I’ve just started collecting Pokemon cards after Sun and Moon sparked my interest in them, and am gunning for the 1st edition Fossil and Jungle sets in PSA 10. From what I can see from recent Ebay listings, 1st edition Jungle and Fossil boxes go for between $800 and $900, while the rarest holos from these sets (Kangaskhan, Lapras) go for roughly the same amount.
With this in mind, I’m just wondering whether I’m better off buying a couple of booster boxes and sending in cards for grading, or buying the PSA 10 graded cards separately. I’ve done a tonne of research on these cards, and the current market, but I haven’t been able to find much information on this matter (e.g. the chances of pulling a PSA 10 from a booster pack).
I think 10s are pretty rare to pull. Most box fresh cards get graded 9s or even 8s. If you only want a psa 10 collection I think the safest bet is buying the cards outright. Maybe see if you can get bulk deals from someone who has multiples. The booster box route is a pretty big gamble if you’re going for the whole set in 10s. Even if you were ok with 9s it’s probably cheaper to just buy the single cards.
For Fossil and Jungle 100% need to buy already graded, you could crack open 20 boxes of each and not even have half of the holos get 10s for your set. This is true for ALL English sets
