Grading — the honest reference
Current tier / pricing / turnaround / API status for every grader that matters. Ingested directly from each grader’s public docs in April 2026 and re-verified quarterly.
At a glance
| Grader | Top grade | 9.5? | Subgrades | Pricing | Public API | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | Gem Mint 10 | No — PSA skips 9→10 | No | Value-tiered; upcharges above declared-value caps | Yes — 100/day free | Collectors |
| BGS | Black Label 10 | Yes | Yes (centering/corners/edges/surface) | Flat per card, no value upcharges | No | Collectors (acquired Dec 2025) |
| SGC | Pristine 10 (Gold Label) | Yes | No | Flat on modern (2001+) — their differentiator | No | Collectors (acquired Feb 2024) |
| CGC | Pristine 10 | Yes | No (discontinued 2023) | Value-tiered | No (internal endpoint Cloudflare-blocked) | Certified Collectibles Group |
| CSG | Merged into CGC | — | Legacy only | — | Use CGC lookup | (absorbed by CGC, Jul 2023) |
Per-grader detail
PSA →
The only grader with a real public API. Feb 2026 tier list with value-based upcharges. Value Bulk requires Collectors Club. No 9.5.
BGS / Beckett →
Subgrades + Black Label. Flat per-card pricing, no upcharges. Acquired by Collectors in Dec 2025 — industry-wide antitrust attention.
SGC →
Flat modern pricing is their pitch. Post-Collectors, advertised 15-day TAT has drifted to 30-60+ days actual.
CGC →
Absorbed CSG in 2023. Subgrades discontinued. Pristine 10 is slightly more forgiving than BGS Black Label.
PSA service tiers (current)
Pulled from the same src/lib/grading/tiers.ts that populates the submission form. Feb 10 2026 fee update reflected.
| Tier | Price | Max DV | TAT (bd) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value Bulk | $24.99 | $500 | 95 | Requires Collectors Club · min 20 cards |
| Value | $32.99 | $500 | 75 | — |
| Value Plus | $49.99 | $500 | 45 | — |
| Value Max | $64.99 | $1,000 | 35 | — |
| Regular | $79.99 | $1,500 | 25 | — |
| Express | $149 | $2,500 | 15 | — |
| Super Express | $299 | $5,000 | 7 | — |
| Walk-Through | $599 | $10,000 | 7 | Percentage upcharges apply on high-value cards |
Source: psacard.com/services/tradingcardgrading. Re-ingest trigger: any /articles/articleview/*/grading-services-update-* announcement.
Things we wish someone had told us
- Top loaders cost $2/card extra at PSA.Use semi-rigid card savers + team bags instead. PSA surcharges toploader submissions because they slow down processing.
- PSA does not issue grade 9.5.The scale skips 9 → 10. Any grade between is a data entry error. CardboardChasr validates this when recording outcomes.
- SGC Standard advertises 15 business days. Reality is 30-60+ days post-Collectors acquisition.Their volume dropped ~24% and throughput slowed. Plan for the longer end when pricing opportunity cost.
- BGS subgrades + Black Label: requires all four subgrades to be 10.A 9.5/9.5/10/10 is still “just” a 9.5 — it’s NOT a Black Label even though the overall grade is a 10. CGC Pristine 10 is slightly more forgiving (allows one 9.5-area).
- Cross-grade crossovers only succeed if the card would grade at or above your minimum.If it doesn’t, PSA / SGC / CGC returns the card in its original holder and still charges the crossover fee. Pick your minimum carefully.
- Legacy CSG Gem Mint 9.5 slabs auto-upgrade to CGC Gem Mint 10 when reholdered.Relevant for pop-report normalization and when comparing comps.