Excited to know the best Pokemon card grading services available in 2023? Gotcha! It can be confusing for a Pokemon lover to trust a company with its valuable cards, especially when we have so many card grading companies available on our table. That’s why today I have picked 4 top Pokemon card grading services along with all their features in this article. You can choose any one from them to get your cards graded.
Pokemon card grading is doing much more than simply preserving your favorite Pokemon cards, depending on their conditions. During grading, a card is declared as authentic and gets a score on a rating scale of 1 to ten depending on its features. Further, the card is sealed in a slab, a beautiful transparent box to avoid any kind of damage.
Getting your favorite cards graded has many purposes. You can do it just as a passion or hobby also. However, Pokemon card grading has a higher value to professional card collectors. A graded Pokemon card from a famous company can be extremely costly like $500. However, to find more information about Pokemon card grading, read this article.
In This Article
Best Pokemon Card Grading Services In 2023
There are a lot of Pokemon card grading services available out there with their own unique features. That’s why it’s very tough to select one to get your cards graded.
However, to resolve your confusion, I am here with the top four Pokemon card grading services in 2023.
Top 4 Pokemon Card Grading services of 2023 –
1. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)
PSA is a highly popular service in the Pokemon card market. There are certain reasons why you should consider PSA for your Pokemon card grading. Let’s see what they are –
Features of Professional Sports Authenticator :
- Guarantee of getting the authentic card.
- High-quality cards from 0 to 10 grading.
- Price retention system.
- Strict grading rules to maintain the quality of cards.
- PSA graded card has the highest reselling value.
- High-quality approval seal, making it easy to showcase and store.
Head on below to learn the grading scale followed by PSA-
| Grades | Features |
| GEM-MT 10 (Gem Mint) | 1. Four sharp corners. 2. No creasing to its sharp focus. 3. Intact original gloss. 4. Stain-free. 5. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front and 75/25 percent on the reverse. |
| MINT 9 (Mint) | 1. Can have one minor flaw: Slight wax stain on the reverse/ a minor printing imperfection/slightly off-white borders. 2. Centering will be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse |
| NM-MT 8 (Near Mint-Mint) | 1. It Looks like Mint 9 at first glance. 2. But it has a minor fault: a very slight wax stain on the reverse, the slightest fraying at one or two corners, a minor printing imperfection, and/or slightly off-white borders. 3. Centering must be approximately 65/35 or 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
| NM 7 (Near Mint) | 1. Shows slight surface wear visible if you observe closely. 2. Slight fraying on some corners. 3. Slightly out-of-register picture focus, although a minor printing blemish is acceptable. 4. Slight wax staining is acceptable on the back of the card only. 5. Most of the original gloss is retained. 6. Centering must be approximately 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
| EX-MT 6 (Excellent-Mint) | 1. Visible surface wear or a printing defect but good overall appeal. 2. A slight scratch may be detected. 3. Slightly graduated fraying in the corners. 4. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. 5. Some loss of its original gloss. 6. Minor wax stain on the reverse. 7. Very slight notching on the edges. 8. Some off-whiteness on the borders. 9. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
| EX 5 (Excellent) | 1. Minor rounding of the corners. 2. Surface wear. 3. printing defects. 4. Minor chipping on the edges. 5. Loss of original gloss. 6. Slightly out of register picture focus. 7. Several light scratches. 8. But don’t detract from the appeal of the card. 9. Some off-whiteness of borders. 10. Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back. |
| VG-EX 4 (Very Good-Excellent) | 1. Slightly rounded corners. 2. Noticeable surface wear. 3. Light scuffing. 4. Scratches Some intact original gloss. 5. Borders may be slightly off-white. 6. Light creasing is visible. 7. Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back |
| VG 3 (Very Good) | 1. Some rounding of the corners, although nothing extreme. 2. Slight surface wear is evident 3. Light scuffing and/or scratches. 4. Focus may be somewhat off-register 5. Much of the card’s original gloss may be lost. 6. Slight stain may be showing on the obverse. 7. Wax staining on the reverse. 8. Centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back. |
| GOOD 2 (Good) | 1. Accelerated rounding in corners. 2. Surface wear is obvious. 3. Several creases and scratches on the card 4. Scuffing, light staining, or even chipping on the obverse. 5. The original gloss might be completely gone. 6. Considerable discoloration. 7. Centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back |
| PR 1 (Poor) | 1. Serious defects Card’s eye appeal has completely vanished. 2. One or two small pieces of corners are missing. 3. Major creasing. 4. Extreme discoloration 5. Dirts might make even it more difficult to simply identify the issue. |
| Half-point Grades | High-end qualities within each particular grade, between PSA Good 2 and PSA Mint 9, get a half-point increase. |
Visit the website here: PSA
2. Beckett Grading Services (BGS)
Although Beckett was founded in 1984, it has got popularity recently due to its card grading procedure. That’s why it is our second pick in the top four Pokemon card grading services. Let’s see what their main features are-
Features of Beckett Grading Services:
- Affordable service.
