Grading upside calculator

Guess My Grades

Should you send that card in? Search it, check what it actually sells for, then read the payoff of grading with PSA, BGS, CGC, or TAG at every condition level. This tool never guesses your card's condition for you. It does the math once you have.

Independent tool. Not affiliated with PSA, BGS/Beckett, CGC, TAG, eBay, or PriceCharting. Fees, tiers, and grading criteria change, so figures here are dated snapshots with links to verify. All condition-to-grade odds below come from a rough general model, not this card's actual population data. Full disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
01

Find the card

Pick a game and type into one bar. Start with the card name, then keep typing set words or a card number to narrow, like "rayquaza ex roaring skies". Words can be in any order, punctuation doesn't matter, spelling does. Sports cards and other categories have no free database, so selecting them switches to manual fields.

02

What it sells for

Pick a card above and the whole table fills itself: the card locks in below with its image, the raw price pulls live from the market, and every company's graded prices start as conservative estimates derived from that raw price. For a quick read, you don't have to type anything. For a card you're serious about, replace the estimates with real sold comps. Each company panel has one-click links for exactly that, and anything you enter switches from italic (estimated) to regular (yours).

Rough default for insured, tracked shipping to the grader. Edit it to your real cost. Graders often bill return shipping separately.
03

The upside, by condition

Pick your row based on the honest look you just gave the card. Each number is the expected payout after fees and shipping, minus what you'd get selling it raw today. Green means grading tends to win at that condition; red means it doesn't.

Not sure which row fits your card? The one-minute condition checks in section 04 below show how to tell.

04

Eyeballing condition

Four checks, about a minute total, no tools beyond a bright light. These are the same four things every company grades on.

Centering

HowHold the card at arm's length. Compare the left border to the right, then top to bottom. Repeat on the back, which is often worse.
GoodBorders look equal at a glance. A difference you have to hunt for (55/45) is still top-grade territory at most companies.
BadIf one side is clearly fatter the moment you look, you're around 60/40 or worse and the top grade is usually gone.
50 / 50 dead center all grades open 60 / 40 visible at a glance top grade at risk 75 / 25 obvious big deductions

Corners

HowUnder a strong light, look at all 8 corner tips, front and back.
GoodEach tip is one sharp point that catches the light cleanly.
BadWhite fray or rounding at the tip. One soft corner may survive; two or more caps the grade hard.

Edges

HowTilt the card and sight down each edge like a ruler, not flat-on.
GoodEach edge reads as one clean, solid line of color.
BadPale flecks of exposed cardboard along the cut. Dark borders show it worst.

Surface

HowShine a light from a low side angle and slowly tilt the card. Check both sides.
GoodThe gloss moves across the card as one even sheen.
BadScratches, scuffs, or print lines flash into view as the light rakes across.

Automatic red flags

Creases, bends, stains, water damage, and trimming are more than "low grade" problems. They can trigger a no-grade or "details" result that pays out far worse than any number below. If you can see or feel any of those, treat the "well-loved" row skeptically and consider it a bigger warning than the table shows.