Grading
Grading is the process of having a card professionally authenticated, scored for condition on a 1–10 scale, and sealed in a protective case.
Grading means sending a card to a company like PSA, BGS, or CGC, where experts verify it is genuine, assess centering, corners, edges, and surface, assign a numeric grade, and seal it in a labeled slab.
Collectors grade cards to certify condition, protect them long-term, and make them easier to sell — a graded card removes the guesswork that haunts raw-card deals. But grading is not free: fees scale with the card's declared value and desired turnaround, and a mediocre grade can leave you with fees higher than the card's price. Run the numbers with our grading cost tool before submitting; grading makes the most sense for cards that are both pricey and in genuinely great shape.