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
- GUIDE · AUCTIONSNo. 014How card auctions workBuyer's premium, reserves, consignment, extended bidding — and where results get published.
- GUIDE · SOLD PRICESNo. 061Where to check sold priceseBay sold filter, auction archives, PSA Auction Prices Realized and price guides, and a method for turning sales into a range.
- GUIDE · ROOKIE CARDSNo. 062How to identify a rookie cardBeckett's base-card tests, what the RC logo does and doesn't prove, 1st Bowman prospects, XRC and (RC) tags, and the famous exceptions.
- GUIDE · SELLINGNo. 079How to sell Pokémon cardsWhere to sell Pokémon cards: eBay, TCGplayer, Whatnot, GameStop trade-ins and auction houses, with published fees worked out for a $20, $100 and $1,000 sale.
- GUIDE · VALUENo. 081Pokémon cards worth moneyFive checks to tell if a Pokémon card is worth money, from the collector number and rarity symbol to the 1st Edition stamp, condition and sold prices.
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.
- LIST · POKÉMONNo. 063Most expensive Pokémon cardsThe highest public Pokémon card sales, from the $16.49 million Pikachu Illustrator down, with grade, venue and date, plus the most valuable modern cards as of October 24, 2026.
- LIST · POKÉMONNo. 065Rarest Pokémon cardsThe rarest Pokémon cards with the basis for each: prize and contest cards by stated copies (1 to 109), Gold Star grade-10 counts as of October 26, 2026, and the rarest modern pulls.
- HUB · CHARIZARDNo. 067Charizard Pokémon cardsNotable Charizard cards with set, number, rarity and artist; the full arts, alt arts, illustration rares and gold cards; and the most valuable by PriceCharting price as of October 26, 2026.
- HUB · ARTISTSNo. 069Pokémon card artistsWho illustrates Pokémon cards: twelve artists with card counts from the Pokémon TCG API, when they started, their style or method and example cards, plus more illustrators by card count.
- HUB · EEVEELUTIONSNo. 071Eeveelution cardsNotable Eevee, Umbreon, Espeon, Sylveon and other Eeveelution cards with set, number, rarity and artist; Gold Stars, alt arts and SIRs; and the most valuable by PriceCharting price as of October 28, 2026.
- ARTIST · POKÉMONNo. 075Shinji Kanda Pokémon cardsEvery English card by Shinji Kanda, from his 2022 Magmar to 30th Celebration, how he works (shrink plastic, scanned foil, digital) and his most valuable cards as of November 2, 2026.
- LIST · GOLD CARDSNo. 077Gold Pokémon cardsGold Star cards, gold secret rares, Hyper Rares and Mega Hyper Rares by era, every Gold Star priced as of November 2, 2026, and real vs novelty gold-plated and metal cards.
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.