Graded vs raw Pokemon cards: what the words mean

A graded card is one a grading company such as PSA, BGS or CGC has authenticated, given a condition grade and sealed in a labeled, tamper-evident holder called a slab. A raw card is an ungraded card sold loose, so its condition rests on the seller's description and photos.

For a buyer, that's the real difference: a grade can be looked up by its cert number, and a raw card's condition can't. The grade belongs to the holder, too. PSA treats a card removed from its holder, or found in a partly opened one, as never graded.

Before you buy one

• Ask for real photos on a raw card. You want the front and the back, not stock images, with close shots of the corners and edges. The description should name a condition, such as Near Mint or Lightly Played, from the condition scale.

• Skip the grade bait. "PSA 10 ready", "potential 10", "gem candidate" and "should grade 10" all describe a card nobody has graded. Judge it as the raw card it is.

• Count the whole cost of grading it yourself. Buying raw to grade adds grading fees and waiting time, and the grade that comes back can be lower than you expect. Decide what you'd do with a lower grade before you buy.

On ChaseBoard, a raw watch skips listings whose titles look like slabs, and a graded watch skips titles that say raw or lean on words like "potential" and "candidate", so titles like "potential 10" and "gem candidate" stay out of a graded watch's alerts.