Grading your Pokémon cards: PSA, PCA, CGC or BGS

Grading a card involves sending it to a specialised company. The company verifies the card's authenticity, assigns it a score out of 10, and places it in a sealed case. Buyers tend to trust a graded card more. With a high score, it often sells for more than an ungraded card.

The main companies

• PSA: an American company. Its graded cards are the most widespread on the market, and a score of 10 at PSA often serves as a benchmark.
• PCA: a company based in France, widely used by French-speaking collectors and in Europe.
• CGC: an American company that also grades by half points.
• BGS (Beckett): an American company that also provides a score for centring, corners, edges, and surface.

Choose according to where you plan to resell. Compare the prices of cards graded by each company for the card you are interested in.

What is graded

• Centring: the borders around the illustration should be equal.
• Corners: sharp, without whitening or rounding.
• Edges: without chipping or whitening.
• Surface: free from scratches, marks, creases, or printing defects.

Sending your cards

1. Choose the company and service level. The price and turnaround time often depend on the declared value of the cards.
2. Gently clean the surface with a microfibre cloth.
3. Place each card in a sleeve, then in the holder requested by the company.
4. Fill out the submission form and send the package by registered mail, well protected.
5. Expect several weeks, sometimes several months, before the cards are returned.

For shipments outside Switzerland, add the cost of outbound and return postage, and sometimes customs fees upon return.

When to grade a card

Grading is worth its cost if the graded card sells significantly higher than the ungraded card, including fees. This is often the case for a rare card in very good condition. For a common or already damaged card, the fees often outweigh the gain.

Before sending a card, compare its value with the price of the same graded card.

On BDPokéCards

Each graded card listing indicates the company and the score. The seller can also provide the certificate number, which can be verified on the company's website. All listings are on the graded cards page.