What grading actually is
Grading is the process of sending a card to a third party company that authenticates it, assesses its condition, assigns it a numeric grade and seals it in a tamper evident plastic case (a slab). Most companies use a 1 to 10 scale, where 10 means no visible flaws under magnification and 1 is a card that has been through the wars. The grade appears on a label inside the slab with the card name, set and a certification number you can look up online.
The appeal is simple. A grade turns a subjective judgement into a standardised, independently verified one. That matters most when money changes hands, because a buyer on the other side of the country can trust a PSA 9 label in a way they cannot trust a seller's photos.
The companies Australians actually use
Three names dominate the conversation:
- PSA is the biggest and most recognised, particularly for Pokemon. PSA graded cards generally command the strongest resale prices, and the PSA 10 is the benchmark grade collectors chase.
- BGS (Beckett) is known for its subgrades, which break the overall grade into centering, corners, edges and surface. The Beckett Black Label (a perfect 10 across all subgrades) is rarer than a PSA 10 and prized accordingly.
- CGC came from comic grading and has built a solid reputation in trading cards. It is often the more affordable entry point of the three.
All three are based in the United States. There are also Australian grading services that operate locally, which removes international shipping from the equation entirely. The trade off is recognition: an Australian slab is perfectly fine for your own collection, but on the resale market the big three labels carry more weight, especially with overseas buyers.
Fee structures across all of these companies work in broadly the same way. You pay per card, with pricing tiers based on the declared value of the card and how quickly you want it back. A low value modern card on the slowest service costs the least, while a high value card on an express tier costs considerably more. Prices change regularly, so check the current schedule before committing.
The real cost for Australians
For Australians, the grading fee is only part of the bill. If you are sending to PSA, BGS or CGC in the US, you also need to budget for:
- International shipping both ways. Cards need to travel tracked and well protected, and the return leg is usually charged by the grading company based on declared value.
- Insurance. You are posting valuable cardboard across the Pacific twice. Insuring the package to its declared value is sensible, and it adds up.
- GST and import considerations. Depending on declared values and how the return shipment is processed, there can be tax implications when your own cards come back into Australia. The rules are general in nature and worth reading up on before you ship anything of significant value.
- Time. Turnaround varies enormously with service tier and company workload. Budget weeks at a minimum, and months is common on economy tiers. Your card is out of your hands for the entire period.
Some Australian collectors use group submission services, where a local business consolidates many collectors' cards into one bulk submission. This spreads shipping costs across the group and makes US grading cheaper per card, at the cost of adding another party (and more time) to the chain.
When grading makes sense
Grading is a tool, not a default. It earns its cost in a few specific situations:
- High value cards. When a card is worth several hundred dollars or more raw, the difference between raw price and graded price at a strong grade usually covers the fees comfortably. Chase cards from the rarer slots, such as secret rares and alt arts, are the classic grading candidates because the gap between a raw copy and a 9 or 10 is widest there.
- Authentication. For vintage cards and heavily counterfeited modern hits, a slab settles the question of whether the card is genuine.
- Long term storage. A slab is excellent physical protection. If you intend to hold a card for a decade, sealing its condition now has real value.
- Resale. Graded cards are easier to sell sight unseen, attract international buyers and remove condition disputes.
When it does not make sense
Plenty of cards should never see a grading queue. If the card is a modern common, uncommon or low end holo worth a few dollars, the grading fee will exceed any uplift even at a 10. Bulk grading a binder of modern cards is a fast way to turn money into plastic. The same goes for cards with obvious flaws: one you already know would grade a 6 or 7 rarely justifies the cost unless it is genuinely scarce. Run the numbers each time: what does the card sell for raw, what does it sell for at the grade you realistically expect, and is the gap bigger than the total cost of grading from Australia?
Buying graded versus grading it yourself
If you want a slab on your shelf, you have two paths: buy the card already graded, or buy a clean raw copy and submit it yourself. Buying graded gives you certainty, since the grade is locked in, but you pay the full graded premium and you cannot inspect the card outside its case. Buying a mint raw single flips that around. You can verify the card in hand, under your own light, then decide whether it is a grading candidate or simply a great binder copy. The raw route carries grading risk, but it also keeps the upside if the card grades well, and it leaves you the choice. We have written a fuller comparison in our graded versus raw guide for Aussie collectors if you want to dig into that decision properly.
Pre-grading checks you can do at home
Before paying anyone, assess the card yourself under strong direct light:
- Corners. Look for whitening, softness or dings at all four corners, front and back. Corners are where most cards lose their shot at a 10.
- Edges. Run your eye along each edge for chipping or whitening, paying extra attention to the back edges on dark bordered cards.
- Surface. Tilt the card under light to catch scratches, print lines, holo scuffs and indentations that are invisible front on.
- Centering. Compare the border widths on each side. A common standard for top grades is 60/40 or better on the front, with more tolerance on the back. A clearly off centre card is capped before condition even enters the conversation.
If a card passes all four checks, it is at least worth considering for submission. If it fails any of them badly, save your money.
Where Monster Mart fits in
Monster Mart sells raw Pokemon singles only, every card inspected to a mint standard before it is listed, shipped tracked from Brisbane. That suits collectors hunting grading candidates: you get a clean raw copy you can verify in hand, then make your own call on whether it goes to a grading company or straight into the binder. Either way, the choice stays with you.