Should You Grade the Shanks Alternate Art ST16-004 from One Piece PRB-02?
Prices updated Oct 5, 2026
Weekly Card Market Insights
Price moves, deal alerts, and grading tips delivered every week. Free.
Should You Grade Shanks Alternate Art ST16-004 (One Piece PRB-02)?
The Shanks Alternate Art ST16-004 from the One Piece Premium Booster 2 set carries a raw price of around $32.50. Shanks is one of the most recognizable characters in the One Piece franchise, and alternate art versions consistently attract collector attention. With a PSA 10 sitting at roughly $60.52 and a BGS 10 reaching $79, the question is whether the grading math actually works in your favor, especially given the narrow spread between raw and graded prices at the lower tiers.
With 88 recorded sales, this card has a meaningful amount of market activity for a One Piece TCG card at this price point. That volume gives us reasonably reliable price data to work with, though it also signals that raw copies are circulating freely, which tends to compress the premium on graded copies.
ROI Breakdown by Grade and Service
| Grade | Market Price | Grading Cost | Net Profit / Loss | ROI % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw (Baseline) | $32.50 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PSA 9 | $45.00 | $25 (Economy) | +$12.50 minus fees | 38.5% gross / slim net |
| PSA 9 | $45.00 | $50 (Regular) | -$37.50 | -53.8% |
| PSA 9.5 | $50.00 | $25 (Economy) | +$17.50 minus fees | 53.8% gross / slim net |
| PSA 10 | $60.52 | $25 (Economy) | +$3.02 minus fees | 9.3% gross / likely negative net |
| PSA 10 | $60.52 | $50 (Regular) | -$21.98 | -26.7% |
| PSA 10 | $60.52 | $150 (Express) | -$121.98 | -66.8% |
| BGS 10 | $79.00 | $25 (Economy) | +$21.50 minus fees | 66.2% gross / moderate net |
| BGS 10 | $79.00 | $50 (Regular-tier BGS) | -$3.50 | -4.1% |
Note: Net figures above do not account for selling platform fees, which typically run 10 to 13 percent on major marketplaces. Factor those in before committing to any submission tier.
Recommendation
Grade if: You have a copy in genuinely pristine condition and can submit under PSA Economy tier at $25. Even then, a PSA 10 at $60.52 leaves almost no margin after platform fees on a $32.50 raw card. The more realistic grading scenario here is BGS 10, where the $79 price point creates a workable gross spread at low-cost submission tiers. If you have strong confidence your copy will hit BGS 10, the economy math is the only path to a positive outcome.
Sell raw if: Your card shows any surface wear, print lines, or edge issues. A PSA 9 at $45 minus a $25 grading fee minus platform fees on the sale means you're likely breaking even at best or taking a small loss. At PSA Regular ($50) or Express ($150) pricing, grading this card is a clear financial loss at every grade level except a BGS 10 under the cheapest submission tier.
Condition Requirements
To have a realistic shot at PSA 10 or BGS 10, this card needs four sharp corners, flat surface with no print defects, centered borders within roughly 60/40 tolerance, and no scratches on the foil or alternate art printing. One Piece cards from booster sets can arrive with surface imperfections straight from the pack, so inspect carefully before submitting. If the copy grades PSA 9 instead of PSA 10, you've lost money on the transaction at any submission tier above Economy.
Grading Recommendation
Population, Service Choice, and Timing
Without a current PSA population report number in the provided data, the price gap between PSA 9 ($45) and PSA 10 ($60.52) tells its own story. A spread of just $15.52 between the two highest PSA grades is narrow, which often reflects a population where PSA 10 copies are not especially scarce. When 10s are easy to find on the market, buyers won't pay a large premium for them, and that's exactly what the pricing here suggests. If the PSA 10 pop were low, you'd typically see a more pronounced jump above the PSA 9 price.
The grading service question is straightforward for this card: BGS 10 at $79 is the only grade that creates a meaningful spread over raw. If you're targeting a PSA label, Economy is the only tier that keeps the math from going immediately negative, and even that produces a razor-thin result after fees on a PSA 10. SGC and CGC are worth considering only if you're grading for personal collection purposes, since their secondary market prices for One Piece cards are generally lower than PSA and BGS at equivalent grades. CGC Standard at $25 is competitively priced, but CGC 10 demand for this card is not reflected in the data provided, so proceed with caution.
Timing matters more for One Piece cards than many collectors expect. The franchise releases new sets frequently, and hype cycles around specific leaders or alternate art cards can compress quickly once new product hits. Shanks carries long-term character recognition, which provides some floor support, but alternate art versions tied to specific promotional or booster sets can lose urgency as newer art treatments appear. If you're going to grade, submitting sooner rather than later is the safer call, especially if One Piece TCG has another major set release on the near-term calendar that could shift collector attention.