Ryan Barone (@ballcardgenius, Card Expert) is a lifelong member of the hobby. He has been quoted in PSA Magazine, and his content has regularly been mentioned in “Quick Rips” (the Topps RIPPED Newsletter) and across other hobby publications. hello@ballcardgenius.com; Last Time Ago LLC dba Ballcard Genius.
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PSA 9 is a good grade and potentially worth buying if the card has a low population. This would mean that there are few PSA 9s in existence, and would thus be considered rare and relatively valuable. For clarity, the “population” is a count of how many of card exists in a particular grade. So, for instance, if a card has a high PSA 9 population of 1,000, receiving a 9 for the card you submitted wouldn’t be particularly good. However, if the card had a low PSA 9 population of 20, then receiving a PSA 9 for your copy would be great.
Let’s look at two examples, with the first being a 1990 Fleer Ken Griffey Jr. Soaring Stars insert. The PSA 9 population of this card is 106, and the PSA 10 population is 5. These are both very low populations, especially when compared to other junk wax era cards.
As such, the lowest-available PSA 9 currently for sale via Buy It Now on eBay is $115 plus shipping and the lowest PSA 10 is listed at $3,800 (with 21 watchers). The last PSA 10 sold in April of 2023 for $2,000.
On the other hand, let’s look at an example from one of the hobby’s most iconic and sought-after cards—1990 Score Bo Jackson #697 (you know the one). This card has a whopping PSA 9 population of 6,700 and a PSA 10 population of 3,000. The impact on value? You can buy a PSA 9 for $25-$30 and a PSA 10 for $250.
So, like all things in cards whether or not a PSA 9 grade is good for a card depends on that card’s population. If you’re thinking about grading, you’ll want to check eBay comps to get an idea of the value of the card in a realistic grade, whether that’s PSA 8, PSA 9, or PSA 10.
If you can’t find sold data for the card, take a look at its PSA pop. Is it high or low compared to this player’s other cards? Is it high or low compared to other cards from the same set?
As a buyer who is buying for your collection, really think about the condition of a PSA 9 and a PSA 10. The differences between the two can be tiny at times, but the change in price going from PSA 9 to PSA 10 can be astronomical. Keep that in mind!
