Is Kevin Garnett [Gold] #8 worth grading?

Basketball · Basketball Cards 1997 Ultra Stars · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Kevin Garnett [Gold] #8 sells for $4,000 against $2,373 raw: a $1,627 spread, 1.7× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($3,328) 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): $2,373
Grade 9.5: $4,000
PSA 9: $3,328
Gem premium: 1.7×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Kevin Garnett [Gold] #8: 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	$4,000	+$1,602	+$1,577	+$1,477
PSA 9	$3,328	+$930	+$905	+$805
PSA 8	$2,196	−$202	−$227	−$327

Net = sale price − $2,373 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?

Kevin Garnett [Gold] #8: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$3,496	+$1,073
50%	$3,664	+$1,241
75%	$3,832	+$1,409

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 →

Kevin Garnett [Gold] #8 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$4,000
9	$3,328
8	$2,196
7	$1,636

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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Michael Jordan #1

Raw $550PSA 10 $27,725

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Raw $1,568PSA 10 $8,500

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Raw $2,500PSA 10 $10,322

Michael Jordan [Gold] #1

Raw $35,000Graded $60,500

Kobe Bryant [Gold] #3

Raw $18,000Graded $18,100

Allen Iverson [Gold] #2