Raw and graded: the difference
A raw card is a card outside a slab. You see it as the seller photographs it, and the seller states the condition: NM, LP, MP, HP or DMG.
A graded card has been checked by a grading company. They give it a grade and seal it in a hard plastic case called a slab. The grade and the company are printed on the label, so the condition is no longer a matter of opinion.
What a slab gives you
A slab protects the card from bends, scratches and handling. It also gives buyers a shared language, because a graded card with the same grade from the same company is easier to compare than two raw cards.
Slabs have a cert number on the label, which you can use to look up the card with the grading company. That helps when you buy, sell or insure a card.
The six grading companies
Collectors send cards to several grading companies. Each has its own label and its own way of grading. Our Grading Hub covers all six.
- PSA
- Compare its prices and turnaround times in the Grading Hub.
- Beckett
- Compare its prices and turnaround times in the Grading Hub.
- TAG
- Compare its prices and turnaround times in the Grading Hub.
- ACE
- Compare its prices and turnaround times in the Grading Hub.
- CGC
- Compare its prices and turnaround times in the Grading Hub.
- HiT
- Compare its prices and turnaround times in the Grading Hub.
When does grading pay?
Grading costs money and takes time, so it does not pay for every card. It tends to make sense when the card is valuable, is in very good condition, and you want to protect it or prove its condition to a buyer.
For a low-value card, the cost of grading may be more than the card gains. Check the price guide, and look at what the same card sold for on MYNTED in raw and graded form, before you decide.
A grade is not a promise. A card can come back with a lower grade than you hoped, so be honest about the condition before you send it. Our condition guide shows what to check.
How graded items are compared on MYNTED
A PSA 9 and a PSA 10 of the same card are different items with different prices. On MYNTED, sold history is matched by grade, so a graded item is compared with what the same card sold for at the same grade.
Each graded item shows the grade and the grading company next to a price guide from our Collectr partnership where available. Use both before you bid.
The MYNTED Grading Hub
You can send cards to PSA, Beckett, TAG, ACE, CGC or HiT through us. It is one drop-off with us, and we handle the rest. The Grading Hub compares the companies, so you can choose before you send.
Once graded, you can keep the slab, or sell it. Sellers can list slabs on MYNTED Auctions and reach collectors across seven channels.
