The three largest and most well-known card grading services that offer in-person submissions are Beckett Grading Services (BGS), Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), and Hockey Card Grading (HCG). Each company has physical locations where you can visit to directly submit your cards for grading rather than sending them in by mail.
For BGS, you would need to visit their headquarters in Dallas, Texas. They have a submission office open Monday through Friday where you can briefly meet with a submission representative to discuss the grading process and get help filling out your submission forms. They will inspect each card and provide an estimate of what grade it may receive. You would then pay the grading fees upfront and wait while the cards are immediately processed. Turnaround time for on-site submissions is usually just a few business days since the cards do not need to be shipped.
At PSA’s headquarters in West LA, California, the in-person process is similar where you can meet with a PSA representative to help guide you through submitting your cards. They will look over each card at your submission desk and give you an idea of the potential grade. You pay the grading fees and can usually get your cards back within a week since they are graded on-site. PSA also has a larger authentication verification team at their California office to thoroughly inspect cards submitted in-person.
HCG, which is based in Toronto, Canada, provides an in-person submission service one day per week on Wednesdays. Card collectors would need to make an advance appointment and then visit their grading floor where a HCG representative will be available to inspect cards, provide estimate grades, and process submissions. Payment is made upfront and turnaround times are again faster than mail-in at around 2 weeks max since the cards are not shipping between locations. HCG will also authenticate and verify cards submitted on their in-person day of the week.
At each physical location, be prepared to have the representative more closely inspect your cards under high-powered magnification and strong light sources that may reveal flaws or issues not noticeable to the naked eye. They will evaluate factors like centering, corners, edges and surfaces with grading references at their workstations. It is not guaranteed the final assigned numerical grade will exactly match the estimate provided on-site.
When having cards graded in-person, you need to follow all submission guidelines and paperwork requirements that each company lists online just as with mail-in submissions. This includes filling out detailed descriptions of each individual card, providing current market values, and selection the appropriate grading tier/package. You should have your cards stored and packaged securely in sleeves, toploaders or other holders recommended by the grading service.
The advantage of in-person grading submissions is not only the quicker turnaround times since cards do not travel through the postal system. You also avoid potential mail or shipping damage risks to your potentially valuable collectibles. Seeing the cards examined directly in front of you gives more assurance in the grading process. A potential downside is that some collectors or dealers may have large submissions that are more practical to send via mail given physical location restraints.
Visiting the physical offices of BGS, PSA, or HCG allows collectors the option to get baseball cards graded through a streamlined in-person process where the cards are inspected, authenticated, and processed on-site for generally faster turnaround than standard mail-in services. Following each company’s submission guidelines ensures the best experience when choosing to grade memorabilia in-person rather than by mail.
