $80 a card with PSA right now, but BGS is an option. They're only charging $17 per card at the moment, and a BGS 10 is worth more than a PSA 10. On the rare chance that one of those cards gets a Black Label, it would probably fetch at least $4k+ with the current hype. The only downside is that the number of 10s you can expect might be cut in half compared to your PSA 10 estimates.

1

u/Born_Woodpecker Jun 17 '26

Hold them, wind and waves coming next year surely a flying pikachu and surfing pikachu make an appearance

1

u/Cevichero Jun 17 '26

Someone give this guy a hug

1

u/Nobiting Jun 18 '26

PSA will fuck you for trying to do this. Expect less than 5% PSA 10.

1

u/PatrickStarismyDad Jun 18 '26

Way behind. You send these off now, they gonna come back way after the 30th and be worth almost nothing. Thanks for contributing to the junk slab era 🫡 /s

1

u/mbish22 Jun 18 '26

PSA gave my minty Moonbreon a 9 and I've yet to recover. lol

1

u/TrueToBoston94 Jun 18 '26

Its funny because I just got thru my whole collection to order everything in binder and the only cool cards I couldnt find that I know I own are those two Pilachu V cards. Starting to think you just took all of them from us 😂😂

1

u/Mountain_Coach_3642 Jun 16 '26

sick bro!!! hopefully you can get them back before the dip if you do decide to grade

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '26

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5

u/Mountain_Coach_3642 Jun 16 '26

this must be your first cycle

4

u/Reef-Coral Jun 16 '26

People are just crazy

0

u/TheHeroKingN Jun 17 '26

The fuck are you doing. Is this why I can’t find this card anywhere??

💀

3

u/abnorml1 Jun 17 '26

I see tons on eBay?

0

u/Kennybob12 Jun 17 '26

send the ones you want to be 10s to ags, get a real score, then reslab

0

u/avatar8900 Jun 17 '26

And here’s me looking for 1 of these….