Can anyone grade a card?

Can I Grade My Own Cards? Yes, you can self-grade your own cards to practice, however the card will still be considered a raw and ungraded card by others, and should be listed on auction as such, until it is graded professionally and encased by one of the grading companies.

Who can grade a card?

PSA is the largest and most trusted card grading service in the world. Submitting your trading cards to PSA is the first step towards getting the most from your trading card collection. Learn more about the different types of grading services and the benefits of PSA grading.

How much does it cost for someone to grade a card?

PSA Grading Cost Per Card

Value Plus: $40/card. Regular: $75/card. Express: $150. Super Express: $300/card.

Is it worth sending cards to be graded?

In nearly all circumstances, a graded card is worth more than its raw counterpart. There might be some minor exceptions to this. For example, if a card is returned from a grader labeled as questionable authenticity, we could theoretically say that the card values are approximately equal.

Who grades cards other than PSA?

Beckett Grading Services (BGS) is another prominent name in card grading. Unlike PSA, Beckett uses intervals of . 5 to pinpoint a card's condition. Furthermore, BGS is the first grading company to integrate subgrades – centering, edges, corners, and surface – onto their label.

Card Grading Behind the Scenes

Is there an alternative to PSA?

The prostate health index (PHI) is one such test that is a more accurate blood test and measures your risk for having prostate cancer. It's approved by the FDA for men who have PSA scores between 4 and 10.

How much does it cost to get a card graded by Beckett?

Beckett grading costs range anywhere from $20 per card all the way up to $250 per card (or more), depending on the value of the card, the age of the card, how many cards you're submitting at one time, how fast you want the turnaround to be, and other factors.

Can people fake graded cards?

It also looks good when you obtain quite a number of these slabs. For others, PSA or BGS graded cards are much easier to flip to make a quick profit. The thing with graded cards, though, is that they can be faked by those with questionable intentions.

How rare is a PSA 10 card?

Earning a PSA 10 grade on average is quite hard, but is highly dependent on a card's age, scarcity, and condition sensitivity. Newer cards generally have a higher probability of earning a PSA 10, since a collector will immediately protect a card after pulling from a pack.

Where is the cheapest place to get cards graded?

Of the major grading companies, BGS currently offers the cheapest card grading service, which is $18 to grade a single card at the “Base” level. This is $2 less than CSG's “Economy” level, $5 less than PSA's “Value” service, and $4 less than SGC.

Can you grade cards for free?

Now with that out of the way, let me rephrase that as you probably can't get cards graded for free. And most likely not in the way you're thinking. But there are cheap grading options, and ways to minimize your costs. Card grading is a service, just like dining out is a service provided by restaurants.

Are cheap cards worth grading?

You should ONLY get your cards graded IF it will increase the value or make the sale of the card(s) easier. You should NOT get your card graded just because you THINK it will improve the value. Grading cards costs money.

Where should I get my cards graded?

And while many card grading authenticators and grading systems exist, PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) is the most reputable name in the business. PSA has verified more than 40 million sports cards cumulatively worth over $1 billion to earn this level of trust with collectors.

Can you grade cards yourself?

Yes, you can self-grade your own cards to practice, however the card will still be considered a raw and ungraded card by others, and should be listed on auction as such, until it is graded professionally and encased by one of the grading companies.

Who grades cards the hardest?

PSA is known for their tough grading standards and their registry which allows collectors to register their PSA graded baseball cards along with the grade. This is both a way to "keep score" and a way to market your cards.

How expensive is a PSA 10?

PSA Card Authentication & Grading Pricing

For PSA's Value services, their most basic tier, it cost $20/card, though there is a minimum submission of 10 cards, with a cap of $499 declared value.

Which is better PSA 1 or PSA 10?

The Trading Card Authentication & Grading Process

If your cards pass authentication, PSA grades the condition of each card on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being best. PSA encapsulates each card in its own sonically sealed, tamper-evident case.

Does PSA accept fake cards?

Basically, PSA has no intention of grading a fake card, as the key element of the grading process is the authentication of raw/ungraded cards. A PSA grade is proof that a card is legitimate.

Will PSA grade a ripped card?

The Grading of Hand-Cut Cards. PSA will grade virtually any card that has been hand-cut off of a panel, box, etc. (Post Cereal, Hostess, Bazooka, Strip cards, etc.) keeping the following information in mind. This service does not include traditional sheet-cut cards.

Who grades better Beckett or PSA?

Beckett Grading Services has a lot more bells and whistles than PSA: they offer color-coded tags for the cards based on their grade (gold is a 9.5 or 10, for example), they award subscores so you can see exactly how your cards faired in their four subcategories, and they have a “Black Label” offering for the rare ...

How long does PSA grading take?

PSA Grading currently takes about 20 days to grade a card at the “value plus” service level ($40/card) and 10 days at the “Regular” service level ($75/card). Not too long ago, in April of 2021, most of the basic services were suspended, and in March of 2022, “Regular” service was $100 without a stated turnaround time.

What age are PSA no longer recommended?

The USPSTF recommends against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer in men 70 years and older.