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 ($3,737) 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
- $3,737
- Gem premium
- 0.3×
- As of
- Sep 27, 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 | $3,737 | +$3,463 | +$3,438 | +$3,338 |
| PSA 8 | $53.44 | −$221 | −$246 | −$346 |
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% | $2,824 | +$2,525 |
| 50% | $1,911 | +$1,612 |
| 75% | $999 | +$700 |
Break-even gem rate at the standard fee: about 94%. 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.
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Other BW Black Star Promos cards worth checking
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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 ($3,737) 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 Sep 27, 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 94% of the time (a miss assumed to sell at the PSA 9 price of $3,737).
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