How To Get Pokemon Cards Graded

Examples Of Valuable Pokemon Cards

The table below includes the values of some of the rarest Pokemon cards in the world, i.e. ones that were acquired as prizes for winning competitions in the late 90s and early 2000s.

These types of cards were never available to the general public, and they make headlines every so often by selling for six figures at auction. The table also includes some cards that were available publicly as part of the original base set prints. According to Pratte, these are the most commonly sold cards among hobbyists. And if you do have a rare card in your collection, its likely to be of this type. Note how the condition drastically changes the value.

How To Grade Pokemon Cards With Psa If You Live In The Uk

As PSA is based in the US, international shipping can be an expensive and uncertain path for UK-based collectors.

Unfortunately, a very well trusted service here in the UK called Graded Gem, has ceased their relationship with PSA.

However there is another trusted company called Ludkins Collectables that Im looking forward to using when PSA reopen for bulk submissions.

Take Hd Photos Of Your Cards

For your safety, make sure you take a high-definition photo of your cards and keep it as a reference once your cards are graded and returned. This would be your insurance policy if something goes wrong during the card grading process.

Now that you know more about card grading, would you have your beloved Pokemon cards graded and sold, or would you rather keep them in the album where you kept them for the longest time?

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Creating A Certified Guaranty Company Online Submission

Submitting Pokémon TCG cards to CGC is not difficult, but it can be time consuming depending on how many cards you have. However, if you’ve already priced all your cards before reaching this step, things should be easier and quicker.

Go to CGC Comics website and create a new account if you don’t already have one. When you sign up you’ll be prompted to choose a membership tier. The better the membership tier, the more perks you’ll get such as discounts. It’s up to you what you want to do.

Once you have everything set up in terms of an account, you’ll want to create a new submission using the Online Form for trading cards.

There are a lot of things you can do with an online submission, but specifically we’re going to want the following:

• Trading Card
• Mail-in to Headquarters
• Grading

The next step is where you’re going to input your card information. The good news is that CGC tracks all of its submissions and uses the information to help you autocomplete the form.

Make sure to use your best judgement on the value of your card based on what eBay and TCGplayer told you. You’re going to need to repeat this process for each of your cards, adding them to the cart as you progress.

As you enter your cards, you’re going to need to figure out if you want a total grade or if you want sub-grades. The choice is yours. You’re also going to want to choose a grading tier based on the value of your card.

The Best Place To Sell Your Pokemon Cards Online: Ebay

The main marketplace is for sure going to be eBay, Pratte says. Even if youre someone who just stumbled upon your childhood collection, its really easy to take a couple of pictures make a decent listing.

Why eBay? Its home to several high-profile deals, and it also caters to the $20 and $30 transactions. In short, eBay is the perfect meeting ground for nostalgic buyers and sellers and those whove been wheeling and dealing Pokemon cards since the 90s.

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How To Submit Your Pokemon Cards To Beckett Grading

Why Would I Want To Get My Cards Graded

A small minority of major collectors will actually use the PSA Grading service almost to compete with other collectors to get official grades on their best and rarest cards. When a card gets graded it has its own unique reference number with PSA which can be looked up on their website, there you can find information about how many of that type of card have been graded, general card info, and how many other cards of that kind in the world share the same grade.

Other collectors may simply want to get their most rare and valuable cards graded because not only do PSA give your card a grade they also encapsulate the card to completely protect and preserve it, so not only does it score a certain grade, it will be maintained.

Some people may not be big collectors, and may simply have a couple of cards from their childhood which have sentimental value to them, the grading process is a great way of having your card evaluated and protected and preserved in PSA casing.

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Top Tips In This Article

Scott Pratte, our expert card trader and collector, provided lots of tips to make money selling Pokemon cards. Here is his best advice:

• First edition or New Edition? All kidding aside, we know that you know New Edition is a boy band from the 70s and 80s. Still, you need to know what you have in that box of Pokemon cards. In other words, which are the rare cards and which are not. Do you have one of the original holographic cards? Cha-ching.
• Whats the condition of your cards? If theyve been under the bed in a box so light didnt fade them or the dog didnt get to them, you may be in good shape. Never taken out of the wrapper? More cha-ching. That is whats called mint. All cards in good condition are likely worth more than what you paid for them.
• The best place to sell Pokemon cards? Its eBay all the way. It would be great to sell one card for oodles of money and eBay has facilitated some of that. But if you want a big audience and buyers willing to shell out $30 a pop for your cards, you can rack up sales.
• Think youve got something valuable? Consult the Professional Sports Authenticator and get an estimate. This will put you in a good position to haggle with a buyer, which you should expect to do.

