Is Tropical Beach worth grading?
Pokémon · BW Black Star Promos · BW50 · full price guide →
Grading rarely pays for this card
PSA 10 copies of Tropical Beach sell for $86.00, only $0.00 above the $249 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. Even a PSA 9 ($404) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.
- Raw (NM)
- $249
- PSA 10
- $86.00
- PSA 9
- $404
- Gem premium
- 0.3×
- As of
- Aug 10, 2026
Break-even by outcome and fee
| If it comes back… | Sells for | Economy / bulk (~$25.00) | Standard (~$50.00) | Express (~$150) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gem — PSA 10 | $86.00 | −$188 | −$213 | −$313 |
| PSA 9 | $404 | +$130 | +$105 | +$5.40 |
| PSA 8 | $85.26 | −$189 | −$214 | −$314 |
Net = sale price − $249 raw value − fee. Fee tiers are illustrative; plug your grader's current price into the calculator below.
Expected value — how often does it need to gem?
| Chance it gems | Expected sale | Expected net (standard fee) |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | $325 | +$25.80 |
| 50% | $245 | −$53.80 |
| 75% | $166 | −$133 |
Break-even gem rate at the standard fee: about 33%. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses — measure it before you decide.
Which grader pays the most — and what a 10 takes
All centering standards →| Grader | 10 sells for | vs best | Front centering for a 10 | Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | $86.00 | best | 55/45 | 75/25 |
Tolerances are each company's published centering standard for its top grade; surface, corners and edges must also be clean. Centering is the one you can measure yourself before you pay.
Full grade ladder
Raw conditions & history →| Grade | PSA | CGC | BGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $86.00 | — | — |
| 9.5 | — | $1,246 | — |
| 9 | $404 | $1,027 | — |
| 8.5 | — | $120 | — |
| 8 | $85.26 | $1,727 | $1,000 |
| 7.5 | $3,102 | — | — |
| 7 | $37.45 | $75.00 | — |
| 6 | $474 | $50.00 | — |
| 5.5 | — | $499 | — |
| 5 | $44.87 | $490 | — |
| 3 | $566 | — | — |
Run your own numbers
Should I pay this?
Enter the seller’s asking price to see your net outcome per grade.
Other BW Black Star Promos cards worth checking
Full set checklist →
Grading Tropical Beach — FAQ
Is Tropical Beach worth grading?
PSA 10 copies of Tropical Beach sell for $86.00, only $0.00 above the $249 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. Even a PSA 9 ($404) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.
How much is a PSA 10 Tropical Beach worth compared with raw?
A PSA 10 Tropical Beach (BW Black Star Promos BW50) sells for about $86.00 versus $249 for a raw near-mint copy — a 0.3× premium as of Aug 10, 2026.
What centering does Tropical Beach need for a PSA 10?
PSA publishes 55/45 front and 75/25 back centering as the tolerance for a 10 (Gem Mint). Off-center copies are capped below the top grade regardless of surface — measure yours before paying the fee.
What gem rate makes grading Tropical Beach break even?
At a standard ~$50 fee, submitting Tropical Beach breaks even when it gems about 33% of the time (a miss assumed to sell at the PSA 9 price of $404).
Is your Pokémon card centered well enough to grade?
Centering makes or breaks a PSA 10. Scan any card with Midpoint to measure its exact centering, get a grade estimate, and see what your copy is actually worth.
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