Grading has become far more mainstream than it was 25 years ago when Pokémon cards released. Despite it becoming more popular though, there are a lot of basics you should know about Pokémon card grading.
For starters, a lot of people want to know how to best protect their Pokémon cards and how to gain the most value with them. One of the main answers to accomplish both of those things? Grading.
But there is a lot more to it than that. There are different companies that grade, costs associated with it, different factors that affect the grade, and much much more.
There is a lot to talk about but this article particularly will cover the basics of grading. What it is, what companies you should use, what factors affect grading, and a few other topics. If you have other questions that this article doesn’t cover regarding grading, check out my other articles or send me a message on what you are looking for!
What Grade Will My Pokemon Cards Get?
Should I Get My Pokémon Cards Graded?
Let’s get to it!
What Does Pokémon Card Grading Mean?
Grading refers to a process in which you send in your cards to a company who then assigns them a “grade” between 1-10. The grade is given based on how nice and clean the card is. The less scratching, whitening, and otherwise, the higher the grade will be.
It does cost money to send your card in for grading. Depending on your goals though, it might be worth going through that process.
What Factors Affect The Grade of a Pokémon Card?
There are 4 main parts of the card that graders really look at the other signs of “wear” that you should be aware of before sending a card in for grading.
Let’s jump into both of those now.
Main Signs of Wear
Scratching
This refers to any visible scratching on the card. This typically shows up most on the holographic portion of the Pokémon card you are looking at.
Notice how on this card, the holo scratching doesn’t show from some angles. It’s important to let the light hit every angle of the card to identify if and where scratching may be.
My recommendation is to shine a flashlight on and around your card. Move it around directly on the card as well as around the outside of the card to get an idea of what kind of scratching the card has.
Whitening
Whitening on Pokémon cards refers to the back of the card and the amount of “whitening” that you see around the edges and corners.
Whitening is taken VERY seriously in grading and most cards (if submitting to increase value) will only be worth it if it is NM. If your card looks like the right most card, it will highly likely not be a 7 or above and not be worth grading (for value).
Compare the card you are considering grading to a freshly pulled card. If they have a similar amount of whitening (which is hopefully none) then it may be a good contender for grading!
Bends or Indents
Bends or indents would typically classify a card as “damaged”. Take extra care to look out for bends, folds, creases, or indents of any kind.
If you card has these then they are typically not worth grading. These imperfections will automatically be rated at a 6 or less. Unfortunately, even the smallest one of the above will hurt the value of the card tremendously, regardless of what else the card looks like.
General Wear and Aging
General wear and aging will show up most commonly as the above, but it can also be inclusive of the following:
- Dark spots
- Holographic parts showing around the edges of the cards
- Dents or imprints
- Card markings
- Card Warping
Be sure to do a thorough check of your cards before considering getting them graded. Each of these will hurt the overall grade the card may receive.
Now that we’ve covered the above types or wear, let’s quickly look at the sub-categories of grading.
Pokémon Card Grading Sub-Categories
As we run through these sub categories, look through the pictures of the card and try to determine what you think the grade would ultimately be. This card should be a good test as well to see how your card compares.
Look at the sub-categories but use the “signs of wear” in the above section on each of the below. Then guess what grade you think the card may get based on the wear and condition of it.
Surface
The surface of a Pokémon card refers to the front and back of the cards and the quality of them. This includes really almost the entire card but will most notably show up in the holographic portion (if the card is holographic).
Checking the surface will mean looking for bends, dents scratches, dirt, spots, or otherwise. The cleaner and smoother it is, the better.
Taking a look at this card from this angle, I would say it looks pretty good. There is a dirt spot on the left edge but it doesn’t look like the card has any dents or bends from here. For a vintage card, I would say it looks pretty good and should grade pretty highly based on this picture.
Again, you need to check the surface from all angles though to truly figure out what kind of condition it’s in.
Corners
The corners of Pokémon cards are graded specifically because they tend to show some common wear. If a card is dropped or put into binders and sleeves more forcefully, then the corners will start to wear and show play.
In just looking at this corner, we can see that it has some small imperfections and may have a small nick along the top edge. Doesn’t look too beat up but it is not perfect.
Edges
The edges refer to the literal edges of Pokémon cards. Similarly to the corners, the edges get beat up and show more substantial wear as they get played or moved.
Make sure to look along the edges of your cards, especially the holographic ones. If the edges glow like they are holographic, then your edge score will get dinged.
In the Typhlosion above, we can see that there are very small holographic bits showing along the right and top edge. Once again, not perfect but still looks like the card is in good shape.
Centering
The centering on Pokémon cards is without a doubt the most frustrating part of grading. A card that is pulled directly from a pack can still get dinged because of the centering of the card.
What you want to look for with the centering is how much of the border is showing on each side. Is it even or do you see more border showing on one side than the other? On the card above, we can see that the centering is pretty good, but that it does show a little more border along the left side than the right on the back of the card.
If we would send this card in for centering alone, it would probably get an 8-9.
