State of the Graded Market — October 2025
Welcome to the October edition of the State of the Graded Market. While September set the stage, October brought fresh momentum, surprise movers and new patterns worth your radar. At NordSlab we’re diving deep—scouring high-volume transactions, uncovering emerging niches, and flagging opportunities that often get overlooked. Whether you’re a seasoned slab flipper or building your raw-to-graded pipeline, buckle in: this month delivers a few curveballs and lots of potential.
High-velocity cards (most transactions)
TCG (to not say Pokémon)
It’s no surprise that the Japanese releases and pre-order promos continue to dominate. But what stood out in October? A swell in high-volume movement for cards like the Mega Charizard X ex 2025 Japanese Mega: Inferno X #110/80 Special Art Rare PSA 10—662 sales at an average of US$1,267. The market for Japanese print runs is highly liquid, even at elevated price tiers.
Mega Charizard X ex 2025 Japanese Mega: Inferno X #110/80 Special Art Rare PSA 10
662 sales at $1267 average
Detective Pikachu 2023 Japanese SV-P Promo #098/SV-P Detective Pikachu Returns Pre-Order PSA 10
Sports Cards
Across the sports slab space, the power of volume is unmistakable. The Cooper Flagg 2025 Topps Now Draft #D1 Base PSA 10 logged 645 sales at an average US$44 — a great illustration that you don’t need to chase four-figure slabs to generate consistent movement. Meanwhile, superstars remain reliable: a Shohei Ohtani 2018 Prizm #136 Base PSA 10 with 382 sales at US$211 average shows that demand for “big name + strong slab grade” still commands serious action.
