The Grading Guide. Gem or Bust.

Should you grade that card?

Grading turns a raw card into a verified, protected asset — but it only pays off when the card is likely to hit a high grade and the graded premium exceeds the fee. Use this four-point pre-screen before you submit.

1. Centering

Measure the borders front and back. PSA 10 generally needs roughly 55/45 or better on the front and 75/25 on the back. Off-centre modern cards rarely gem.

2. Surface

Tilt the card under a bright light. Scratches on the holo layer, print lines and factory dents are the number-one reason modern cards land at 9 instead of 10. Textured SIRs hide scratches better than flat foils.

3. Corners and edges

Check all four corners under magnification for whitening or softness. Look along each edge for chipping — especially on the back of vintage holos and on dark-bordered cards.

4. Do the math

Compare the raw price with the PSA 10 and PSA 9 price on Market Pulse. If a 9 would be worth less than raw plus fees, the card needs to be a near-certain 10 to justify grading.

Which company should you use?

PSA remains the liquidity king, particularly for vintage and iconic modern chase cards. BGS is favoured when subgrades add value — a Black Label can command multiples of a PSA 10. CGC is excellent for fast, affordable modern and Japanese submissions and its 10 Pristine grade is increasingly respected.

Buying already-graded instead

For many collectors the smart move is simply buying the grade you want. Every slab in our Graded Arena is cert-verified and case-inspected, so you skip the fees, the wait and the risk.