Most people buy their first graded card before they understand the label printed on it. This page fixes that, in the order you actually need it.
A graded card is a raw card that has been examined, authenticated and sealed inside a rigid plastic case by a third-party grading company. The case is called a slab. The label on the slab is the product: it tells you who graded it, what grade it received, and how to check that claim yourself.
What grading actually does
Grading answers three separate questions, and it is worth keeping them apart:
- Is it real? Authentication. Graders check for reprints, trimmed edges, recolouring, and counterfeit slabs.
- What condition is it in? Condition grading, on a 1–10 scale, against a published standard.
- What is it, exactly? Identification — set, card number, year, language, and any variant.
Only the second of those is a matter of judgement, and even that is constrained by a written standard. The other two are facts. This is why a slab is worth more than the same card raw: it turns three uncertainties into one label.
The 1–10 scale
PSA grades in whole numbers. The label names matter more than people expect, because one step at the top of the scale is not the same size as one step at the bottom.
| Grade | PSA label | What it usually means to a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | GEM MT | The top tier. Centering, corners, edges and surface all near-perfect under magnification. Common on modern cards; rare on vintage. |
| 9 | MINT | One very minor flaw. Visually close to a 10 at arm’s length. The price gap between a 9 and a 10 on the same card is usually the largest single step on the whole scale. |
| 8 | NM-MT | Minor flaws visible on close inspection. The default grade for a well-kept modern card. |
| 7 | NM | Light but visible wear. |
| 6 and below | EX-MT down to PR | Increasingly visible wear: soft corners, edge chipping, surface scratches, creasing. |
Two things follow from that table. First, the same numerical gap is not the same value gap. A 9 to 10 upgrade can double a price; a 7 to 8 upgrade rarely does. Second, grade and price are not the same axis. A scarce card in a 9 can be worth many times a common card in a 10. A grade compares copies of one card against each other — not one card against another.
Sub-grades: the four assessments behind the number
A single number hides four separate checks. These are the four, in the order graders look at them:
| Aspect | What is checked | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Centering | How evenly the printed border sits on all four sides, front and back | The most common reason a card fails to reach a 10, and the one you can check yourself from a good photo |
| Corners | Sharpness, and any whitening or fraying at the four tips | Corner whitening is the first thing handling produces, and the hardest to hide |
| Edges | Chipping, roughness, and whether the cut is clean | Edge flaws often show only under angled light, which is why straight-on photos can hide them |
| Surface | Scratches, print lines, gloss loss, indentations | Print lines and shallow indentations are the most common “invisible in a photo” defects |
A PSA slab carries one combined number. BGS and CGC print the sub-grades on the label as well, which is why their labels carry more numbers than a PSA label does.
The three companies you will actually see
PSA — the default
The largest and the most liquid. A PSA label carries a single whole-number grade with no half points — it never reads 9.5 — so there is no ambiguity about what a “PSA 9” is. PSA slabs are the tall clear case with the blue-and-white label.
What it is not for. If you want the sub-grade breakdown printed on the case itself, PSA will not give you one. That is a BGS or CGC label.
BGS (Beckett) — the sub-grade label
BGS issues an overall grade plus four sub-grades (centering, corners, edges, surface), uses half-point grades, and awards a Black Label when the overall grade is a 10 and all four sub-grades are also 10. A Black Label population is far smaller than a PSA 10 population for the same card, and it is priced accordingly.
What it is not for. If liquidity matters to you — if you might need to sell quickly — a BGS 9.5 trades in a narrower market than a PSA 10 of the same card. It is not a worse grade. It is a thinner buyer pool.
CGC — the newer entrant
CGC has built a real following in cards. Its labels also carry sub-grades, it uses half points, and its top tier is a Pristine 10. CGC slabs use a different case design and a different label layout from PSA, so a slab sleeve sized for one will not fit the other.
What it is not for. If you are buying a card you may later want to sell into the widest possible pool, the market for CGC is smaller than for PSA on most cards. That may change; it is the situation today.
We sell PSA 10 only, and there is a reason for that — why we only sell PSA 10.
