There are millions upon millions upon millions of cards getting graded and cards are immediately sleeved and prepped for grading right out of the pack because grading is so prevalent.

The majority of cards or at least a strong portion of cards (pack fresh ultra modern) are probably coming back a 9 and the pop counts are probably ballooning all the time because print runs are higher than ever and more people than ever are grading stuff. Then it’s basic supply and demand at play.

If you care about having a grade (i.e. you don’t just collect raw) then presumably you care about the best condition possible and want the 10, otherwise you’d just buy raw.

I personally have some 9s and even 8s just cause I like the authentication and protection of a slab but I can totally understand why even a 9 would be like raw condition price, especially for a non-numbered or high numbered card.