Start with the money that leaves your pocket
A US$100 PSA 10 guide is a possible gross exit reference for an already graded card. It does not say what your raw copy will grade, what a buyer will actually pay, or how much you keep.
Write the calculation in one line: sale proceeds minus selling charges, delivered purchase cost, grading and all remaining costs. Include transport, insurance and handling where they apply. Keep currencies consistent and state the exchange-rate date.
Three outcomes, three separate calculations
Raw, PSA 9 and PSA 10 are alternatives. You do not receive all three prices for one card. Raw avoids the grading bill; the graded outcomes carry it, even if the result disappoints.
Here is a purely illustrative example. Entry is US$19, grading US$39.99, and other grading-related costs US$10. Selling charges are assumed to be 15%. These are calculator inputs, not a live quote.
| Outcome | Gross sale | Net result |
|---|---|---|
| Raw | US$18 | −US$3.70 |
| PSA 9 | US$50 | −US$26.49 |
| PSA 10 | US$100 | +US$16.01 |
Raw includes the entry and selling charge only. The two graded outcomes include the US$49.99 grading-and-other-cost assumption.
Now lower the exit
Cut each assumed gross sale by 10% while holding the costs steady. The PSA 10 result falls to +US$7.51; PSA 9 becomes −US$30.74. Further unmodelled costs would reduce both.
A good calculator helps you see that exposure before a purchase. It cannot assign a grade probability from a nice-looking front photo. PSA's own standards remain separate from a seller's condition description or an AI screen.