- Expertise in four different areas – centering, corners, edges, and surface.
- Before grading a card 10, they check these areas sincerely – scuffing, scratches, white areas, and dirt.
- In Beckett, you can get a GOLD 10 card if you have the potential with an exclusive gold case making it wanted and looking amazing.
- Getting a 10 in Beckett is kinda rare as it has a set of strict rules. That’s why it’s more wanted than PSA-graded cards to the collector.
BGS follows a 1 to 10 grading scale including some significant qualifiers which are given below-
| 10 | Pristine | 5 | EX (Excellent) |
| 9.5 | Gem Mint | 4.5 | VG-EX+ |
| 9 | Mint | 4 | VG-EX (Very Good-Excellent) |
| 8.5 | Near Mint-Mint + | 3.5 | VG+ |
| 8 | Near Mint-Mint | 3 | VG (Very Good) |
| 7.5 | Near Mint + | 2.5 | G+ |
| 7 | Near Mint | 2 | G (Good) |
| 6.5 | EX-NM+ | 1.5 | Fair |
| 6 | EX-NM (Excellent-Near Mint) | 1 | Poor |
| 5.5 | EX + |
Visit the website here: BGS
3. Certified Guaranty Company (CGC)
We have picked CGC as the third-best Pokemon card grading. It grades every type of trading card including Pokemon. Let’s see what their main features are –
Features of CGC:
- Guarantee of getting the authentic card.
- The waiting time is really shorter than other services.
- No backlog issues.
- Your card will be graded swiftly.
- Expertise in surface, centering, edges and corners.
- High-quality grading system with speedy delivery.
The grading scale followed by CGC is given below in a table form –
| Grades | Features |
| 10 Gem Mint | No visible manufacturing or handling defects. |
| 9.9 Mint | Nearly indistinguishable from a 10.0 but have minor manufacturing defect. No evidence of handling defects. |
| 9.8 NM/M | Nearly perfect collectible with negligible handling or manufacturing defects. |
| 9.6 NM+ | Well-preserved collectible with several minor manufacturing defects. |
| 9.4 NM | Very well-preserved collectible with minor wear and small manufacturing or handling defects. |
| 9.2 NM – | Very well-preserved collectible with some wear and small manufacturing or handling defects. |
| 9.0 VF/NM | Very well-preserved collectible with good eye appeal. Few minor handling and/or manufacturing defects. |
| 8.5 VF+ | Attractive collectible with a moderate defect or a number of small defects. |
| 7.5 VF – | Above-average collectible with a moderate defect or an accumulation of small defects. |
| 7.0 FN/VF | Above-average collectible with a major defect or an accumulation of small defects. |
| 6.5 FN+ | Above-average collectible with a major defect and some smaller defects or a significant accumulation of small defects. |
| 6.0 FN | Slightly above-average collectible with a major defect and some smaller defects or a significant accumulation of small defects. |
| 5.5 FN – | Slightly above-average collectible with several moderate defects. |
| 5.0 VG/FN | Average collectible with several moderate defects. |
| 4.5 VG+ | Slightly below-average collectible with multiple moderate defects. |
| 4.0 VG | Below-average collectible with multiple moderate defects. |
| 3.5 VG- | Below-average collectible with several major defects or an accumulation of multiple moderate defects. |
| 3.0 G/VG | Collectible that shows significant evidence of handling with several moderate-to-major defects. |
| 2.5 G | Collectible that shows extensive evidence of handling with multiple moderate-to-major defects. |
| 2.0 G | Collectible that shows extensive evidence of handling with numerous moderate-to-major defects. |
| 1.8 G- | Collectible that shows extensive evidence of handling with numerous major defects. |
| 1.5 Fa/G | Collectible that shows extensive evidence of handling with a heavy accumulation of major defects.. |
| 1.0 Fa | Very poorly handled collectible with a heavy accumulation of major defects. |
| 0.5 Poor | Heavily defaced collectible with a number of major defects. Some pieces will also be missing. |
Visit the website here: CGC
4. Ace Grading
A famous Pokemon YouTuber Randolph founded Ace Grading in 2021 to provide a unique Pokemon card grading experience for players. Let’s see what are the features of this –
Features of Ace Grading:
- Custom level for each Pokemon card which makes the card’s outlook a little different than usual.
