$Steve Finley [Refractor] #38 (Baseball Cards 1996 Topps Chrome) — is it worth grading?$

Is Steve Finley [Refractor] #38 worth grading?

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

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Steve Finley [Refractor] #38 sells for $142 against $11.25 raw: a $131 spread, 13× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($129) 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): $11.25
Grade 9.5: $142
PSA 9: $129
Gem premium: 13×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Steve Finley [Refractor] #38: 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	$142	+$106	+$80.75	−$19.25
PSA 9	$129	+$92.75	+$67.75	−$32.25
PSA 8	$12.50	−$23.75	−$48.75	−$149

Net = sale price − $11.25 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?

Steve Finley [Refractor] #38: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$132	+$71.00
50%	$136	+$74.25
75%	$139	+$77.50

Even a miss (a 9) beats selling raw after the standard fee — the gem rate only decides how much you win by.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

Steve Finley [Refractor] #38 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$142
9	$129
8	$12.50

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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