How to grade sports cards, step by step

The steps

1. Look the card over under a bright light: centering, the four corners, the edges and the surface. A grader scores all four.
2. Identify the exact card: year, set, card number and parallel. The submission form asks for them, and a wrong entry slows the order.
3. Pick a grader. PSA prints one grade; Beckett prints four subgrades; CGC and SGC also offer a Pristine 10.
4. Pick a tier by declared value and speed. Each tier caps the declared value of the cards it accepts.
5. Fill in the grader's online submission form and print the packing slip it gives you.
6. Put each card in a soft sleeve and a semi-rigid card saver, pack them snugly, and ship with tracking and insurance.
7. Track the order on the grader's site. When it is graded the grade posts online before the slab ships back.

Sources [1][2]

What it costs

PSA's Standard tier is $59.99 a card (cards up to $1,000) and CGC's Economy tier $20 (cards up to $1,000). The full tables, and how each was read, are on our grading cost page.

Sources [3][1]

Before you send it

• Check the card's sold listings raw and graded, so you know what tier its declared value needs.
• Look the card up in PSA's or CGC's population report to see how many copies are already graded.
• A card with a visible crease, a soft corner or a print line will grade low; graders do not fix condition.

Sources [4][5]