If you have a collection of valuable baseball cards and want to get them professionally graded, there are several companies that offer baseball card grading services that may have locations near you. The three largest and most well-known card grading companies are PSA, BGS (Beckett Grading Services), and SGC (Sportscard Guarantee Company) – all of which have various offices across the United States.
PSA is arguably the most recognized name in card grading. They were the original pioneers of the modern card grading industry and helped establish grading standards. PSA has several physical locations where you can submit cards for grading, including offices in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. You can check their website at PSAcard.com for the specific addresses. Many local card shops also offer PSA grading submission services as an authorized agent, so it’s worth checking with your local shops to see if any work with PSA.
BGS (Beckett Grading Services) is another top card grading company, known especially for their superior sub-grading of attributes like corners, edges and surface on each card. Like PSA, BGS has multiple physical offices around the country located in major cities that accept submissions directly. Some of their locations include offices in Washington, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California. BGS also partners with select local card shops to offer submission services through their “Authorized Dealer Program”.
SGC (Sportscard Guarantee Company) is the third largest card grader and also has various offices nationwide. They have a similar business model to PSA and BGS, with multiple physical locations that accept submissions directly from collectors. Some of SGC’s offices are located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and California. They also work with certain local collectibles shops to allow submissions to be sent to SGC through an authorized local dealer.
In addition to the big three grading companies, there are also some smaller, regional card grading services that only operate out of certain areas. One such company is TradaCard, which has offices located specifically in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. If you live near one of those regions, TradaCard could potentially offer a convenient local grading option.
Similarly, there are smaller grading operations like Standard Grading that focus on certain local markets like the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. So it’s worthwhile to research any regional or small independent grading companies near your location as well.
In terms of actually finding a specific local shop, card store or service center near you that can assist with the grading process – your best options are to do an online search including your city/zip code, check local card show listings, ask other collectors in your area via social media groups, or stop by local hobby shops and card stores in person to inquire. Many will be shops authorized to submit to one of the major grading companies.
Once you’ve located a grading submission service near you either directly through PSA/BGS/SGC or through one of their authorized local partners – you would simply package your cards securely, fill out a grading submission form detailing the cards, pay the grading fees, and ship them off to be assessed, encapsulated and graded on a numerical scale indicating their condition and value. The graded cards would then be returned to you to add to your collection.
By using a professional third-party grading service, especially one located conveniently near you, it ensures your valuable vintage or modern baseball cards receive an impartial assessment of condition from an industry-trusted authentication company. This adds credibility that is vital for collectors and increases the worth and liquidity of graded cards on the secondary market. With some research, you should be able to find a reliable local card grading option.
