How PSA Grading Works, and Is It Worth It?

The process, step by step

PSA's How to Submit pages give you two ways in:

• Assisted Submission (cards only). You scan your cards in the PSA app or enter them on the web. PSA estimates each card's graded value and recommends a service level card by card, which you can accept or change.

• Classic Submission (all items). You choose the item type and the service level yourself, then enter the item details.

After that, every order runs the same way:

1. Choose where the card goes afterwards. PSA offers shipping it to your home, storing it in the PSA Vault, or listing it on eBay.

2. Review the order and pay.

3. Get the card to PSA. Package and ship it, or hand it in at a PSA submission event. PSA does not insure packages on the way in. Its coverage starts once it confirms it has received the item, up to the limit of the service level you choose.

4. Authentication. PSA graders check that the card is genuine and look for evidence of doctoring, such as recoloring or trimming. PSA grades a card only after it has been deemed authentic.

5. Grading. The card's condition is graded on PSA's 10-point scale (see PSA grading scale).

6. Encapsulation. The card is sealed in its own sonically sealed, tamper-evident case. The grade and the certification number go on the label (see Slab and Cert number (certification number)).

Service levels and turnaround, as PSA published them

PSA changes its service levels, so treat this table as a snapshot, and check PSA's trading card grading page before you submit. Fees are left out on purpose. They change too, and PSA's page is the only place to read them.

Each level also has a Max Insured Value, which rises with the level, and PSA's page lists them. The highest-value cards go to separate premium options. Three details on that page matter more than the numbers:

• Turnaround is an estimate, not a promise. PSA says the clock starts when your order is received and scanned at its facility, and that turnaround times "may change rapidly without notice".

• Your declared value picks the level. Declared value is your estimate of what the card will be worth after it is graded.

• PSA can move a card up a level. PSA's coverage page says that if it decides after grading that a card's value is above the Max Insured Value of the level you chose, it upgrades that card's service level and notifies you of the extra fee. The grade itself is not affected. It happened to me: I sent my Lugia in at a lower level and paid a small upcharge when it came back.

So open PSA's live page on the day you submit, and read it again before you pay.

What the grade means

PSA's scale runs from GEM-MT 10 down to PR 1: Gem Mint 10, Mint 9, NM-MT 8, NM 7, EX-MT 6, EX 5, VG-EX 4, VG 3, Good 2, Fair 1.5 and Poor 1. Each grade has a written definition on PSA's grading standards page, and each sets a centering limit you can measure yourself.

Four parts of PSA's standards explain most of the grades that surprise people:

• Half grades. Cards with high-end qualities within a grade, between PSA 2 and PSA 9, may get a half-point increase, with "a clear focus on centering". PSA's scale has no 9.5 (see PSA vs CGC vs BGS vs TAG for Pokemon Cards).

• Qualifiers. A card with one specific problem can get a grade with a qualifier after it, instead of a lower number. PSA lists OC (off center), ST (staining), PD (print defect) and OF (out of focus) as optional qualifiers, and MK (marks) and MC (miscut) as designations.

• Authentic, no grade. A card PSA certifies as genuine but will not grade gets an "Authentic" or "Authentic Altered" label. Altered can mean trimming, recoloring, restoration or cleaning.

• Eye appeal. PSA says a large part of grading is objective, but part of it is subjective, and a small centering variance may be allowed at the grader's discretion when a card's eye appeal is good.

If you are hoping for a 10, read PSA 10 (Gem Mint) before you send the card.

What came back when I submitted

I have sent a few cards to PSA. One has come back so far: a Neo Genesis Lugia 9/111, Unlimited print, that I bought raw. It came back a PSA 6. I expected about a 7, because it looked in really good shape to me, so whatever held it back was something I couldn't see. I'd sent it at a level without Grader Notes, so the slab didn't tell me either.

The gap between a 6 and a 7 is small. PSA's 7 allows slight surface wear visible on close inspection. Its 6 allows visible surface wear, or a very light scratch seen only on close inspection, and a wider front centering. That kind of detail is easy to miss in a quick look at home, so check the surface under a bright light, at an angle, before you set your hopes.

PSA lists Grader Notes with the Express level and above. They detail the card's defects and explain the outcome. At the lower levels you get the grade and no explanation, so if you want to know why, check which levels include the notes before you pick one.

Is grading worth it? The factors

There is no general answer, and this page will not guess at what any card is worth. Go through these for the one card in front of you:

• The fee for the level this card needs, from PSA's page on the day you submit, set against what the card means to you raw.

• A realistic grade range, not the best case. Measure the centering against the table above, then check corners, edges and surface under good light.

• The time. Estimated turnaround runs from days to months depending on the level, and PSA says it can change.

• Your declared value. An understated value can mean an upgrade and an extra fee after grading.

• Why you want it graded. A sealed case, an authentication check, and a cert number anyone can look up are real reasons. So is just liking the card in a slab.

• Whether the same card is already for sale graded. If it is, you can see the grade before you pay.

• Shipping and insurance on the way in, which PSA does not cover.

Buying it already graded instead

A slab skips the wait and the guesswork. The grade is on the label before you pay, and you can look up the cert number on PSA's site. On eBay, single cards of $200 or more can carry the Authenticity Guarantee: PSA checks a graded card's holder for tampering and confirms the case and label are authentic, without regrading it. Before you buy one, run through Verify a Graded Pokemon Card Before You Buy, and read How to Spot a Fake Pokemon Card Before You Buy for what to look for in the photos.

Collectors say older PSA slabs were graded more loosely than today's, and PSA's own wording for a 10 has tightened: its front centering line once read 60/40 and now reads 55/45, which PSA called a clean-up of how it already graded. So on an older slab, judge the card in the photos, not just the number on the label. An old 9 or 10 can hide wear.

Personally, I collect raw, for fun. The trade-off between the two is in Raw or Graded Pokemon Cards: Which to Buy?.

If you go the slab route, a ChaseBoard watch can be set to PSA and the exact grade you want, and when a listing gives a PSA cert number, the alert links straight to PSA's cert page.