Getting your baseball cards professionally graded is a great way to authenticate and determine the condition and value of cards in your collection. Grading companies like PSA, BGS, SGC aim to provide an impartial assessment of a card’s attributes like centering, corners, edges and surface to arrived at an overall condition grade on a numerical or letter scale. This graded slab protects the card and lends credibility and trust in the card’s condition when selling. Here are some key things to know about the grading process:
Popular Grading Companies:
PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) – By far the largest and most well known. Started in 2000 and pioneered third party authentication and grading. Grades on a 1-10 scale.
BGS (Beckett Grading Services) – Started in 1992 and was the original mainstream card grading service. Grades on a 1-10 scale and also provides subgrades for centering, corners, edges and surface.
SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Corporation) – A newer competitor starting in 2000. Grades on a 1-4 scale and doesn’t subgrade attributes. Generally cheaper than PSA or BGS.
Other smaller outfits include GMA, HGA and CSG but they don’t carry the same brand recognition as the big 3.
Preparing Cards For Grading:
Ensure the card is securely packaged like in a stiff cardboard holder or toploader to avoid damage in transit. Don’t risk rubber banding or folding.
Give the card a close examination under good light. Take note of any flaws, damages, soft corners or edges to be transparent about the card’s condition.
Gently wipe the surface with a microfiber cloth to remove any dust or fingerprints for an accurate grade assessment.
Fill out the submission form carefully providing all details like your grading preferences. You can opt for different turnaround times and added services.
Calculate postage appropriately based on the company guidelines. They won’t grade uninsured or packages items. Register or insure valuable submissions.
Consider sending in groups to avail bulk submission discounts rather than individual cards.
Attributes Considered In Grading:
Centering – How perfectly centered the image is within the card borders. Major factor for high grades.
Corners – Condition of the corners and degree of rounding, chipping or damage. Affects grade significantly.
Edges – Appearance of the edges for things like whitening, discoloration or damage along the borders.
Surface – Wrinkles, scratches, scruffs, dents, color-breaks impact the surface grade heavily.
Gloss – For older cards, the glossiness and lack of glossiness (dullness) may indicate alternations.
Additional flaws – Things like creases, color-breaks within the image greatly downgrade a card.
Grading Scale Differences:
PSA ranks on a respected 1-10 numeric scale with a 10 being a “Gem Mint” flawless card.
BGS uses the same 1-10 scale but provides additional subgrades for each attribute that are averaged.
SGC ranks on a simple 1-4 qualitative scale of Poor, Good, Very Good and Gem grade levels.
What To Expect From The Grading Process:
Turnaround times usually range from a couple weeks for economy to 6-9 months for express services depending on volume.
Cards are analyzed under bright lighting by trained graders using specialized equipment.
The grade determined by multiple staff and second grading is routine for quality control.
Successful grades get professionally sealed in tamper proof plastic holders with attribution labels.
Failed grades or re-consideration requests are also possible where cards don’t meet standards.
Graded holders protect cards and make imperfections easily identifiable to informed buyers.
Benefits of Getting Cards Graded:
Confirms authenticity and condition which boosts a card’s value considerably for high grades.
Provides investment assurance to buyers who can trust the independent assessment.
Appeals to serious collectors seeking professionally authenticated pieces for their collections.
Streamlines pricing lookups since there are standard databases for comping similar graded card sales.
Safeguards condition during storage by fully enclosing the card in a protective slab holder.
Is effectively mandatory for highly valuable vintage cards to get top dollar at public auction.
While grading isn’t for every card, it makes sense for your best, most valuable pieces. Just avoid wasting money grading every common refractory card and focus on your prized rookies, autographs or rare vintage issues with grade potential. By using trusted graders, you gain credibility when selling and enhance your cards long term.
