A PSA to CGC crossover runs through CGC, not PSA: you send the PSA-slabbed card to CGC’s CrossOver service, and CGC only breaks the PSA case if it expects to give the card the same grade or a higher one. The usual reason to try is CGC’s Pristine 10 label, which sits above any 10 PSA offers, plus a handful of modern cards where CGC 10s have sold for more than PSA 10s.
The sales record does not point one way. In the Goldin sales we collected, a CGC 10 beat a PSA 10 on two modern cards, and sold for about half on two others, one of them a Pristine 10. Moving a card out of a PSA slab is a bet on that specific card, not on CGC in general.
As of October 23, 2026: CGC charges its normal grading tier for CrossOver (Economy $20, Standard $55, Express $100 among others) and keeps the full fee if the card stays in its PSA case. Neither company publishes how often crossovers succeed.
How a PSA to CGC crossover works
PSA has a crossover service, but it moves cards into PSA holders. The reverse trip is CGC’s product. CGC’s fee page lists PSA first among the slabs its CrossOver service accepts, alongside Beckett and SGC, and sets an automatic floor: the PSA grade.
- Standard request: CGC grades the card through the PSA case. If it expects the PSA number or better, it cracks the case and issues a CGC label. If not, the card comes back still in PSA plastic, and “the full grading fee will still apply.”
- Cross at Any Grade: the override. Mark the form with those words and CGC will slab the card in its own holder whatever number it lands on. A PSA 9 could then come back as a CGC 8.5.
For a PSA 10, “same or higher” means a CGC 10 of some kind. For a PSA 9, it means a CGC 9, a Mint+ 9.5 or a 10. Our CGC crossover service guide has the full tier list and the paperwork.
Why anyone moves a card from PSA to CGC
Cracking a PSA slab on purpose needs a reason. Three come up.
1. The Pristine 10 label
CGC has two 10s. Its Gem Mint 10 tolerates front centering up to roughly 55/45 and back centering up to 75/25, the same numbers PSA uses for its own 10. Pristine 10 is the label for cards with no flaw visible to the naked eye and dead-center 50/50 borders. PSA has nothing above its Gem Mint 10, so a near-perfect PSA 10 has no higher label to reach without leaving PSA.
2. Specific modern cards where CGC 10s sold higher
On two modern cards in our price research, a CGC Gem Mint 10 sold above a PSA 10 within a few weeks. Those are the sales people point to. The next section shows them next to the sales that went the other way.
3. One brand of slab for a collection
Some collectors want a matched set or a single registry, and a binder of mixed slabs bothers them. That is a preference, not a price argument, and it is the one case where Cross at Any Grade can make sense: the owner has already decided the brand of slab matters more than the number on it. Anyone crossing for that reason should still check each card’s recent sales first, because a lower CGC grade on a valuable card is a permanent loss that no amount of visual consistency pays back.
The sales evidence: CGC 10 vs PSA 10 at Goldin
Every price in this table is what the winning bidder paid at Goldin, buyer’s premium included (Goldin’s about page lists 22% with a $19 minimum). Dates are auction end dates as Goldin prints them. Each row is one sale against one sale, and single sales are noisy.
| Card | CGC sale | PSA 10 sale | CGC as a multiple of PSA (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evolving Skies Umbreon VMAX 215/203 alt art | Gem Mint 10, $3,050 (8/21/25) | $2,684 (8/02/25) | 1.14 |
| 151 Charizard ex 199/165 SIR | Gem Mint 10, $1,476 (2/08/26) | $1,178 (2/15/26) | 1.25 |
| Obsidian Flames Charizard ex #223 SIR | Pristine 10, $610 (8/09/26) | $1,220 (8/09/26) | 0.5 |
| Van Gogh Pikachu #085 promo | Gem Mint 10, $1,586 (8/03/26) | $3,050 (8/03/26) | 0.52 |
Two caveats change how the first row reads. The Umbreon PSA 10 that sold for $2,684 in August 2025 was not the ceiling: another PSA 10 of the same card sold for $5,491 at Goldin on 4/26/26. And the Obsidian Flames row is the strongest warning in the table, because even the higher CGC label, Pristine 10, brought half what a PSA 10 did on the same evening.
We found no published study of a typical gap between CGC and PSA prices at the same grade, so we do not quote one. Our CGC vs PSA price difference page gathers more pairs, vintage included.
