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🏅 Is it worth grading my card?
When sending a card to PSA, CGC, Beckett or a UK grader pays off: the maths, what decides the grade, how centering matters and how to check a card before you send it.
Grading means sending a card to a company that checks it's genuine, gives it a score out of 10 and seals it in a hard plastic case (a "slab"). A high grade can multiply a card's value, but grading costs money and takes time, and most cards don't come back as a 10. Here's how to decide.
The simple sum
Worth it if: graded value at the grade it'll realistically get − all the costs > what it's worth ungraded.
"All the costs" means the grading fee, postage both ways, insurance, and any fees for selling the slab later. Prices change and depend on how fast you want it back, so check the grader's current price list before you send anything.
On any card's page in TCGDealDigger, the Graded values & "worth grading?" panel shows what graded copies are listed for in the UK and works through this sum for you.
What decides the grade
- Centering: how even the borders are, front and back. It's the most common reason a perfect-looking card misses a 10, and it's easy to measure: try our centering checker.
- Corners: any softness or whitening shows up under a grader's magnifier.
- Edges: white specks along the back border are very common, even on pack-fresh cards.
- Surface: scratches, print lines, dents and fingerprints, especially on holo foil.
Read our guide to card conditions for how to check each of these under a light.
Good candidates
- Valuable cards in excellent condition with good centering.
- Cards where the gap between ungraded and high-grade prices is big (the card page shows both).
- Cards you want to keep long-term: the slab protects them and proves they're genuine.
Usually not worth it
- Cheap cards, where the fee is more than the card could ever gain.
- Cards with visible wear or poor centering: a low grade can be worth less than the raw card.
- Recent cards that thousands of people are grading: high grades are common, so prices for them are lower.
Who grades cards
The best-known graders are PSA, CGC and Beckett (BGS), and there are UK-based companies too, such as Ace Grading, which can mean simpler postage. Different graders' slabs sell for different prices, and PSA 10s usually command the highest prices for Pokémon. Compare graded prices for your card before you choose.
Before you send
- Check centering with the centering checker and look over corners, edges and surface under a bright light.
- Clean fingerprints gently with a soft microfibre cloth, nothing wet.
- Pack each card in a fresh penny sleeve and a semi-rigid card saver (most graders ask for these rather than top loaders).
- Use tracked, insured postage, and keep photos of every card before it goes.
Quick answers
When is a card worth grading?
When the graded value at the grade it's likely to get, minus the full cost of grading (fees, postage and insurance both ways), is clearly more than the card is worth ungraded.
How do I know what grade my card will get?
Check centering, corners, edges and surface under a bright light. Centering is easy to measure: TCGDealDigger's free centering checker gives you the ratios from a photo.
Do most cards get a 10?
No. Even fresh cards often have small centering or edge faults that keep them at a 9 or lower, so plan around a realistic grade rather than a 10.