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Grading Guides
Everything we've published on grading guides — grading notes, market reads, and buying guides, newest first.
Grading GuidesIs the PSA Premium Over CGC Shrinking on Modern Pokémon?
A widely repeated claim says the PSA 10 premium over CGC 10 has shrunk to single digits on modern Pokémon. It traces back to one February 2026 price pair. Sold comps on Sep 10 show a much wider gap, and it varies card by card.
Grading GuidesHow to Read Sold Comps on a Rookie Card Without Fooling Yourself
A rookie card comp set is corrupted by parallels, hidden Best Offer prices, shill auctions and qualified grades long before anyone lies to you. Here is the funnel that turns a messy sold list into a defensible price band with a date attached.
Grading GuidesWhere to Send a $30 Card Now That SGC Costs $50
SGC's base tier went from $15 to $50 on September 2 — the third budget grading tier to close in four months. Here is the break-even arithmetic, every tier still open, and the honest answer for a $30 raw card.
Grading GuidesHow to Decide If a Raw Card Is Worth Grading
PSA's four Value tiers have been paused since June 2, 2026, CGC's $20 return shipping costs more than the grade itself on a single-card submission, and eBay takes 13.25% of the sale. Here is the full cost stack, the expected-value math, and a five-minute checklist to run before you ship.
Grading GuidesThe Cheapest PSA Slot Is Now $79.99: The Value-Tier Pause Quietly Reset What's Actually Worth Grading
On June 2, 2026, PSA paused new submissions across all four of its Value tiers to work down a ~10-million-card backlog, leaving the $79.99 Regular tier as the cheapest way in. That reset breaks the math on grading commons — and it's built to last months, not weeks.
Grading GuidesPSA Pulled Its Four Cheapest Tiers on June 2 — Here's the New Break-Even Math on What's Still Worth Grading
As of June 2, 2026, PSA's four cheapest grading tiers are paused and $79.99 Regular is the new floor — a ~142% jump from the $32.99 Value tier. Here's the actual cost math on what still clears that floor and what you should hold.
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