One of my absolute favorite things about the One Piece card game is the sheer immaculate printing quality. After years of dealing in Pokémon—where you can crack a fresh pack and pull an untouchable chase card that still inexplicably earns a PSA 8—One Piece is a breath of fresh air. It is incredibly refreshing to know that when I pull a hit from a pack, it is most likely a pristine grade 10 right out of the gate. This holds true for buying singles online, too. I am consistently and happily surprised when purchasing off eBay and TCGplayer; most "Near Mint" cards I purchase end up crossing the finish line as a perfect 10. In fact, of the cards I send in, my PSA 10 hit rate is roughly 9 out of 10 submissions , which perfectly sets up our overarching strategy.
Not only are there countless undervalued single cards floating around the market, but the newly unlocked value they gain once entombed in a PSA 10 slab is staggering. That little piece of plastic heavily stretches your initial investment. Take the Bartholomew Kuma (Winner Pack 2025 Vol 4) as a prime example. The current raw NM value is sitting at a meager $6 , but a PSA 10 commands around $180 . Let’s do the math: $180 minus your $6 raw cost, minus a $25 grading fee, and minus roughly $35 for shipping and selling fees. That still leaves a hefty $100+ in pure profit. Yes, the values aren't an exact science. A card could always grade lower than a 10, and you must factor in the time your capital is tied up during the turnaround process. However, the upside drastically outweighs the risks, especially when you are acquiring these singles at such a low entry point. When you buy at the floor, you maximize your room for exponential growth. The raw card still intrinsically holds its value, meaning if (and when) One Piece experiences another massive hype cycle, both your raw NM holds and your freshly graded slabs will jump. Now is the time to act and let time work in your favor.
Let's look at another incredible target: the Monkey.D.Luffy (109 Parallel) from 500 Years in the Future . This card is currently hovering around $35 in raw condition, but the PSA 10 graded value easily pushes past the $150+ mark. The grading upside potential here is undeniably great. Even beyond the immediate flip potential, this iconic parallel pose of Luffy feels criminally undervalued at its current price point. One major factor to keep in mind is that the One Piece TCG has a significantly lower pop count overall compared to behemoths like Pokémon, simply due to smaller print runs.
That lower pop count leaves a vast amount of runway for high-end upside as the collector base grows. Cards like this parallel Luffy are prime examples of assets I personally believe are deeply undervalued as PSA 10s. It represents the perfect opportunity to grade now while the raw prices are suppressed and the grading turnaround times are manageable. I would confidently tuck this one away as a long-term value play , letting the scarcity and character premium do the heavy lifting over the next few years.
Promos offer another fantastic avenue for this strategy. Take the Bandai Card Games Fest 23-24 Premium Card Collection Monkey.D.Luffy . You can grab this raw for around $18 . It carries that ever-important "Luffy premium," and while there seems to be plenty of initial stock circulating from the event, being a definitive 2024 stamped promo card gives it an excellent upside outlook. Currently, the PSA 10 holds a sub-$100 value. While the spread isn't as massive as the Kuma, it presents a brilliant opportunity to accumulate early promotional pieces at highly accessible prices before the supply dries up.
The golden rule of TCG investing is mastering the pivot. When one game is red-hot—like Pokémon often is—I like to rotate my attention to cool-down markets like One Piece, and vice versa when the pirate hype spikes again. Take advantage of these graded plays not only on the specific picks mentioned above but across the broader TCG landscape while the iron is cold. Don't forget to check out our community's latest picks and deep-dive analytics if you're having trouble finding undervalued gems in the current market over at tcjournal.io .