What is TCG Grading and Why is It Done?

TCG grading is the practice of analyzing a card to determine its overall quality based on certain criteria. It is carried out by an official provider of grading services.

Many people who collect TCG cards—regardless of the franchise—often seek to have them graded at some point. Grading can be done for one or more of several reasons. Some collectors choose to have a card graded for the purpose of selling the card in the future because a graded card fetches a higher sale price than an ungraded card. From an aesthetic perspective, a card placed in a plastic slab after grading gives it a professional look that ungraded cards just don’t have.

Having a card graded also ensures that its quality is preserved because the card will remain unexposed for as long as its slab stays unopened. Finally, a graded card carries an inherent level of prestige—especially if it’s a high-grade card. This is because once a card has been graded, its level of quality has been made official.

As of right now, cards sold on the SNKRDUNK app have been graded by one of three grading service providers: Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Beckett Grading Services (BGS), and Arsales Co., Ltd (ARS). Each of these providers has their own specific qualities related to their card grading services which appeal to certain subsections of the TCG community.

Top TCG Grading Companies to Get Your Cards Graded

1. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)

Based in Santa Ana, California, PSA was founded in 1991 by David Hall, the co-owner of coin grading company Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). Although PSA initially struggled to make much headway within the TCG community, it received a massive boost with the dot-com bubble of 1995 to 2000. During those years, the rise of eBay led to many card sellers seeking PSA grading services to supply evidence of the cards’ authenticity and condition to potential buyers. Today, PSA is the world’s leading card grader.

What is PSA Grading?

PSA’s card grading scale goes from 1 to 10; the larger the number, the higher the quality of the card. PSA graders use a card’s corners, surface, centering, and edges to determine the grade of a card. In order to obtain a high grade, a card ought to have no surface defects, crisp corners, sharp edges, and perfect or near-perfect centering. That said, it’s actually possible for a card to be a PSA 10 even if the card has a slight printing imperfection as long as that flaw doesn’t negatively impact the card’s visual appeal.

Since PSA is the world’s leading card grader, most graded cards being sold have been graded by PSA. Thus, those seeking to sell any particular cards should consider having PSA grade them because buyers are more likely to understand the PSA grading system. PSA even has a price guide that helps both buyers and sellers understand just how much a certain card should be sold for.

Finally, PSA slabs are both sturdy and aesthetically pleasing. They effectively shield the card from pressure and damage while also providing the card with the iconic look that’s so familiar to TCG collectors everywhere.

How Much Does PSA Grading Cost?

2. Beckett Grading Services (BGS)

BGS is part of Beckett Media, LLC, a group of companies founded by James Beckett and based in Plano, Texas. It got its start as a magazine publisher in 1984 before branching out into card grading in 1991; however, it didn’t receive its present-day name of “Beckett Grading Services” until 2001. In addition to card grading services, BGS also supplies price information, TCG news and analysis, and other TCG-related resources. BGS also has exclusive rights to grade and authenticate Topps Vault cards.

What is BGS Grading and How Does it Compare to PSA Grading?

Just like PSA, BGS also deploys a scale of 1 to 10 for card grading with larger numbers representing higher quality. Once again, the criteria taken into account for the grading are surface, centering, edges, and corners. However, the main difference in the scale used by BGS is the fact that the BGS scale includes half-points while the PSA scale doesn’t. Thus, it’s possible for a card to be, for example, a BGS 7.5. Additionally, a card that is not only a BGS 10 but also registers a score of 10 in all four categories will receive a special black label. These Black Label cards are some of the most expensive cards in the world regardless of franchise due to their extreme rarity as well as their quality which is, for all intents and purposes, essentially perfect.

One key reason to select BGS for card grading services is its customer-friendliness. BGS turnaround times are the quickest of all card graders and its fees are the lowest. Additionally, its online submission system is easy to understand and use, making it relatively simple to submit items for grading and monitor their progress.

Finally, those who own cards in perfect or near-perfect condition might want to select BGS because in the event that those cards do receive the highest possible grade, the value of a card skyrockets if it’s a BGS Black Label as compared to a PSA 10 or the maximum grade of any other card grader.

How Much Does BGS Grading Cost?

3. Arsales Co., Ltd. (ARS)

What is ARS Grading: ARS vs. PSA vs. BGS

A relative newcomer to the card grading scene, Tokyo-based ARS was established in 2020. Unlike PSA and BGS, ARS only carries out card grading services for those who have applied online within a specific application window. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s sometimes the case that the higher-ups at ARS end the application window early if there are an excessive number of applications. Contrary to popular belief, ARS can grade English cards or cards of any language other than Japanese; however, in practice this is exceptionally rare.

ARS makes use of a similar 1 to 10 scale as those of PSA and BGS with larger numbers being assigned to higher-quality cards. Similar to BGS, ARS has a grade that goes beyond 10. An ARS 10+ is an ARS 10 card of at least a certain age (which has not been specified by ARS anywhere) that has retained its essentially perfect quality from its date of issue or a prior grading; however, unlike the difference between a BGS 10 and a BGS Black Label, there’s no significant value difference between an ARS 10 and an ARS 10+. Interestingly, minor printing defects such as misalignment are not taken into account with regard to the grades issued by ARS.

Since ARS is based in Japan, it’s particularly recommended for those who plan to have Japanese cards graded or for those who live in the Asia-Pacific region (including Japan).

Another factor in favor of ARS is the aesthetic element of its slabs. While not as iconic as PSA or BGS slabs, the consensus among the TCG community in general is that ARS has the best-looking slabs out of all of them. ARS can also supply a certificate and a mount when sending the card back to its owner after grading it.

How Much Does ARS Grading Cost?

Unlike those of PSA and BGS, ARS grading fees depend on the cumulative ungraded value of the cards submitted for grading; ARS does not charge customers by the card. On the table below, the further down the category, the more expensive the cards’ cumulative ungraded value.

All prices listed are for General Appraisal which has a turnaround time of 2-3 months. For Express Appraisal (15-day turnaround time), add 2,200 JPY (~US$14) per card to be graded.

TCG Grading Cost Comparison Summary

In general, having a card graded by BGS is less expensive than having it graded by PSA unless the customer is a member of the PSA Collectors Club and is having the cards graded in bulk.

As for ARS, the cost per card entirely depends on the value of each card as ARS fees are based on the total ungraded value of all cards sent in for grading by the customer. However, in most cases ARS fees tend to be closer to most PSA fees than PSA member bulk fees or BGS fees.

All fees listed do NOT take into account the cost of shipping the card(s) to and from the headquarters of PSA, BGS, or ARS.

Other Card Graders

Of course, TCG grading services aren’t only supplied by PSA, BGS, and ARS. Other notable card graders include Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), ​​Sportscard Guarantee Corporation (SGC), and Technical Authentication & Grading (TAG). Each of them has their own respective criteria for their grading scales as well as their own qualities which may appeal to certain collectors.

And of course, never say never—perhaps someday, cards graded by graders other than PSA, BGS, and ARS might eventually make their way to the SNKRDUNK app.

But for now, why not browse the amazing selection of cards graded by PSA, BGS, or ARS which have been trending on the SNKRDUNK app? Be assured that they’re up to the stated standards—but don’t just take our word for it; take the card graders’ words for it too.

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