A Note Regarding Eye Appeal

Now, there are certain aspects of grading that are less standardized. The Grading Scale is the guiding framework, but some cards have that wow factor that isnt built into the 1-10 grades.

Were referring to that eye appeal phrase, which has been tossed around since card grading was a thing and it continues to factor into the practice. Its such an intrinsic part of card grading let alone, the hobby Collectors Universe President and CEO Joe Orlando wrote about it, too.

Eye appeals definition is in the name. With an emphasis on aesthetics, how appealing is a card to the eye? Two examples of the same card may be in a very similar condition, but one of the cards is just more striking, more aesthetically pleasing more eye appealing. In some cases, the more appealing card may get bumped up a grade if it was on the fringe of another. Or, its value may be pushed up in auction, simply because it looked better than the other card.

From the grading aspect, well refer to Orlandos words:

When it comes to technical grading, there are times many times when a card, coin, autograph or otherwise are right on the fence between grades. In those cases, the degree of eye appeal can be the difference in the collectible reaching a slightly higher grade or it can act as an obstacle to a higher grade if the aesthetic quality of the collectible isnt perceived as a plus.

Beauty is in the eye of the card holder, right?

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What Is Crossover Grading

Crossover grading is for cards previously graded by other companies that you wish to cross over into a PSA holder. PSA will evaluate the card inside its current holder. If PSA deems the card worthy to cross over at the customers specified minimum grade or higher, the card will be removed from its holder and placed into a PSA holder. Regardless of the result, the grading price will be charged.

There are other third-party grading companies out there, but just one industry leader. We offer our crossover service for collectors who would like to enhance the security and elevate the value of their previously authenticated and graded trading cards. Switching to the most respected and premium brand, PSA, can do just that.

What Is Trading Card Grading

What does trading card grading entail? When it comes to PSA, when you get your card graded a team of graders inspect the card for authenticity. Then, the card is reviewed for any evidence of manipulation, or card doctoring.

Next, if the card passes those steps, the card condition is scrutinized, and a 1-10 PSA grade is applied. Well cover the PSA Grading Scale in the next section.

Finally, PSA places your card in its sonically sealed holder. In addition to protecting the card within this hard-plastic holder, pertinent card info is printed on the label. As you can see below, the card date, company, number and subject are all displayed.

The star of the label might be the PSA grade on the right-hand side. But, the PSA certification number is another vital component of the PSA label.

Of course, all of this wouldnt be possible without the foundation of PSA its well-known grading system.

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Who Is The Best Card Grading Company

PSA is the largest, most well-known, and most-respected card grader that you can send your cards to. The grading scale is easy to follow and is recognized widely. PSA grades cards on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest possible condition.

The PSA grading scale is what is mostly used by collectors. A PSA 10 means the card is in Gem Mint condition and is as good as it gets. PSA 9 is Mint, PSA 8 is Near Mint to Mint, PSA 7 is Near Mint, PSA 6 is Excellent to Near Mint.

PSA 5 is Excellent, PSA 4 is Very Good to Excellent, PSA 3 is Very Good, PSA 2 is Good, PSA 1.5 is fair, and PSA 1 is Poor. You will get the highest resale payout for a PSA 9 or PSA 10 as these are cards that are flawless and valuable.

How Long Does It Take To Get A Card Graded By Bgs

The package you choose will determine how quickly you will get your cards returned to you. When in service, economy estimates a turnaround of 30 days, but it is more common for you to get your cards back six months later .

The standard package estimates that you will get your cards back within 10 days, but it is more likely that it will take at least five months for you to get your cards back. The express package estimates they will have your cards back to you in 5 days, but it will likely take 10 to 15 business days.

Finally, the premium package estimates that your cars will be returned to you within two days. This isnt a realistic estimate, as it will usually take a minimum of 5 business days, potentially longer, to get your cards back.

