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Yo! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you’re enjoying so time off with your family. It’s been a tough year for many. Try and find something to be thankful for over the next few days.
Okay. Enough current events. Let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in to the October 2022 WNBA cards PSA POP count report.
Grading output dropped off a cliff
The slow down I had been anticipating for several months looks to have happened in October. Even with lower grading costs relative to the past 18 months.
In total, a little over 220 cards were slabbed for the period. This is the lowest output since June 2021.
There are now 23,242 WNBA cards in PSA slabs. At the end of October 2021 there were under 14,000. This is a 66% percent increase year over year.
I wish card prices were up this much.
Not every card is worth grading
I believe a lot of people have finally caught on that you can’t just send any card into PSA and it will come back as a hot seller.
This is particularly true of alt or niche sports cards such as WNBA cards. There are only so many WNBA cards that will see a value increase being in a PSA slab.
The W25 registry set cards continue to see rising POP counts. It’s a natural response to collectors / flippers chasing high grade copies.
The trouble is the bulk of the return volume is coming from 2019, 2020, and 2021, none of which have dedicated PSA registry sets.
I remain optimistic that the number of collectors et al interested in WNBA cards will continue to grow, but right now it seems the market might be moving away from graded cards.
This could be to save money. It could be buy more cards. It might be that there’s nothing for them to chase.
I feel like I am writing the same headline monthly
Once again the ultra modern sets dominated the submission returns.
It’s a continuing trend. One that is not likely to end thanks to a strong 2022 class.
Here’s what the top 10 sets look like:
| Rank | Set | POP Count | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 Panini Prizm WNBA | 9,019 | 8% |
| 2 | 1997 Pinnacle Inside | 4,156 | >1% |
| 3 | 1999 Hoops WNBA | 2,010 | 1% |
| 4 | 2000 Fleer Ultra WNBA | 1,108 | 3% |
| 5 | 2000 SkyBox Dominion WNBA | 1,104 | 1% |
| 6 | 1999 Fleer Ultra WNBA | 1,013 | 1% |
| 7 | 2019 Panini Donruss WNBA | 916 | 4% |
| 8 | 2021 Panini Prizm WNBA | 546 | 2% |
| 9 | 1998 Pinnacle WNBA | 364 | >1% |
| 10 | 2001 Fleer Tradition WNBA | 360 | >1% |
Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird are still popular submissions
The top 35 WNBA rookie card list was pretty stable since we last touched base.
Sabrina is still #1. There are enough to start a “Sabrina in every home” campaign.
Collectors and speculators also continue to send in Diana Taurasi rookie cards and 2002 Ultra WNBA Sue Birds. I suspect this will continue, with PSA 10 copies going for close to $10,000 and $4,000, respectively.
I know a 2002 Ultra WNBA Sue Bird PSA 10 went for $2,250, but that seller didn’t know what they were doing…
Top 35 WNBA Card PSA POP Count
| Rank | Card | POP Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 Prizm WNBA Sabrina Ionescu | 2,237 |
| 2 | 1997 Pinnacle Inside WNBA Sheryl Swoopes | 907 |
| 3 | 1997 Pinnacle Inside WNBA Cynthia Cooper | 820 |
| 4 | 1997 Pinnacle Inside WNBA Lisa Leslie | 644 |
| 5 | 2020 Prizm WNBA Satou Sabally | 223 |
| 6 | 1997 Pinnacle Inside WNBA Rebecca Lobo | 209 |
| 7 | 2000 Fleer Ultra WNBA Becky Hammon | 160 |
| 8 | 2004 Ultra WNBA Diana Taurasi | 154 |
| 9 | 1999 Ultra WNBA Chamique Holdsclaw | 149 |
| 10 | 1997 Pinnacle Inside WNBA Tina Thompson | 130 |
| 11 | 2002 Ultra WNBA Sue Bird | 107 |
| 12 | 2002 Fleer Authentix WNBA Sue Bird | 92 |
| 13 | 2001 Ultra WNBA Tamika Catchings | 80 |
| 14 | 1999 Ultra WNBA Katie Smith | 77 |
| 15 | 1999 Ultra WNBA Yolanda Griffith | 74 |
| 16 | 1999 Ultra WNBA Dawn Staley | 71 |
| 17 | 2016 Rittenhouse WNBA Breanna Stewart | 54 |
| 18 | 2002 Ultra WNBA Swin Cash | 47 |
| 19 | 2001 Ultra WNBA Lauren Jackson | 46 |
| 20 | 2008 Rittenhouse WNBA Candace Parker | 45 |
| 21 | 2018 Rittenhouse WNBA A’ja WIlson | 37 |
| 22 | 2011 Rittenhouse WNBA Maya Moore | 37 |
| 23 | 2013 Rittenhouse WNBA Brittney Griner | 33 |
| 24 | 2006 Rittenhouse WNBA Seimone Augustus | 31 |
| 25 | 2006 Rittenhouse WNBA Cappie Pondexter | 31 |
| 26 | 2011 Rittenhouse WNBA Courtney Vandersloot | 29 |
| 27 | 2013 Rittenhouse WNBA Elena Delle Donne | 29 |
| 28 | 2008 Rittenhouse WNBA Sylvia Fowles | 28 |
| 29 | 2002 Fleer Authentix WNBA Swin Cash | 25 |
| 30 | 2010 Rittenhouse WNBA Tina Charles | 22 |
| 31 | 2013 Rittenhouse WNBA Skylar Diggins | 22 |
| 32 | 2011 Rittenhouse WNBA Liz Cambage | 20 |
| 34 | 2016 Rittenhouse WNBA Jonquel Jones | 14 |
| 33 | 2012 Rittenhouse WNBA Nneka Owgumike | 12 |
| 35 | 2017 Rittenhouse WNBA Kelsey Plum | 12 |