The words on grading companies’ price lists, standards and slabs, defined from the companies’ own published wording, with the figures as read on the dates shown on each linked page.
How evenly the printed image sits between the borders, written as the larger border’s share of each pair: a card with a 3.3 mm left border and a 2.7 mm right border is 55/45 left to right. Graders judge the worse of left/right and top/bottom. How to check centering →
The same measure on the back. Several companies publish a separate line for it, the same as or looser than the front: PSA’s GEM-MT 10 allows 75/25 on the back against ~55/45 on the front. Every line by grade →
The top regular grade: PSA GEM-MT 10 (~55/45 front), BGS Gem Mint 9.5 (55/45 front), CGC Gem Mint 10 (~55/45 front), SGC 10 Gem (55/45 front), TAG Gem Mint 10 (~55/45 front), ACE Gem Mint 10 (under 60/40 front). Beckett’s Gem Mint is a 9.5; its 10 is Pristine. Most lenient grader →
A grade above Gem Mint for near-perfect cards: BGS Pristine 10 / Black Label (50/50 front), CGC Pristine 10 (50/50 front), SGC 10 Pristine (50/50 front), TAG Pristine 10 (~51/49 front). Every grader’s standards →
BGS, CGC, SGC grade in half points up to 9.5. At PSA, half-point grades go to cards that "exhibit high-end qualities within each particular grade, between PSA 2 and PSA 9", and "there will be a clear focus on centering." PSA standards →
PSA and CGC write “approximately” and TAG writes “~” on some or all of their centering lines (shown as ~ on this site): the figure is the guide, and the grader keeps some discretion either side of it. PSA 10 centering →
ACE words some lines as “less than” a split, so a card measured exactly on the figure does not meet it (shown as “under”). ACE standards →
PSA: “A 5% leeway is given to the front centering minimum standards for cards which grade PSA 7 or better.” Our reading: a card inside the published figure meets it; one a little beyond it may still pass on strong eye appeal, at the grader’s discretion. PSA standards →
The value you put on each card when you submit it. At PSA, CGC and SGC it picks the cheapest tier you may use. BGS, TAG and ACE publish no value caps on their open tiers, so there it does not pick the tier. PSA calls each tier’s figure the Max Insured Value. If PSA finds a card worth more than that after grading, it moves the card to the right tier and asks you to pay the difference in service-level price and shipping charges, so the figure works as a value cap. PSA declared value →
PSA calls each tier’s figure the Max Insured Value. If PSA finds a card worth more than that after grading, it moves the card to the right tier and asks you to pay the difference in service-level price and shipping charges, so the figure works as a value cap. If CGC judges a card worth more than its tier’s cap, it moves the card up a tier and bills the difference. CGC values cards for tiering as graded examples, not raw. The declared value sets the fee band; SGC may raise the fee for a card declared below its fair market value. TAG does not price by card value (“No value upcharges”): each tier’s dollar figure is the insurance cover included, not a cap. ACE is UK-based and “accepts cards of all value on all service levels without additional charge”; each level’s £ figure is the most it pays out per card. Shipping is extra. All fees →
Some cheap tiers need several cards in one order: CGC Bulk (25 cards), TAG Value (10 cards), TAG Base (5 cards). Cheapest right now →
The company’s own estimate, in business (working) days from when it receives the cards, before shipping each way. Estimates slip when submissions surge. How long grading takes →
An ungraded card. Grading pays only when the expected price after grading, minus the fee, beats the raw price. Is it worth grading? →
The narrower 59 × 86 mm card Yu-Gi-Oh! uses (most cards are 63 × 88 mm). TAG is not accepting bridge-size cards right now. Yu-Gi-Oh! grading →
A thin plastic sleeve and a rigid plastic holder. Both add an edge around the card in a photo; measure out of them when you can. How we measure →