“Junk Slab” is not a state, but an evaluation. There is no numerical value = junk slab.
I’d say, a junk slab can only be a junk slab for the person who graded it, assuming that you (the buyer) don’t overpay for it. “Junk” slab doesn’t mean it’s junk either, but rather that it’s not worth it right now. I’d say if you graded a PSA 9 1st edition common jungle at $50, then it is a junk slab, but it you graded that same card now, at $18, it’s not.
IMO.
It’s not so much about the grade as it is about the card for me. You could have a modern energy card grade a ten and be a junk slab but a vintage/rare/scarce card be graded a 4 and still be a grail to someone.
If it’s junk without the plastic, it’s a junk slab.
At this rate authentic will be the only grade ill be able to afford… if that…
it could be still considered a junk slab, though, in the sense that the grade doesn’t add any value to the card. That zard would be worth just as much with or without the slab.
Of course, a PSA 4 1st Ed Base zard is an amazing item. But it’s amazing because it’s a 1st Ed Base zard, not because it’s a PSA 4.
Good point
I’ve noticed that this thread is mostly about PSA. I would argue that junk slab cutoffs are also contingent on the grading company.
If I was given any slab other than PSA, CGC, or BGS, I would crack it immediately. Just a personal preference.
I think “junk” is a big misnomer. It implies the slab is garbage when really its just a mismatch between supply and demand. More specifically, when the supply shoots oast the demand.
Graded cards are more complicated than abstract widgets too. They are a tiered commodity where the demand is highest at the top grade (or grading company) and people move down to the highest grade they can afford.
If there are enough PSA 10s at a low enough price to completely satisfy the demand then any sub-10 grade is excess supply (aka junk). A great example of this is the illustration Charizord where a PSA 9 copy is effectively selling at the $18 grading price point.
On the other end, there is demand for 1st edition charizords that go all the way down to PSA 1, so really there is no grade where a 1st edition charizord becomes “junk”.
So yeah, any slab that has sufficient supply in a higher tier (or even too many slabs in the highest tier) is classified as “junk” in my mind.
Anything not already in my collection 
I would say anything below psa 8 for vintage and psa 10 for modern.
For me personally… anything less than a PSA 5 usually. That’s where I’ve seen the quality become very HP type cards with a lot of whitening and scratches. When you get below 8, I feel it really becomes a game of ‘buy the card, not the grade’. I actually have gotten a few nice 5s over the years, like my Charizard which aside from the back top edge is a really nice binder copy (which is what I bought it for). It was also a fraction of the price of a PSA 7 or 8 and has no holo scratches to speak of, so overall a very nice eye appeal for a binder:
It implies the slab is garbage when really its just a mismatch between supply and demand.
Absolutely. A misnomer. Perhaps, however, that mismatch may be so BIG that it will not be overcome in the foreseeable future.
For me personally when I collect graded card sets I tend to buy PSA 9 majority of the time. If they are affordable in 10s I’ll go for that. Ive wanted to collect the masaki promo set in 9s for a while now. I decided to go with 8s instead of paying roughly 5k for a PSA 9 set. In the end I was happy with my decision. I enjoy the art, the story behind the release and the manner in which you had to obtain these promo cards. Now it’s a nice little addition to my collection that didn’t break the bank and truthfully these 8s aren’t so bad on the eyes.
I feel every card has a certain threshold of what grade determines if it’s a junk slab. A PSA 6 1st Ed charizard is a grail for most and wouldn’t be considered a junk slab but a PSA 6 evolutions charizard would. It all depends on which card we’re talking about.
The biggest junk slabs coming up are the ones that stonked the most during the pandemic. Think of 1st edition Jungle Eevee and Pikachu, base set starters unlimited, etc.
As the price on those slabs went to the moon, everyone sent in their copy to get graded thinking they can get the same price tag. The price on Jungle Eevee is really close to pre-pandemic levels now, and there are probably still more being graded from the backlog. I recall Jungle Eevee around $15 raw NM, which is about the price of a PSA 8 already graded right now. Lots of the Timmys are not in a good position with these slabs coming in.
I lost money just looking at that image! 
Incoming butthurt “But what if that energy is sentimental” army
Not gonna lie I have a soft spot for the original energy cards. When I was a kid in the 90s they seemed so mysterious with their primitive CGI. Not knowing how the play the TCG I couldn’t understand what they were for until a friend taught me the game and explained it as “they basically power up Pokemon.” For a while I thought they were super cool and would even stare at them the way I would with my favourite holo cards.
Now would I collect them today knowing their value? Definitely not. But it’s fun to think there was a time I was enamored with the most worthless and abundant cards in the hobby.
Absolutely, so much time was wasted time scrolling through a ton of energies on PWCC.
Haha for sure! They can’t say it is sentimental if it is being auctioned off on PWCC. That should stay in a collection forever if it actually was sentimental.
