Frequently Asked Questions

PreGradeCards is an AI-powered service that analyzes your sports cards and trading cards to predict what grade they would receive from professional grading companies like PSA, BGS, or CGC. We use advanced computer vision to evaluate corners, edges, surface condition, and centering—the same criteria professional graders use.

Our AI predictions match professional grades within 1 point approximately 95% of the time. However, it's important to understand that even professional graders don't always agree—the same card can receive different grades from different graders. Our goal is to give you a reliable estimate before you invest in professional grading.

No. PreGradeCards provides a pre-screening service. We do not replace professional grading companies. Think of us as a way to screen your cards before spending $25-150+ per card on professional grading. We help you identify which cards are worth the investment and which ones might not grade as well as you hope.

We support all major card types including:

• Sports Cards: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, MMA
• Trading Card Games: Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Lorcana, and more
• Graded Slabs: PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, ACE, MANA, TAG slabs

Simply upload a photo of your card and we'll analyze it instantly. You get 10 free credits to start—no credit card required. Each analysis uses 1 credit. For best results, take a clear photo with good lighting and make sure the entire card is visible.

For the most accurate results:

• Use good, even lighting (avoid harsh shadows)
• Take the photo straight-on, not at an angle
• Ensure the entire card is in frame with some margin
• Use a plain, contrasting background
• Make sure the image is in focus
• Higher resolution is better (but we accept any reasonable size)

Yes, but with some caveats. Clear penny sleeves usually work fine. Top loaders can sometimes create glare or reflections that affect accuracy. For the most accurate grading, we recommend photographing raw cards. However, our system is trained to handle protected cards reasonably well.

For the Complete Card Grading service, you can upload both front and back for a more comprehensive grade. The system will analyze both sides and weight them appropriately (usually 60/40 front/back). For centering analysis, the front image alone is typically sufficient.

Complete Grading provides a full breakdown with individual grades for corners, edges, surface, and centering, plus an overall grade prediction on a 1-10 scale. It includes visual overlays showing detected issues.

Quick Condition Check is optimized for marketplace listings. It returns condition categories like "Near Mint" or "Lightly Played" compatible with eBay, TCGPlayer, and Cardmarket standards. Great for quickly categorizing a large collection.

Our Sports Card ID service uses AI to identify the player, team, year, set, card number, and manufacturer from a photo. It supports Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, and MMA cards. You can optionally get current market pricing with links to eBay, COMC, and Beckett.

If you have graded cards in slabs, our Slab Reader uses OCR (optical character recognition) and AI to extract all information from the label: certificate number, grade, card name, year, set, and more. Supports PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, ACE, MANA, and TAG slabs. Great for cataloging a graded collection.

Each analysis uses credits. Most services cost 1 credit per card. Credits never expire. You start with 5 free credits, then can purchase more in packs: 100 credits for $19, or 500 credits for $79 (best value). Volume discounts are available for enterprise customers.

No. Credits never expire. Buy them when you need them and use them whenever you want.

Unused credits can be refunded within 30 days of purchase. Once credits are used, they cannot be refunded. If you experience a technical issue where credits were consumed but no result was provided, please contact support and we'll restore your credits.

Each grading company has unique characteristics:

• PSA – Largest market share (~60%), highest resale premiums, best for vintage cards. Founded 1991, 50M+ cards graded. $25-150 per card.
• BGS – Known for sub-grades and Black Label 10s. Best for modern cards where collectors want detailed breakdowns. $20-250 per card.
• CGC – Newer to cards (2020) but growing fast. Known for consistent grading and competitive pricing. $15-100 per card.
• SGC – Vintage specialist with fastest turnaround times. Attractive tuxedo-style slabs. $15-100 per card.

Read our complete grading services comparison guide →

Professional grading costs vary by company and service level:

• Economy/Bulk: $15-25 per card (60-90 day wait)
• Standard: $35-75 per card (20-45 day wait)
• Express: $100-150 per card (5-10 day wait)
• Premium/Walkthrough: $250-600 per card (1-2 day wait)

Don't forget additional costs: shipping to/from grader ($20-50), insurance, and supplies ($2-5/card). Total real cost: $45-100+ per card for economy.

Current typical turnaround times (subject to change):

• PSA Value: 65 business days
• PSA Regular: 20 business days
• BGS Economy: 50+ business days
• CGC Standard: 15-30 business days
• SGC Economy: 20-30 business days (fastest)

This is why pre-grading with PreGradeCards is valuable—don't wait months only to get a disappointing grade.

Generally, you want cards that will grade PSA 9 or higher (or BGS 9.5+) for modern cards. The value premium typically looks like:

• PSA 10: 50-500% premium over raw
• PSA 9: 20-100% premium over raw
• PSA 8: Often similar to raw value
• PSA 7 or below: Often worth less than grading cost

For vintage cards, even lower grades (5-7) can be valuable. Use PreGradeCards to identify cards likely to grade 9+.

Sub-grades are individual scores for each grading criteria. BGS and CGC offer sub-grades for:

• Centering: How well the image is centered on the card
• Corners: Sharpness and condition of all four corners
• Edges: Condition of the card's four edges
• Surface: Front and back surface condition

PSA does not show sub-grades. PreGradeCards always provides sub-grade breakdowns, similar to BGS.