Is Karl Malone #27 worth grading?

Basketball · Basketball Cards 1996 Ultra Scoring Kings · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Karl Malone #27 sells for $77.00 against $20.00 raw: a $57.00 spread, 3.9× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($70.00) 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): $20.00
Grade 9.5: $77.00
PSA 9: $70.00
Gem premium: 3.9×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Karl Malone #27: 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	$77.00	+$32.00	+$7.00	−$93.00
PSA 9	$70.00	+$25.00	+$0.00	−$100
PSA 8	$13.26	−$31.74	−$56.74	−$157

Net = sale price − $20.00 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?

Karl Malone #27: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$71.75	+$1.75
50%	$73.50	+$3.50
75%	$75.25	+$5.25

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 →

Karl Malone #27 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$77.00
9	$70.00
8	$13.26
7	$11.00

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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