Let's look at a prime example that perfectly illustrates this spread: the Monkey D. Luffy (109) Parallel from 500 Years in the Future . Currently, you can pick up a raw, Near Mint copy of this card for around $65 . However, if you look at the slabbed market, a PSA 10 copy is commanding $350+ . With a population count of only around 606, the demand is vastly outstripping the supply. That is a roughly 5x multiplier just for successfully grading a card you can buy online today.
This dynamic might feel familiar to Pokémon collectors, but the mechanics here are fundamentally different. In the Pokémon TCG, the price difference between raw and PSA 10 slabs is enormous mainly because of the print quality . English Pokémon cards are notorious for centering issues and whitening, making it incredibly difficult to score a 10. I know this pain firsthand; I've received many PSA submissions back with very few 10s, leaving me with a stack of 8s and 9s that I thoroughly examined beforehand. The "Gem Mint" premium in Pokémon exists because it is genuinely hard to achieve.
Compare that to my recent One Piece TCG submissions, where over 95% of my cards have come back as PSA 10s . You’re probably thinking, "No duh, slabbed cards are always higher value than raw," but the ease of getting a PSA 10 in One Piece is the key factor here. Unlike its competitors, Bandai produces cards with amazing print quality. The centering is usually sharp, and the edges are clean straight from the pack, meaning most "pack fresh" copies are legitimate PSA 10 potentials.
So, why are the prices so high if they are so easy to grade? The answer lies in the population counts , which are significantly lower than other TCGs like Pokémon. Even with a high grade rate, the total number of slabs on the market is low relative to the exploding player and collector base. This scarcity drives buyer demand; when collectors see only a few copies on the market, they are willing to pay up. Less supply creates a high price where sellers have the pricing power.
This trend isn't limited to the newest sets; it extends to the classics as well. Take a look at the Shanks Parallel from Romance Dawn (OP-01). The raw value for this card hovers around $110 , yet the PSA 10 version commands around $500 . With a population of roughly 763, this card demonstrates that even in older sets (where supply has had time to stabilize), the premium for a Gem Mint slab remains massive. The market simply prefers the certainty and prestige of the slab.
We are even seeing this multiplier effect on lower-entry cards. Let's look at the OP13 Secret Rare Luffy from the Carrying on His Will set. This card has a raw value of around $18 , but the graded PSA 10 value is skyrocketing to 10x that amount , sitting around $180 with a tiny population of 80. Disclaimer: Since this set is fairly new, the low pop count is expected, but the early sales data confirms that collectors are hungry for 10s regardless of the raw card's abundance.
Perhaps the most shocking evidence is found in outliers like the regular Super Rare Monkey D. Luffy (109) —not the parallel or alternate art, just the standard SR. This card has a high pull rate and a raw value of just $5 . Yet, remarkably, it has a $150+ value in a PSA 10 . This is a pure arbitrage play where the cost of the card is negligible compared to the value added by the grading process.
So, here is the move: take a good look through your PSA-worthy raw One Piece TCG collection and identify any clean cards to submit for grading. The odds are statistically in your favor with Bandai's print quality, and it is a quick, simple way to jump the value of your collection. Bonus Tip: Submit on the lowest grading price tier to save on costs. Time is your friend. The less you put into the overall price, the more you save on your cost basis. Even if it takes 6+ months to get your submissions back, it is better than eating into your margins with a $75+ express submission. Think long term.