Card grading

Grading is when an independent company assesses a card's condition, assigns it a grade on a fixed scale and seals it in a clear plastic holder known as a slab. The grade and a serial number on the holder make it possible to compare cards and trade them without seeing them in person.

How it works

The owner sends cards to a grading company together with an order form stating the service wanted. The card is authenticated, meaning the company judges whether it is genuine, and then centering, corners, edges and surface are assessed; see centering. The result is a grade, and the card is placed in a sealed holder with a label. Turnaround times, prices and rules are set out in each company's own terms, and they change.

The largest companies

• PSA is the most widely used company for Pokémon cards.
• Beckett (BGS) uses subgrades for several aspects of the card and often gives half grades.
• CGC is a newer option that has grown quickly.
• Other companies are covered under SGC and others.

The scales resemble one another but are not identical, so a grade from one company cannot simply be equated with the same number from another; see the grading scale.

What a grade does to value

Grading turns condition into a number that buyers can rely on without inspecting the card themselves. For many cards the price gap between neighbouring grades is large, especially at the top of the scale. At the same time, grading costs money and time, and a card may receive a lower grade than the owner hoped. Whether it pays off depends on the card; see is grading worth it?.

Limitations

• The assessment is human and can vary somewhat, even within one company.
• A grade says something about condition, not rarity; for that there are population reports.
• Slabs can be forged; see fake slabs.

Grading is a relatively recent element of the Pokémon market compared with the cards themselves, and practices and attitudes have shifted over time. Some collectors prefer to hold their cards in hand and avoid slabs. Others want an independent assessment because it makes the cards easier to ship, insure and document. Both attitudes are common, and the choice is as much about what one wants from a collection as about money.

Tools

The PSA calculator and the grade report on HoloInvestor show how prices are distributed across grades. The figures are information, not advice.