What is Pokémon card grading?
The basics before you read any other grading guide: what a grader does, what the numbers mean, and the words we keep using.
Grading in one sentence
Grading is when an independent company examines a card, scores its condition on a 1-to-10 scale, and seals it in a hard plastic case (called a "slab") stamped with that number so buyers don't have to trust the seller's word for it.
PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) is the best-known grading company for Pokémon cards. CGC and BGS are two others. A "PSA 10" means PSA looked at the card and gave it their highest grade.
What actually happens to your card
You mail your card to the grading company. That's called a submission. A trained grader inspects it under bright light and magnification for four things: centering (is the image framed evenly?), corners (sharp or worn?), edges (clean or nicked?), and surface (any scratches, print lines, or dents?).
The card gets a single number from 1 (heavily damaged) to 10 (flawless, or as close as printing allows). It's sealed in a tamper-evident slab with that grade, the card's name, and a certification number printed on the label. The whole process usually takes several weeks and costs a per-card fee, so it's a real cost and a real wait, not something that happens automatically.
Why one number changes the price so much
A "raw" card just means it has never been graded, it's the card on its own with no slab. Once a card is graded, it stops competing on the open raw market and starts competing only against other cards with the exact same grade. A PSA 10 of a card is worth a different price than a PSA 9 of the exact same card, sometimes dramatically different, because so few copies of most cards survive in flawless condition.
"Population" (or "pop") is simply how many copies of that exact card PSA has ever graded at each number. Low population at the top grade plus strong demand is what makes PSA 10s expensive. That's also why you'll see the phrase "comps" (short for comparables) everywhere on this site: it means real, finished sales of that same card at that same grade, the only fair way to check what one is actually worth.
Where to go next
Now that the vocabulary makes sense, compare raw vs. graded pricing directly, see exactly how much a PSA 9 vs. PSA 10 gap can be, or work out whether grading a specific card is worth the fee and the wait.
Common questions
- What does it mean for a Pokémon card to be graded?
- An independent company like PSA examines the card's centering, corners, edges, and surface, scores its condition from 1 to 10, and seals it in a hard plastic slab with that grade printed on the label.
- What is the difference between raw and graded?
- Raw means the card has never been graded, no slab, no number. Graded means a company has scored it and sealed it in a slab. The two trade in different markets and are priced separately.
- What does PSA population mean?
- Population, or "pop," is how many copies of that exact card PSA has ever graded at each number. Low population at the top grade, combined with demand, is a big reason a PSA 10 can cost far more than a PSA 9.
- What are 'comps' in Pokémon card grading?
- Comps (short for comparables) are real, finished sales of the same card at the same grade. They're the most reliable way to check what a graded card is actually worth, rather than trusting an asking price.
Now check what your card is really worth
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