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Guides
Every guide on this site, grouped by topic.
New to graded cards? Read the PSA grading scale first, then the condition glossary. Each guide links its sources at the end.
Grading basics
- GUIDE · 1–10No. 010The PSA grading scaleEvery PSA grade from PR 1 to GEM-MT 10, centering limits, half grades and qualifiers.
- GUIDE · POPNo. 012How to read a population reportWhat a grader's pop report counts, what it leaves out, and how to read “pop” and “higher”.
- GUIDE · SUBMITTINGNo. 018How to submit cards for gradingStep by step for PSA and CGC: account, service level, the online form, sleeves and semi-rigids, packing, shipping and tracking.
- GUIDE · GLOSSARYNo. 030Card condition glossaryCentering, dings, chipping, whitening, print lines, stains, miscuts and the PSA qualifiers, defined from the graders' own pages.
- GUIDE · STORAGENo. 033Card storage & handlingPenny sleeves, semi-rigids, toploaders, safe plastics, temperature, humidity and light, from archive and grader guidance.
Graders, fees and crossovers
- GUIDE · 4 GRADERSNo. 011PSA vs SGC vs CGC vs BGSScales, top grades, subgrades and labels of the four big card graders side by side.
- GUIDE · FEESNo. 017PSA grading fees & turnaroundEvery PSA card service level with price, max insured value and estimated turnaround, plus how upcharges work.
- GUIDE · CROSSOVERNo. 032Crossover grading & minimum gradesSending a slabbed card to a different grader: grading through the holder, minimum-grade requests and fees when it doesn't cross.
Authentication and fakes
- GUIDE · CERT #No. 013How to verify a slab's cert numberChecking a PSA, SGC, CGC or Beckett certification number — and what a match does not prove.
- GUIDE · FAKESNo. 031How to spot a fake slabCounterfeit holders and labels: cert and image checks, published label security, the light test, frosted seams and risky deals.
- GUIDE · AUTOGRAPHSNo. 034Autograph authentication (PSA/DNA, JSA, Beckett)What a COA, LOA, sticker or encapsulated signature means, how signed cards are handled, and how to check a certified autograph.
Buying and selling
Pokémon and other trading card games
- GUIDE · POKÉMONNo. 019Pokémon card gradingWhich graders take Pokémon cards, how to tell 1st Edition, Shadowless and Unlimited Base Set prints apart, and what to check before you submit.
- GUIDE · MAGICNo. 029Magic: The Gathering card gradingHow to tell Alpha, Beta, Unlimited and Collectors' Edition cards apart, what PSA and CGC publish about Magic cards, and a checklist before you submit.
- GUIDE · POKÉMONNo. 038PSA 9 vs PSA 10What separates a PSA 9 from a PSA 10 on a modern Pokémon card, and how far apart their values sat on four Sword & Shield and Scarlet & Violet cards.
- GUIDE · POKÉMONNo. 039How to read a PSA pop reportWhat PSA's Population and POP Higher columns count, the gem-rate formula, and three Pokémon cards worked through with counts read October 16, 2026.
- GUIDE · POKÉMONNo. 040Is it worth grading a Pokémon card?The expected-value method for deciding whether to grade a Pokémon card, worked through on three modern cards with PSA fees and prices read October 16, 2026.
- CHECKLIST · POKÉMONNo. 041Modern Pokémon pre-grading checklistA tick-box checklist for inspecting a Sword & Shield or Scarlet & Violet card before you send it: centering, corners, edges, surface, print lines and packing, each tied to a grader's published standard.
Pokémon sets and tools
Set-by-set chase cards, pull rates and values are in the Pokémon set guides; calculators are on the tools page; individual cards are in the card files.