Shopping Guide
HELP / FAQs
By onemall 
TL;DR
Kai SAR (236/172) from VSTAR Universe costs ¥12,500 to ¥14,375 in a PSA 10 slab today — all five cheapest on Mercari — with PSA 9s at ¥4,300 and ¥4,500, and raw copies at ¥2,380–¥3,111, every one with a wear or damage note. The cheapest slab is 5.3× the cheapest raw, and the PSA 9 is a third of the 10.
- Cheapest PSA 10: ¥12,500 (US$86.25) on Mercari, authentication available; ¥13,000 twice, ¥14,000, ¥14,375.
- PSA 9 at ¥4,300 is 34% of the cheapest 10 — the cheapest certified copy by a wide margin.
- Raw copies: ¥2,380 slight wear, ¥2,999 clean, ¥3,111 with damage.
- Twenty-six PSA 10 slabs, eight PSA 9s and fifty raws in stock.
As of September 2026, the VSTAR Universe Kai special art rare is a card the market grades hard: ¥12,500 for a gem-mint slab, ¥4,300 for a PSA 9, and fifty raw copies in stock of which the cheap ones all carry wear notes.
This page reads today’s in-stock Kai SAR 236/172 listings across PSA 10, PSA 9 and raw, why the 9 is a third of the 10, and how to buy from Japan.
What a Kai SAR 236/172 PSA 10 costs in Japan right now — 26 slabs in stock
Twenty-six PSA 10 slabs, eight PSA 9s and fifty raw copies were in stock this morning. The five cheapest slabs, two 9s and three raws follow.
| Grade | Price today | Platform · seller condition note | Mercari authentication |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | ¥12,500 (US$86.25) | Mercari · Nearly unused | +¥1,700 available |
| PSA 10 | ¥13,000 (US$89.70) | Mercari · Nearly unused | +¥1,700 available |
| PSA 10 | ¥13,000 (US$89.70) | Mercari · Unused | +¥1,700 available |
| PSA 10 | ¥14,000 (US$96.60) | Mercari · Unused | +¥1,700 available |
| PSA 10 | ¥14,375 (US$99.19) | Mercari · No obvious damage or stains | — |
| PSA 9 | ¥4,300 (US$29.67) | Mercari · No obvious damage or stains | +¥1,700 available |
| PSA 9 | ¥4,500 (US$31.05) | Mercari · Nearly unused | +¥1,700 available |
| Raw (ungraded) | ¥2,380 (US$16.42) | Mercari · Slight damage or stains | — |
| Raw (ungraded) | ¥2,999 (US$20.69) | Mercari · No obvious damage or stains | — |
| Raw (ungraded) | ¥3,111 (US$21.47) | Mercari · Damage or stains | — |
Prices were read from each Kai item page on 2026-09-20 — the seller’s listed price, with USD as the checkout conversion shown on the same page. Every row is a Japanese-language print of the Pokémon TCG[5]; the condition column is the seller’s Mercari / Yahoo! Flea Market condition field, translated, while Suruga-ya’s shop stock has no condition field. Seller titles are Japanese, and the tiles further down open each listing directly. Mercari permits purchases from overseas through partner proxy services[3].
Mercari holds the entire slab ladder: ¥12,500, ¥13,000 twice, ¥14,000 — the first four with authentication available — and ¥14,375 from a card shop. PSA 9s are ¥4,300 and ¥4,500, both with authentication. Raw copies are ¥2,380 with slight wear, ¥2,999 with no obvious damage, and ¥3,111 with a damage note from an Akita card shop. Fifty raws in stock: this 2022 card has been handled for four years, and the raw market shows it.
| Item | Kai SAR 236/172 |
|---|---|
| Set | VSTAR Universe high-class pack (s12a, VSTARユニバース)[4] |
| Collector number / rarity | 236/172 · Special Art Rare (SAR) |
| Cheapest PSA 10 (gem mint) in stock today | ¥12,500 (US$86.25) on Mercari |
| Cheapest raw copy in stock today | ¥2,380 (US$16.42) on Mercari |
| PSA 10 value vs raw (cheapest slab ÷ cheapest raw) | 5.25× — what the gem mint grade is worth over an ungraded copy today |
| In-stock listings found in today’s sweep | 26 PSA 10 · 8 PSA 9 · 50 raw |
| Data read | 2026-09-20 12:15 UTC, live item pages |
All of the above is the Japanese-language Kai — number 236/172 in VSTAR Universe high-class pack. The English-language print of the same illustration carries a different collector number and set name, trades in a separate market, and is not covered by these prices[5]. Promo versions and full-art variants from other sets are different cards again: match the number on the slab label before you compare a price.
Is Kai PSA 10 worth 5.25× the raw card?