Off-Centered vs Mis-Cut
This is slightly off topic but it’s worth taking a few quick moments to speak about. I have another full article covering it if you’d like to dive in deeper on the topic.
Cards that are off-centered are very different from cards that are mis-cut. Off centered cards will unfortunately be just that and will not grade well.
Cards that are mis-cut are actually quite sought after and can increase the value quite a bit among certain collectors. So how do we tell the difference?
A tiny black dot. Yes, seriously. It’s also known as an alignment dot. The picture above has the dot in the bottom left corner, which would make this a mis-cut rather than off-centered.
Before cards get cut, the are printed out on one large sheet and have those black alignment dots between them. If you can see the black dot on your card, then it would be considered a mis-cut and would be worth more money typically than a card that was printed normally!
Don’t believe me? Head to the Pokémon Misprints reddit thread and see what I’m talking about.
Now that we have covered that, let’s get back to grading.
What Grade Would The Typhlosion Above Get?
Think about it for yourself first. What would you give the card based on what you see? Once you do that, read on!
Let’s run through everything we see. The holo (from the picture) looks pretty good and doesn’t have much if any scratching from the pictures.
The surface does have a dirty spot but might be able to be cleaned off.
The edges do have a few little marks and the holo can be seen through them, but they look mostly crisp and nice otherwise
The back of the card has a little whitening along the bottom edge and top right corner, but is pretty minimal.
The centering looks pretty good but is not perfect.
Based on all of those factors, my guess would be a 7 and possibly an 8 if it was graded. A 6 is not off the table either. I believe a 9 would be out of the question.
The main factors that will affect the grade here are the whitening on the back, the centering, then the edge wear. All-in-all though, this is a really nice card considering it is vintage.
Let’s move on to the next portion of the article!
What Companies Should I Use to Grade My Pokémon Cards?
There are a tremendous amount of card grading companies out there and more continue to try to make their stamp on the industry. Some are well known for sports card, some are more widely used internationally outside of the U.S., and others have their niches as well.
When it comes to U.S. Pokémon card grading companies though, there are really only 3 that you should go with. They are PSA, Beckett (BGS), and CGC.
Every other card grading company does not have anywhere near the clout of these three. PSA, BGS, and CGC consistently sell for much higher prices than any others, and it’s not even close.
Now even though they are all great options, they do have their differences. Let’s run through those now.
PSA – Professional Sports Authenticator
It’s no secret that PSA is the gold standard for Pokémon card grading. Among the three, PSA is seen the most favorably among just about every group of collectors. Because of this, you will find that they have the best and most consistent resale value of them all.
Let’s look through the pros and cons of PSA.
Pros of PSA:
- Best resale value across all platforms
- Are more forgiving with centering than other two
Cons of PSA:
- Is the most expensive currently ($19 per card without bulk)
- Turnaround time for base grade is 2-3+ months
- Objective opinion, but most agree that the slab doesn’t look as good as the other two
- Doesn’t have sub-grades
Beckett (BGS)
Beckett is #2 on this list for most of the items mentioned above. They have actually been around longer than PSA and are still highly respected as a grader. There are a few benefits that BGS has over PSA though that are worth mentioning.
Pros of BGS (Beckett):
- BGS 10 sells for higher than PSA 10 due to harsher grading
- Has sub-grades and half-grade points
- Has a “Black Label” potential which means every sub-grade is a 10. This sells for far higher than all other slabs
- Is a great looking slab
- Has faster turnaround times
Cons of BGS (Beckett):
- Is a harsher grader than the other two
- Is the second most expensive
- Doesn’t re-sell as well as PSA
CGC – Certified Guaranty Company
Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) has made more of a name for itself in recent years and it’s popularity and value has caught up pretty quickly. However, in 2023 they made a big change by merging with CSG and updated the look and grading scale of their slabs. The picture above is what the old slab looked like.
This doesn’t seem to have affected much on their popularity or resale but more time is needed to see how they stack up to the other two. Let’s run through the pros and cons of CGC
Pros of CGC:
- Cheapest of the three
- Has the fastest turnaround time of the three
- Has a “Pristine 10 and a “Gem Mint 10” to compete with the Beckett Black Label (However it still doesn’t come close to resale of it)
- Has .5 half grade increments up to 9
- Sells comparably well to both others in most places
Cons of CGC:
- Does not have quite as big of a buyer market as the other two (yet)
- The feelings on the label and grading changes are still yet to be seen
So in a nutshell, PSA tends to be the best for resale with the exception of BGS 10s and Black Labels. CGC and BGS tend to be more favored in the way they look and are cheaper and faster than PSA. Can you go wrong with any? I really don’t think so but the decision is yours on which way you ultimately go.
Conclusion
It’s important to look at your card(s) carefully before sending them in for grading. All scratching, bends, whitening, and otherwise make a big difference on your card, so it’s important to look at them carefully.
Once you do decide to grade, hopefully this article has provided a few good options on companies to go through also!
If I missed anything or if you have any comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]!