- Strict security labels.
- Use of third-party AI for QR code scanning.
Visit the website here: Ace Grading
How Are Cards Graded By Pokemon Card Grading Companies?
Every Pokemon card grading company has its own set of checklists while grading a card. Every company is different in terms of grading scores and subgrades. Their ratings might be the same but each of them has a unique value in the Pokemon community.
For instance, a Pristine 10 Charizard graded by CGC has lower selling costs than the same of that from PSA. This difference is caused by the higher reputation and trustworthiness of PSA.
However, below, I have listed certain scales through which every Pokemon card gets its grading starting from 1 to 10.
These are the qualifiers every company checks for Pokemon card grading –
1. Surface
Every Pokemon card’s surface is the most significant thing during the Pokemon card grading process. Graders make sure to resolve every tiny fault available on the surface of the card. That’s why they put the card under a microscope to figure out the scratches, micro-tears, stains, etc.
On that note, if your card already has a large scratch or tear, it would a loss of money to put it for grading. These scratches or tears will automatically decrease the card’s grading value.
2. Edges and Corners
The next important aspect of Pokemon card grading is the edges and corners of your Pokemon card. Every edge and corner of the card will be checked minutely to clean every dirt and fold. The whitening will be checked as it shows the usage and frequency of the card.
Cards with a sharp edge and the least or no whitening obtain the highest grade. Whereas cards that have been used a lot will have lesser grades due to lots of damage available in the edges, corners, and surfaces. These features matter a lot to every card collector in terms of pricing.
3. Printing and Cutting
The last important point on which a Pokemon card grading is evaluated is the printing and cutting quality of the card. It mostly depends on the manufacturer. The presence of any out-of-focus images or off-centered pictures will directly damage your card gradation to a great extent. A high-value grade Pokemon card needs to have dead center and even borders. Cards with manufactural faults are nothing but a waste of money.
What Are The Pros & Cons Of Pokemon Card Grading?
There are certain pros and cons of Pokemon card grading which you should be aware of before submitting a card for grading. Let’s see what they are –
Pros of Pokemon Card Grading
The noticeable benefits of getting a Pokemon card graded are –
- Pokemon card grading will help you sell your cards to collectors.
- It will raise the pricing of your cards to a great extent. For example, a set of Pokemon cards without grading can be sold for $130 but you can sell the same set having graded for $500. Can you see the huge price difference? Yes! That’s how it works!
- It will secure your cards from getting damaged.
Cons of Pokemon Card Grading
In spite of all the benefits of Pokemon card grading, there are certain cons also. Let’s see what are they –
- Pokemon card grading services are quite expensive. So, it might not be easy for you to spend such an amount randomly. For example, getting your cards graded by PSA will cost you around $18 to $30.
- The potential value of your card will decrease if it’s not a perfect grade of 10. Many tricky things can affect your grade, such as off-center printing, scratches, whitening on corners, etc.
- The waiting time can be extremely long for your card to be graded considering more than 150 days. You can speed up the process, but that can cost you up to $100 which is actually expensive.
Wrapping Up
So, that was all about the top ten Pokemon card grading. There are multiple articles available on Path of EX about Pokemon that can help you to boost your gameplay. Don’t forget to check them out! See you soon in the next post! Happy gaming!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Much Does It Cost To Get A Pokémon Card Graded?
At PSA, it cost around $18 to $30 to get a Pokémon card graded by the company. Rare cards from modern sets such as the Pokémon Brilliant Stars TCG expansion may end up being worth less than the grading fees depending on the score it gets.
2. Is CGC Better Than PSA?
I had a few returns from the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) and a few returns from the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), but I found the graded card slabs from PSA to be superior.
3. Is PSA Grading Worth It?
Regardless if you’re talking counterfeits or reprints, PSA card grading services can be an excellent tool to verify a card’s authenticity. That’s not to say that PSA is correct 100% of the time and fakes don’t occasionally slip through their hands.
