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💎 Grading Guide

PSA & BGS grading explained

PSA Grading Scale

10

Gem Mint

5-50x raw

Flawless card. Perfect centering, sharp corners, pristine surface. Only ~2-5% of submissions achieve this grade. Commands the highest premium.

9

Mint

2-10x raw

Near-perfect with one minor flaw only visible under magnification. Still commands strong premiums, especially for vintage cards.

8

Near Mint-Mint

1.5-3x raw

Minor flaws visible on close inspection. Light edge wear or slight off-centering. Good value grade for display collections.

7

Near Mint

1-2x raw

Slight wear on edges and corners. May have a small surface scratch. The "played condition" sweet spot — affordable but presentable.

6

Excellent-Mint

0.8-1.5x raw

Moderate wear. Visible edge whitening, possible light crease. Still a solid grade for older vintage cards.

1-5

Poor to Excellent

0.3-0.8x raw

Significant wear, creases, stains, or damage. Generally not worth grading for modern cards unless extremely rare (e.g., 1st Edition Charizard).

BGS (Beckett) Notes

  • •BGS grades on 4 sub-grades: Centering, Corners, Edges, Surface
  • •BGS 10 "Pristine" is harder to achieve than PSA 10 — commands higher premiums
  • •BGS 9.5 "Gem Mint" is roughly equivalent to PSA 10
  • •BGS Black Label (all four 10s) is the rarest grade — massive premium

Should You Grade?

✅Grade cards worth $50+ raw — the authentication alone adds value
✅Vintage cards (pre-2003) are almost always worth grading if NM+
✅Chase cards (Charizard, Pikachu, etc.) get the biggest PSA 10 premium
❌Don't grade common/uncommon modern cards — grading cost exceeds value
❌Don't grade cards with visible damage — you'll get a low grade and lose money
❌Avoid economy grading for expensive cards — turnaround is months
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