Exactly! My original cards are a mix of many different sets and conditions, and these I will keep forever. But I will buy cards today as close to mint as possible, and I buy these because I like the art.
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I’m comfortable parting with them if there’s value to them. Understood the odds may be low, but it sounds like it’s worth PSA checking the ones that were mentioned above (Chansey, Neo Genesis Lugia, the Japanese Umbreon, Shadowless Base Set Gyarados, and Unlimited Base Set Venusaur.). If anyone sees anything else that could be valuable (>$200?) as a PSA 9 or 10, I’d love to know so I could include that in the shipment.
I’ll try to remember to follow up with the PSA results to give some closure. Thanks again for the help.
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Like all things in life the devil is in the details. I would pull the cards you just listed and take a close up picture (front and back) that way you can assess more specifically what makes sense. “Mint” to the untrained eye is different than mint to PSA. For example, the shadowless Gyarados looks pretty rough and may not be worth grading.
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The same thing plays out all the time. Probably more commonly on other social media platforms.
Someone posts a childhood collection of WOTC or other vintage holos. They attach front-only images of cards in an old school binder, possibly sleeved but likely not. One or two shadowless cards. One or two first editions. The best cards are not in English or are in obviously rough shape.
Then that person gets great advice from knowledgeable people: “It’s probably worth more in sentimental than monetary value”, “Your cards are likely not in as good condition as you think they are”, “grading is a hassle, not cheap, and not likely to end in the outcome you expect.”
Then one or two eternal optimists chime in: “that one card is worth 10k in a PSA 10!”
Of course that’s the only response that actually registers with the OP as it’s what they were hoping to hear. Then OP forks over an amount equivalent to the value of their collection to grading and shipping companies. Gets back a bunch of PSA 4s through 7s. They might still break even selling off the collection, but that sentimental value and appreciation for their cards is probably never going to recover. And so the cycle continues. The real winners are the grading companies.
Sorry to be a downer. PokemonOG, if you post high quality photos of the front and backs of a few of the cards you will probably get more helpful advice. I would do that before grading so you at least will have better expectations of what to expect and can judge if it’ll be worth it (if your mind isn’t already made up).
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I second posting good front and back pictures of the few cards you’d hope to be grading. Members here may be able to chime and give you realistic expectations for what grades to expect.
With this info, you can check out estimated PSA prices for the cards at TCGfish.com and see whether it’s worth the effort to grade and sell for you. Also keep in mind that you should be expecting roughly 85% of thr prices shown, due to marketplace fees.
Wish you the best if you’re still thinking of selling.
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