The whole calculation in one sentence
Grading pays when the expected value of the graded card minus grading and shipping costs exceeds the current value of the raw card. The hard part is not the formula but the word "expected": you do not know in advance what grade it will come back with.
That is where gut decisions go wrong. A card that returns four times its raw value at PSA 10 often returns less than a raw sale at PSA 8, once costs come off. Working only from the dream grade is working from fiction.
What grading costs in Europe
The cheapest entry tier at each provider reachable from Germany without customs. Checked 17 August 2026, taken from each provider's own product pages rather than from comparison articles that copy one another.
| Provider | Tier | Per card | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSG (Gold Standard Grading) Cheapest entry point, grades in Germany. | Grading | €20.99 | 30 business days |
| CGC München Economy tier is €22.61 at 45 business days. | Bulk | €20.23 | 75 business days |
| Beckett Europe (BGS) Express is €89.95 at 15 business days. | Base | €22.95 | 75 business days |
| AOG (Absolute Objective Grading) Express €43.90, 24-hour tier €99.90. | Standard | €23.90 | 45 business days |
| PSA über Card-Corner From 50 cards €104.44. Express €204.35 at 30 business days. | Regular, 1–10 cards | €112.99 | 60 business days |
On top of that comes postage: around €6.99 per shipment out, and €6.99 to €14 back depending on the provider. That is why bulk submissions pay — postage is charged per shipment, not per card.
These figures are verified for submissions sent from Germany. If you are posting from outside the EU, the customs picture changes and so does the arithmetic — PSA in the United States and CGC UK both attract duty on the return leg, charged on the card's value, which on an expensive card overtakes the grading fee itself. PSA Frankfurt has been announced but is not yet accepting submissions.
Condition decides this before the grade does
The likely grade is already sitting in the raw card. An honest condition assessment is therefore the most important step — it sets both today's value and the expectation afterwards.
CardBroker scales the market value along this ladder. It is Cardmarket's scale, because every price in the app is a Cardmarket euro price:
| Grade | Meaning | Share of the NM price | In short |
|---|---|---|---|
| MT | Mint | 1.05 × | Pack-fresh, never handled |
| NM | Near Mint | 1.00 × | What every quoted market price silently means |
| EX | Excellent | 0.78 × | Minor wear, still presentable |
| GD | Good | 0.55 × | Visible wear |
| LP | Light Played | 0.45 × | Clear wear, but complete |
| PL | Played | 0.32 × | Heavy wear |
| PO | Poor | 0.15 × | Tears, creases, water damage |
Near Mint is the reference point: every market price you read anywhere silently means this condition. A card in Good is not "worth a bit less" — it is worth about half.
The PSA scale has a gap in it
PSA awards half grades from 1.5 to 8.5 — and then jumps from 9 straight to 10. There is no PSA 9.5. That is not a footnote, it is the whole risk: on sought-after cards the largest price step on the entire scale sits between 9 and 10, and there is no rung in between to break the fall.
When it usually does not pay
- Cheap cards. If the raw value is under roughly twice the grading cost, the card has to hit the top grade for the exercise to break even.
- Visible flaws. A card with whitened edges or a slight curve will not get a 10. Grading then makes the flaw official and documents it permanently on the slab.
- Thinly traded cards. If the graded version barely sells, the "value" is a number without a market behind it — and it will not turn into cash quickly either.
- Cards you intend to keep. Grading is preparation for a sale. For your own shelf it is mostly protection, and a good toploader protects for a great deal less.
What the app does with all this
The grading cockpit takes the guesswork out: it scores centring, corners, edges and surface separately from the photo, derives the likely grade, and sets the expected proceeds at each grade against the real cost of the provider in question — postage and customs included. What comes out is a range from worst case to best case, not a single hopeful number.
Run one card through it
The free plan includes one pro scan a month — enough for the card you are actually unsure about.
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