There are several professional grading services that baseball card collectors can use to get their cards professionally graded, including PSA, BGS, SGC, and HGA. The costs for grading can vary depending on the specific company, type of grade, turnaround time, and number of cards being submitted.
One of the largest and most established companies is Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). Their standard grading service has four tiered pricing structures based on turnaround times: economy ($12-$15 per card depending on volume), value ($20-$25 per card), standard ($30-$35 per card), and express ($50-$100 per card). For a single card submitted in the economy queue, the cost would be $15. If submitting 50 cards at once, the cost drops to $12 per card for economy. Submitting a card in the express queue for the fastest possible turnaround would cost $100 or more.
In addition to standard service grades, PSA also offers special designations like autographed cards, rookie autograph cards, and special “gem mint” grades of 10 that have extra fees. For example, an autographed card submitted for a standard grade would cost an additional $20, bringing the total cost to around $50-$55 for a typical submission. Cards receiving the rare and valuable PSA Gem Mint 10 grade also have an extra $20 authentication fee on top of regular grading costs.
Beckett Grading Services (BGS) charges similar pricing structures to PSA. For a single card submitted in their value tier, which promises a 30 day turnaround, costs $20 per card. If submitting 25 cards or more in value tier, the cost drops to $17 per card. BGS also has an Express tier for 5 day turnaround costing $50 per card for singles or $40 per card if submitting 10 or more. Like PSA, they add additional charges for autographs, rookie autographs, and special designations like BGS 9.5 or 10 Gem Mint grades.
SGC is generally considered the more budget-friendly option compared to PSA or BGS. Their standard service tier for a 30 day turnaround costs just $10 per card regardless of submission quantity. They also have a $25 express 7 day tier and bulk submission discounts for larger volumes. Special designations for autographs or gem mint grades add $15 each on top of regular fees.
The newest major grading company is HGA (Hobby Genius Authentic). Their fees fall somewhere in between PSA/BGS and SGC pricing. A standard grade is $15 per card with volume breaks, while an Express 5 day turnaround is $30 per card. Special designations like autographs or gem mint grades carry $10 surcharges each.
In total, when factoring in submission costs, insurance, and shipping fees, expect to pay a minimum of $10-15 per card for standard service through SGC, $15-20 per card through PSA/BGS value tiers, and $30-50 per card or more if using express options or special designations. For large bulk submissions of 100 cards or more, average costs per card continue dropping. Proper packaging and insurance during shipping is also critical to protect valuable investments.
