You have a non-graded card you’ve had forever, just bought, or maybe just pulled from a pack. It looks pretty good, or you think it might be valuable, should you send it in for grading? What would it grade?
These are some very common questions! We’ll start with, what would my card grade?
First off, not all grading companies are created equal. They all have different grading standards, and so a 9 at one company might not be a 9 at another. The three largest grading companies are PSA, CGC, and BGS (Beckett). PSA is the largest grading company, and will likely be the scale people default to if you get grading opinions. Here are links to the grading standards for each of these three companies as a reference. You might be interested in grading at a different company, and if that’s the case, recommend searching for their applicable standards.
PSA Grading Standards: https://www.psacard.com/gradingstandards
CGC Grading Standards: https://www.cgccards.com/card-grading/grading-scale/
BGS Grading Standards: BGS, Card Grading, Grading Scale - Beckett Sports Card Standards
That’s all well and good, but I want the opinion of others too. I want to post a photo.
When posting a photo looking for opinions on grading outcome, it’s best to post a photo, front and back, of the card on a black surface outside of any sleeves/toploaders/card savers. If there’s anything you notice that’s not showing up well in your front and back photos, include extra photos, or add that information to your post. For example, the photos aren’t picking it up, but there’s a small indent you can see on the back. Make sure to note that, as it would impact the card’s grade.
Here are examples of more helpful, and less helpful photos.
More helpful:
Less Helpful:
As mentioned above, if you plan to grade anywhere but PSA, make sure to mention that. The default for most people’s opinions when asking is going to be with reference to PSA’s scale.
Ok, so I post photos and got some responses, but they aren’t all the same. Are some of them wrong? Why do some people think my card will grade a 9, and some think it will grade a 10?
Well, dear reader, grading is subjective. Even with AI working it’s way into the grading sphere, there is still variability is what a card will grade. It’s best to think of grading on a probability distribution. For example, you have a card that has perfect centering, and one white dot on the corner. 80% of the time you submit that card, you might get a 10, and 20% of the time, you might get a 9. Those numbers are arbitrary, but mean to show that the result will not be the same every time you submit a card, but will be statistically consistent over time. There will be anomalies, but generally speaking you’ll know what to expect.
Alright, so my Moonbreon looks like it’ll get a 9 or a 10. Should I submit it?
There are two reasons why you might submit a card for grading. You either just want it authenticated, or just want it protected. You’re not really concerned about the grade it’ll get, or financial outcomes. In that case, head over to PSA, CGC, BGS, or your grading company of choice’s website, and search for grading costs, and submission procedures.
If you do want to take financials into consideration, you’ll want to do some research on what the card is selling for in the potential grades you would receive.
Some recommended research tools are:
Ebay’s Terapeak: https://www.ebay.com/sh/research
Ebay’s Sold Listings: Search with filter set to “Sold” listings
130point all Marketplace sales: Card Sales - 130 Point
Once you have an idea of what the card sells for, you can research costs of grading on each company’s website (look out for upcharges!), and see if it makes sense for you.
Hopefully you’ve found this guide helpful, and if you have other questions, start a forum topic and ask all the beautiful people of E4.
