$Cal Ripken Jr. [Refractor] #28 (Baseball Cards 1996 Topps Chrome) — is it worth grading?$

Is Cal Ripken Jr. [Refractor] #28 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1996 Topps Chrome · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Cal Ripken Jr. [Refractor] #28 sells for $199 against $150 raw: a $49.01 spread, 1.3× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($181) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.

Raw (NM): $150
Grade 9.5: $199
PSA 9: $181
Gem premium: 1.3×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Cal Ripken Jr. [Refractor] #28: net result of grading versus selling raw, by outcome and fee tier
If it comes back…	Sells for	Economy / bulk (~$25.00)	Standard (~$50.00)	Express (~$150)
Gem — Grade 9.5	$199	+$24.01	−$0.99	−$101
PSA 9	$181	+$5.83	−$19.17	−$119
PSA 8	$133	−$42.49	−$67.49	−$167

Net = sale price − $150 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?

Cal Ripken Jr. [Refractor] #28: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$185	−$14.63
50%	$190	−$10.08
75%	$194	−$5.54

At the standard fee this submission does not break even at any realistic gem rate unless the miss lands above the 9 price.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

Cal Ripken Jr. [Refractor] #28 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$199
9	$181
8	$133

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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