Pristine vs Gem Mint: what the extra step is worth
If Pristine is the reason to cross, the useful comparison is CGC against CGC. One Japanese card in our research sold in three CGC labels at Goldin in 2026:
| Japanese Mega Charizard X ex #223, from Mega Dream ex | Goldin all-in price | Auction end |
|---|---|---|
| CGC Pristine 10 | $149 | 6/21/26 |
| CGC Pristine 10 | $171 | 6/21/26 |
| CGC Gem Mint 10 | $94 | 9/27/26 |
On that card the Pristine slabs sold well above the Gem Mint 10, months apart. No PSA sale of the card was captured, so it says nothing about PSA against CGC; it only shows that inside CGC the two 10s are priced as different things. That matters for a PSA 10 that crosses and comes back reading Gem Mint 10: you have swapped one 10 for another 10 and paid a fee, without reaching the label that was the point of the trip.
How often does a 10 reach Pristine? What the population reports say
No grader publishes crossover outcomes, so the closest public evidence is the share of each grade in CGC’s population report. Shares below are our arithmetic on numerically graded slabs (authentic-only slabs removed), from CGC’s report read on October 23, 2026 and archived PSA pages dated as shown.
| Card | CGC Pristine or Perfect 10 | CGC Gem Mint 10 | PSA 10 (archive date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umbreon VMAX 215/203 | 14.6% | 41.2% | 72.5% (June 2025 snapshot) |
| 151 Charizard ex 199/165 | 3.8% | 30.7% | 32.9% (April 2025 snapshot) |
On the Umbreon, roughly one CGC slab in seven carries a Pristine or Perfect label; on the 151 Charizard ex it is closer to one in twenty-five. These are shares of everything CGC has graded on those cards, not crossover odds. They do not tell you how PSA 10s fare when sent in, because PSA 10s are a pre-selected group: they already passed a 55/45 centering test, and only the owners who think a card is exceptional will pay to try. If pop tables are new to you, our Torchic Gold Star walkthrough decodes every column.
For the opposite direction, from a CGC 10 into PSA, see our CGC Pristine 10 to PSA 10 estimate.
Below 10: a PSA 9 hoping for CGC 9.5
The other upward move in this direction is a PSA 9 that CGC grades Mint+ 9.5. PSA’s scale has nothing between 9 and 10, so a very strong PSA 9 is the card most likely to read higher on CGC’s finer ladder. The catch is price evidence. We could not find a clean sale pair of the same card as a current-scale CGC 9.5 and a PSA 9, and the only Mint+ 9.5 sale in our research, the Mega Dream Charizard X ex, sold for $55 with no PSA comparison. Paying to move a PSA 9 into a 9.5 holder is a bet on a price premium nobody has measured.
Be careful with older CGC sales when you look for one. CGC’s scale changed in 2023 and, in CGC’s words, “Cards previously graded Gem Mint 9.5 are exactly equivalent to Gem Mint 10 under the updated grading scale”. Any pre-2023 Gem Mint 9.5 label from CGC now counts as a Gem Mint 10, not a Mint+ 9.5, so its sale price is no guide to what a crossed PSA 9 would fetch.
What a PSA to CGC crossover costs
The tier depends on the card’s value. CGC’s caps on October 23, 2026 were $1,000 for Economy ($20), $3,000 for Standard ($55) and $10,000 for Express ($100). A PSA 10 Umbreon at the 2026 Goldin prices above is past Standard’s cap, so it would go in at Express. A PSA 10 Obsidian Flames Charizard at its August 2026 price fits Standard.
The fee is charged whether CGC cracks the case or not, so the honest cost of a Pristine attempt is the fee divided by your realistic chance of getting Pristine. A card with no visible centering edge has a low chance and an expensive attempt, even at CGC’s lower prices.
Risks of leaving a PSA slab
- The PSA label is gone once the card crosses. Getting it back means a PSA crossover with its own full fee and its own chance of missing.
- A CGC 10 can be a step down in price. In two of the four pairs above, a CGC 10 sold for about half a PSA 10.
- The default rule protects the grade, not the label. Same-or-higher keeps a PSA 10 from becoming a CGC 9.5, but it does not stop it becoming a Gem Mint 10 rather than Pristine.