A 5.3× multiple, or a ¥10,120 gap, with the PSA 9 at a third of the 10: the market pays ¥8,200 for the last grade step. That is the signature of a card that rarely comes back a 10 — the pack-fresh copies were graded in 2022 and the raws left are the ones that missed PSA’s GEM MT 10 standard[6] or were never worth submitting. A self-submission today is a long shot. The ¥4,300 PSA 9 is the value; the ¥12,500 slab is the trophy.
| Route | Cost today (JPY, before shipping) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Buy the cheapest PSA 10 slab | ¥12,500 | Grade already locked in; you pay the full premium, nothing to wait for. |
| Buy the cheapest raw copy as-is | ¥2,380 | Cheapest way to own the artwork; condition is whatever the photos show. |
| Buy a raw copy that offers Mercari authentication | raw price + ¥1,700 | Authentication[1] is seller-enabled; the cheapest raw listing today does not offer it, so compare the next ones in the table above. |
Buy the ¥12,500 slab with Mercari authentication[1] (¥14,200 all-in) for gem mint. Buy the ¥4,300 PSA 9 for a certified copy at a third of the price. The ¥2,999 clean raw is for the binder.
Getting a Kai SAR 236/172 shipped from Japan
The purchase runs the same for the slab or a raw. Step by step:
- Step 1 — Open the listing on OneMall. Every tile below links straight to the OneMall item page for that exact copy, so you skip the Japanese-only Mercari app entirely.
- Step 2 — Check the slab label in the photos. Read the collector number on the PSA label before you pay; the same Pokémon often exists at several numbers in the same set.
- Step 3 — Add authentication if the seller offers it. For raw cards on Mercari, tick Mercari authentication at checkout (+¥1,700)[1][2]; the card is inspected before it leaves Japan.
- Step 4 — Pay the first invoice. Item price plus the service fee (as low as ¥200 per order) — international shipping is a separate second payment once the card is weighed at the warehouse.
- Step 5 — Consolidate and ship. Cards sit in free storage for 90 days, the first six orders consolidate free, and one padded parcel to the US goes out by ECMS or DHL.
Kai SAR 236/172 copies you can buy today
Live copies, cheapest first: two raw copies, the ¥4,300 PSA 9, and the three cheapest PSA 10 slabs. Every tile opens that exact copy’s OneMall item page.
Conclusion: Kai PSA 10 in one line
Kai SAR 236/172 is ¥12,500 in gem mint, ¥4,300 as a 9, and ¥2,999 for a clean raw. On this card the PSA 9 is where the value sits. See every Kai 236/172 PSA 10 listing.
See also: PSA 10 Pokémon card prices in Japan: all 80 cards ranked · Zeraora VMAX SAR 219/172 PSA 10 price · Darkrai VSTAR SAR 228/172 PSA 10 price · Pokémon card prices in Japan vs eBay · Card grading guide: PSA vs BGS vs CGC from Japan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a PSA 10 Kai SAR 236/172?
In-stock Japanese listings on 2026-09-20 price it at ¥12,500 to ¥14,375 (about US$86–99 before shipping); all five cheapest are Mercari slabs.
Is a PSA 9 Kai worth buying instead of the 10?
Yes — at ¥4,300 it is 34% of the cheapest PSA 10, sealed, with Mercari authentication[1] available. The 9-to-10 gap on this card is unusually wide.
Are there clean raw Kai 236/172 copies for sale?
The ¥2,999 Mercari copy is described as having no obvious damage; the ¥2,380 and ¥3,111 copies carry wear or damage notes.
Which set is Kai SAR from?
VSTAR Universe (s12a, VSTARユニバース), the December 2022 high-class pack; 236/172 is its special-art-rare number above the 172-card base.
How many PSA 10 Kai 236/172 exist?
The authoritative count is PSA’s own Population Report[6], which updates as submissions clear; this page deliberately does not copy a number that will drift. The live-supply proxy on 2026-09-20: 26 PSA 10 slabs in stock across Mercari, Yahoo! Flea Market and Suruga-ya, against 8 PSA 9 and 50 raw copies. A card with far more slabs than raws in stock has been graded heavily.
Last updated: 2026-09-21.
References
- Mercari Help Center — あんしん鑑定サービスの概要 (Mercari authentication service overview, fee ¥1,700 per card) — https://help.jp.mercari.com/guide/articles/1499/
- Mercari Help Center — あんしん鑑定サービスの利用方法（購入者） (how buyers use the authentication service) — https://help.jp.mercari.com/guide/articles/1501/
- Mercari Help Center — 海外取引サポート (overseas purchase support via partner cross-border services) — https://help.jp.mercari.com/guide/articles/1447/
- Pokémon Card Game official site (Japan), The Pokémon Company — https://www.pokemon-card.com/
- Pokémon Trading Card Game, The Pokémon Company International — https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg
- PSA — Professional Sports Authenticator, official grading company site — https://www.psacard.com/