Card Spotlight: The $5 Charizard That Sold for $34.99 in a Custom Gold Slab
A 10 grade, a Label Studio gold label, and a 600% premium over raw
Poke Baby Charizard in a custom lab, sold on eBay.
Not every card spotlight is about a five-figure rookie. Sometimes the most useful story in the hobby is a five dollar card that sold for seven times its raw price, because the seller did everything right.
This week a DCM-graded Poke Baby Charizard sold on eBay for $34.99. Raw copies of this card typically trade for around five to six dollars. That is roughly a 600% premium, and the difference came down to three things: a perfect grade, a custom slab that looks the part, and a report the buyer could verify themselves.
The Card: Poke Baby Charizard UR
Poke Baby is a playful, unofficial art series that reimagines classic Pokémon in a chibi style. The Charizard Ultra Rare from the 2017 set is one of the standouts: a full rainbow holo treatment, art deco framing, and a snarling baby Charizard that collectors of novelty and art cards have gravitated toward.
Card Details:
- Character: Charizard
- Set: Poke Baby
- Card Number: PKB-151-006
- Rarity: Ultra Rare (Rainbow)
- Year: 2017
- DCM Serial: 918761
These cards are printed on quality foil stock, but they were never built with grading in mind. Finding one with flawless corners and clean surfaces takes some luck, which is exactly what makes this copy interesting.
How It Graded: DCM 10 Gem Mint, Quad 10
This copy earned a DCM 10 (Gem Mint) with a confidence score of A, and it did it the hard way: a perfect 10 in every sub-grade.
CategoryScoreCentering10Corners10Edges10Surface10
The centering analysis measured the card at 50/50 on both axes, front and back, with no perceptible shift toward any edge. The condition summary called it "a virtually flawless card in these photos - sharp corners, clean edges, and a pristine surface throughout."
A quad 10 is rare on any card. On a foil-heavy novelty card that usually lives loose in binders, it is close to a unicorn.
You can view the full grading report and card images on DCM Grading.
The Custom Slab
Here is where this sale gets interesting. The owner did not stop at the grade. Using DCM's Label Studio, they built a custom gold label for the slab: gold foil background, black ink, the full card details, the quad 10 sub-grades printed on the back, and a QR code that links straight to the live grading report.
The result looks like a premium, one-of-a-kind display piece. The listing photos showed the slab on a display stand, and the gold label against the rainbow holo card is genuinely striking. Presentation is not a gimmick. It is part of what a buyer is paying for.
Poke Baby Chairzard sold 600% over Raw Price DCM Grading## The Sale: $34.99, About 600% Over Raw
The card sold on eBay on August 10 for $34.99.
VersionTypical PriceRaw copy$5 to $6This card, DCM 10 in a custom slab$34.99
That spread is the whole story. Nobody pays seven times raw price for the same cardboard. They pay it for certainty and presentation:
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Certainty. The buyer can scan the QR code on the slab and see the full report: sub-grades, centering measurements, condition photos, all of it. The grade is not a sticker, it is a document.
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Presentation. A custom gold label slab photographs beautifully in a listing and displays beautifully on a shelf. Loose cards in penny sleeves do neither.
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Scarcity framing. A quad 10 copy of a niche card is arguably the nicest example a buyer will ever see listed. The grade turns "a Charizard art card" into "the best one available."
Why This Matters for Your Collection
The lesson here is not about PokeBaby, and it is not really about Charizard. It is that grading economics work at every price level:
- Low-cost cards can carry the biggest percentage premiums. A $5 card selling for $35 is a better multiple than most vintage blue chips ever achieve.
- Grading costs matter. At DCM prices, this card was graded, slabbed with a custom label, and listed for a small fraction of the final sale price. Mail-away grading fees would have consumed the entire margin.
- Verification closes sales. A QR code that resolves to a live report gives buyers a reason to trust a listing from a seller they have never met.
The Bottom Line
A 10 grade, a custom gold slab, and a scannable report turned a five dollar novelty card into a $34.99 sale. That playbook works on any card you believe in: grade it, present it well, and let the report do the selling.
Ready to try it on your own collection? Grade your cards with DCM Optic, design your slab in Label Studio, and get 2 free grades when you sign up.