For novice collectors, the word slab being thrown around might sound a bit foreign. The concept, however, is very straight-forward and easy to get the hang of. Cards that have been graded by a professional service – you know, the ones enclosed in those hard plastic cases – are commonly referred to as slabs across the hobby. Depending on the grade a card receives, grading a card can significantly improve, or in some cases, even diminish, its value. Sports card grading is a common practice for collectors, and card grading can lead to some pretty appealing items for buyers.

Before grading trading cards, though, it's important to understand each card grading service and their respective card grading scales. Whether you’re set on grading football cards, baseball cards, basketball cards, or any other collectible, a basic grasp of grading, its benefits, and potential drawbacks, is only going to help your search for your next gem.

What is the Best Card Grading Company?

While PSA is likely the first grading company that a large number of collectors will identify, reputable alternatives are available for card grading. In many cases, the PSA 10 or the BGS 10 Pristine are still the most valuable grades a card can receive. PSA also grades cards on a standard 1-10 scale, while other companies utilize decimal grades. Many pricing options exist for collectors looking to send cards to PSA, which we’ll touch on in just a bit. With the recognition and the pricing flexibility, PSA is a reliable option for many collectors.

Beckett, or BGS, is also a reputable name for collectors looking to have their cards graded. Beckett breaks their grading down by each individual section of a card – centering, corners, edges, and surface – and then gives the card an overall score. This differs from PSA, which assesses one total score with no subgrading. Additionally, Beckett offers various pricing options depending on a collector’s needs and additional add-ons. The BGS 9.5 or even the BGS 9 can sell for more than a PSA 9, depending on the card, which gives buyers some leeway if they don’t land the 10 they’re expecting. For reference, a Victor Wembanyama 2023 Prizm Base Rookie Card graded a PSA 10 most recently sold for $110, according to Market Movers. A PSA 9, however, sold for just $39.18. A BGS 10 Pristine, on the other hand, sold for $365 and the BGS 9.5 sold for $76. With Beckett, even a card slightly that grades slightly lower than a 10 will still return some value.

CGC Cards, SGC, and TAG Grading all offer similar services, with much lower prices and faster turnaround times. However, the downside is some cards fetch a lower return when graded by these services. Still, the lower prices to grade and faster returns give sellers more wiggle room when looking to sell their cards.

How Much Does Grading a Card Cost?

There are many variables that come into play when paying to have cards graded. For starters, the price per card will likely depend entirely on how many cards are being sent for grading and their declared value. At PSA’s Value price point, any number of cards with a declared value of less than $500 can be graded for $24.99 per card. The estimated turnaround time for the Value service is 40 business days. For the Regular price point of $74.99 per card, cards must have a declared value of less than $1,500. The turnaround time for Regular is 10 business days.

Beckett’s services are similar, the difference being no declared value minimums or maximums at any level of grading. BGS offers a Base service, similar to PSA’s Value price point, for $17.95 per card with subgrades provided for centering, corners, edges, and the surface of the card. Additionally, higher-dollar options are available. The Express service returns cards in 7-10 business days at $79.95 per card.

TAG Grading offers the most affordable option with a Standard, 10-day option and Priority, 2-to-3-day option at $15 and $25 respectively. Depending on the option selected, there could be some additional costs. SGC offers much lower costs for grading and lower turnaround times, with higher declared value thresholds. CGC also offers more affordable options for collectors.

How Does Card Grading Work?

For most of the services outlined above, a collector will start by creating an account. They’ll start a new submission, and select the option they’d like to move forward with. Once your submission is complete, collectors prepare the cards for shipping and carefully pack them to be sent to the grading company. The process for packaging cards will vary for each collector. However, most will likely place their cards in a plastic sleeve, then a toploader, before placing the card between cardboard, Hobby Armor, or some other form of protective cover. Identifying the most effective way to ship the cards together, depending on how many are shipped, is likely the last step in the process of most collectors. Packaging the cards is an important step to avoid any damage in transit.

How to Get Sports Cards Graded?

For those looking to submit cards to any grading company, it’s really as simple as creating an account and finding the submission option that best meets the needs of the collector. There are companies that best meet the needs of high-dollar investors, and those that meet the needs of more novice collectors. Once that decision is made, though, a collector can simply make an account with that service and start a new submission. The companies do an effective job of walking customers through the process.

After that, you power through the anticipation of awaiting the grade. Best of luck, collectors.