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Pokemon Cards And Gambling

Whilst some Pokemon games have changed due to new gambling rules in 2007, the trading of Pokemon cards does not fall under the definition of gambling. Even if you find the most expensive Pokémon card in your latest pack of trading cards, this is not considered a gamble, you are simply adding to your collection. Despite this, the probability is that when buying a pack of cards, the value of single cards when added together will be more than the cost of the pack.

Why Would You Grade Your Pokmon Cards

Legitimacy ensures the playing card is not counterfeited or tampered with.

Preservation and Presentation protects the card and its condition in clear plastic casing.

Resell Value the core reason behind grading. Most rare Pokémon Cards are usually sent away for grading in the hope they are rated a score of 9-10. With graded cards, buyers will be most confident that a graded card with a high score is authentic . If you want to see an example of resell value benefit, you only have to look at a 1st Edition Charizard. This particular card could be brought raw from the market place for about $700-1000 AUD. If the card was graded a 9, the resell value could approach the $1800-$2500 mark. A grade of 10, you are looking at $10,000+ AUD.

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Prepare To Be Disappointed With Your Grades

It is really difficult to get cards graded 9s or 10s. Especially on older cards. Cards need to be centered perfectly. The have to be cut perfectly. They cant have dings to the corners, or white edges, or surface scratches. There can be no roughness on the face or edges. Look closely at the holofoil artwork for Any Scratches. Turn the card over, and look for any whiteness around the blue edges.

Many older cards you might think are perfect seem to come back as 7s or 8s. 10s basically have to be protected from the get-go taken directly from a booster pack and highly protected immediately. Most people werent doing that 20 years ago. Ive sent in about 30 cards myself and maybe got two to three cards rated 10. And these were all cards that went right from boosters to binders .

You should understand that 7s and 8s and 9s are still really good scores though! Those are Near Mint or better! Whether its comic books, coins or Pokemon Cards the higher the score, the better the selling price.

For reference here are actual average sales prices on 1st Edition Base Set Charizards on eBay March 2021

PSA 10 $311,800 Mar 2021BGS 9 $64,000 Feb 2021PSA 8 $25,000 Mar 2021PSA 7 $15,000 Mar 2021BGS 6 $14,500 Feb 2021PSA 5 $9,000 Mar 2021PSA 2 $4,000 Mar2021

How Much Does It Cost To Get A Card Graded

When you are sending your cards off for grading, the cost is probably very important when making your decision. Since the cost will depend on the company, its hard to say exactly how much it is going to cost you per card. Based on the companys websites, you can expect to pay a minimum of $20 per card and as high as $10,000.

To determine how much it will cost you to get one or more sports card graded, you will first need to determine which company you want to work with. You can then figure out what their costs are and how much you will need to spend to grade your cards.

To view current prices and inventory stock of sports card blaster boxes, click here to check them out on Amazon.

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Packaging And Preparing Your Submission For Safe Shipment

To ship your cards to the Certified Guaranty Company, there are a few routes you can go. For example, if you’re in the United States you can use USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

I’ve personally not chosen to use UPS because the rates are significantly more expensive than the other services. For FedEx, it’s relatively inexpensive to ship, but they can only insure your cards up to a certain value. This makes USPS a better choice if you have expensive cards.

To be honest, I’ve had the best experience with USPS for a number of reasons:

• USPS is cheap to send flat rate packages.
• You can have boxes and shipping supplies shipped to you for free. You don’t have to pay for the shipping or the product to receive these supplies.
• You can schedule USPS to pick up the package at your door so you never have to leave your home.

It’s ultimately up to you which shipping courier you want to use.

The important step is properly packaging your submission. You’ll not only need to secure your cards, but you’ll also need to include the appropriate CGC paperwork and everything in the correct physical order.

Here are the things you’ll need to ship to the Certified Guaranty Company:

• A box
• Packing tape
• A printer for your packing slips and labels
• Card Saver 1 cases and penny sleeves
• Extra cardboard
• Bubble wrap or bubble bags

Depending on the value of your cards, you may want to take the supplies to another level for safety.

When you have a cardboard sandwich, wrap it in bubble wrap and insert into your box.

Package & Ship To Ksa:

We request that you submit your cards to KSA first in penny sleeves then transfer to semi-rigid or top loaders for easy handling and best safety. Please avoid using screw down holders as well as tape on top loaders.

Box your bubble wrap protected cards along with manual submission form or online order confirmation print out and securely tape entire package.

Ship through Canada Post with tracking and signature required to:

KSA Certification Head Office

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