- A miss costs the full fee. If that happens, our failed crossover guide lays out what to do with a card that came back unchanged.
Every comparison on this page is a dated sale or a dated population count. For the full set of grade-by-grade estimates, see the crossover grading hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you cross over a PSA card to CGC?
Yes. CGC’s CrossOver service accepts cards in PSA holders. CGC only removes the card if it expects the same grade or higher, unless the form asks it to cross at any grade.
Does CGC charge if it will not cross my PSA card?
Yes. CGC returns the card in its PSA holder and the full grading fee for your tier still applies.
Do CGC 10s sell for more than PSA 10s?
Sometimes. One Goldin sale of a CGC Gem Mint 10 Umbreon VMAX alt art (8/21/25, $3,050) topped a PSA 10 sold that same month for $2,684, but a CGC Pristine 10 Obsidian Flames Charizard ex sold for $610 the same evening a PSA 10 sold for $1,220. It depends on the card and the sale.
Will a PSA 10 become a CGC Pristine 10?
Only if CGC judges it Pristine, which means perfect 50/50 borders and no visible flaw. PSA lets a 10 drift to about 55/45, so plenty of PSA 10s are Gem Mint 10 material at best.
What is the success rate for PSA to CGC crossovers?
Neither PSA nor CGC publishes one. Population shares give context, for example about one Umbreon VMAX 215 slab in seven at CGC is Pristine or Perfect 10, but that is not a crossover rate.
Sources
- Services and Fees: CGC Grading — CGC Cards, read October 23, 2026
- CGC Cards Grading Scale — CGC Cards, read October 23, 2026
- Grading Standards — PSA, read October 23, 2026
- CGC Cards merger announcement — CGC Cards, 2023, read October 23, 2026
- 2025 Pokemon Japanese Mega Evolution Mega Dream ex Mega Attack Rare #223 Mega Charizard X ex – CGC MINT+ 9.5 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- About Goldin: buying and selling options — Goldin, undated page, read October 23, 2026
- 2021 Pokemon Sword and Shield Evolving Skies Secret Rare Full Art #215 Umbreon VMAX – CGC GEM MINT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2021 Pokemon Sword and Shield Evolving Skies Secret Rare Full Art #215 Umbreon VMAX – PSA GEM MT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2021 Pokemon Sword & Shield Evolving Skies Secret Full Art #215 Umbreon VMAX – PSA GEM MT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet 151 #199 Charizard ex – CGC GEM MINT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet 151 SIR #199 Charizard EX – PSA GEM MT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Obsidian Flames SIR #223 Charizard ex – CGC PRISTINE 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Obsidian Flames SIR #223 Charizard ex – PSA GEM MT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Pokemon Black Star Promo Pokemon x Van Gogh #085 Pikachu Grey Felt Hat – CGC GEM MINT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Promo Pokemon x Van Gogh #085 Pikachu Grey Felt Hat – PSA GEM MT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2025 Pokemon Japanese Mega Evolution Mega Dream ex Mega Attack Rare #223 Mega Charizard X ex – CGC PRISTINE 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2025 Pokemon Japanese Mega Evolution Mega Dream ex Mega Attack Rare #223 Mega Charizard X ex – CGC PRISTINE 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- 2025 Pokemon Japanese Mega Evolution Mega Dream ex Mega Attack Rare #223 Mega Charizard X ex – CGC GEM MINT 10 — Goldin, Goldin lot page, read October 23, 2026
- Population report: Evolving Skies — CGC Cards, read October 23, 2026
- Auction prices and population: Umbreon VMAX #215 (archived) — PSA via the Wayback Machine, snapshot June 26, 2025, read October 23, 2026
- Population report: Scarlet and Violet 151 — CGC Cards, read October 23, 2026
- Auction prices and population: Charizard ex #199 (archived) — PSA via the Wayback Machine, snapshot April 7, 2025, read October 23, 2026
No grading company publishes crossover pass rates. Any crossover odds on this page are Pokemon Pricing’s estimate, labelled as one, built from the published grading standards and population reports on the dates shown. Fees, populations and sale prices change; check the grading company’s current price list before submitting. This article is collector information, not investment advice. Pokémon and all card names are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and GAME FREAK inc.; Pokemon Pricing is not affiliated with them or with any grading company.