Is Akil Baddoo [Black] #US196 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 2021 Topps Update · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Akil Baddoo [Black] #US196 sell for $8.00, only $0.00 above the $8.00 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($7.50) sells for less than raw, so anything short of a 10 loses money. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.

Raw (NM): $8.00
Grade 9.5: $8.00
PSA 9: $7.50
Gem premium: 1.0×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Akil Baddoo [Black] #US196: 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	$8.00	−$25.00	−$50.00	−$150
PSA 9	$7.50	−$25.50	−$50.50	−$151

Net = sale price − $8.00 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?

Akil Baddoo [Black] #US196: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$7.63	−$50.38
50%	$7.75	−$50.25
75%	$7.88	−$50.13

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 →

Akil Baddoo [Black] #US196 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$8.00
9	$7.50

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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