Know before you send.
Plain-English answers to the questions every collector asks before submitting — so you can make the right call for your card, not a rushed one.
Should I grade this card?
Grading makes sense when the value it adds clears the fees — and when your card is genuinely clean enough to grade well. A near-mint modern chase card can be worth grading; a heavily played common usually isn't. Sentimental keeper you'll never sell? Grade it for the slab and the protection, not the numbers.
The honest rule of thumb: if the graded price minus the raw price comfortably beats the grading fee, it's worth a look. Our calculator does the maths for you.
Try the “worth grading?” calculator →Grade when…
The card is clean/high-grade · it's a sought-after set or rookie · the graded price clearly beats raw + fees · you want it protected and displayable.
Maybe keep it raw when…
The card is well-worn · it's a low-value common · the fee eats most of the uplift · you'd rather enjoy it in hand.
What the grades mean.
Graders score a card 1–10 on centering, corners, edges and surface. Here's the shorthand for the grades collectors care about most (PSA's scale shown; TAG and Beckett are similar, with Beckett also giving sub-grades).
A grade is never guaranteed — it's the grader's call on the day. Our estimate at intake tells you what's realistic before you commit.
Can you restore a card and still grade it?
Short answer: usually not for a number. Any physical work — corners, creases, dents, surface — is technically alteration, and graders won't put a number on a card they detect as restored; they mark it “Altered.” Light cleaning of surface grime is generally fine. So choose the path that fits the card: restore for a stunning keeper, or grade-first if you're chasing a number to sell.
The straight answer →Conservation (cleaning)
Lifts only foreign material — grime, fingerprints. Leaves the card untouched, so it stays gradeable.
Restoration (structural)
Corners, creases, dents, surface. Makes a beautiful keeper — noted “Altered” if later graded, and disclosed on resale.
How to send your cards in.
Most damage in the hobby happens in the post, not on the bench. Five minutes of packing protects a card that took decades to survive.
Start a submission →Ready when you are.
No charge until your card is in our hands and you've approved a firm quote.