What is on a PSA slab label
- Certification number — the unique number for that individual card. This is the number you verify.
- Year, brand and set — where the card came from.
- Card name and card number — what the card is.
- The grade, and any qualifier. A qualifier means the card met the grade but with one stated exception. Read it: a qualified grade is a different product, and it is priced differently.
- Population data on newer labels.
How to verify a cert number (do this every time)
Every slab has a certification number. It is not decoration — it is the thing that makes the label checkable. Before you pay for any graded card, including ours, enter the number at psacard.com/cert. You will get the card’s registration, its grade, and its population data.
If the number does not match the card, or the label does not look like the one in the photo, stop. That is the entire point of the number.
We publish the full certification number on every graded-card listing and repeat it in your dispatch confirmation email. Nothing is shortened or partly hidden.
POP reports, and why two “PSA 10″s are not the same product
A population report — a POP report — counts how many examples of one specific card have been graded, and at which grades. A POP 1 is the only example of that card at that grade in the population data.
This is the most useful single number a buyer can look at, because it explains a price that otherwise looks arbitrary. Two PSA 10s of the same character are not interchangeable: one may sit in a population of 400, the other in a population of 3. The scarce one is priced against scarcity, not against condition — and scarcity does not improve with time.
Thickness: the “pt” number
“pt” is card thickness, measured in points of an inch. It matters because a holder that is too tight bends a card, and a holder that is too loose lets it slide and scuff.
| Thickness | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 35pt | Standard cards — Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and most graded slabs |
| 55pt | Thicker stock, and some premium printings |
| 75pt | Memorabilia and patch cards, some inserts |
| 100pt | Thick patch and relic cards |
| 130pt | The thickest printed cards and small booklets |
A slab sleeve is not a card sleeve, and they are not interchangeable. A card sleeve is sized for a raw card; a slab sleeve is sized for a sealed case, which is larger, thicker and a different shape. Buying one when you need the other is the most common mistake in this category.
Seven things to check before you buy a graded card online
- The certification number is shown in full, and it verifies at psacard.com/cert.
- The number on the label matches the number written in the listing.
- The card name, set and card number on the label match the listing title.
- The grade is stated in writing, and any qualifier is stated with it.
- If a scarcity premium is being asked, the population is stated.
- The case itself is shown, corners included. A scuffed or cracked case is a genuine problem at resale — it is the one defect you can add to a card without opening it.
- The seller can tell you what is not included — a stand, an outer sleeve, a box. “Not included” is the sentence that protects you.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PSA 10 always worth more than a BGS 9.5?
No. It depends on the card. On heavily graded modern cards a PSA 10 usually carries a premium because the buyer pool is wider. On a card with a very small BGS 10 or Black Label population, the BGS example can lead. Compare populations, not labels.
Should a graded card have a sleeve over it?
Yes, if the case will be handled or stored next to anything else. The slab protects the card; nothing protects the slab. An outer slab sleeve keeps scuffs, fingerprints and shelf rash off the plastic.
Can I keep a graded slab in a binder?
No. Slabs are thicker and heavier than binder pockets, and forcing one in stresses both the case and the pages. Store graded cards in a box sized for slabs, or display them in a frame built for slab thickness. The measurements are here.
Does a higher grade always mean a more valuable card?
No. Grade and scarcity are two different things. A common card at the top of the scale is still a common card, and a scarce card one grade lower can be worth many times more.
What does a grade qualifier mean?
It means the card met the grade but with one stated exception — commonly centering. A qualified grade is not the same product as an unqualified one at the same number, and it sells for less.
Related reading
- Why we only sell PSA 10
- Everything you need to know to keep cards — raw or graded — in the condition you bought them in
- Request a specific card
- Shipping, duties and delivery
Shop graded cards and slab protection
- PSA 10 — Chinese Exclusive — our highest-premium line
- PSA 10 — Chinese
- All PSA 10 graded cards
- Graded Card Protection — sleeves and cases for slabs
- Binders & Albums
Not sure whether something will fit a specific slab? Ask us first — we would rather answer a question than ship you the wrong size.
Last updated: September 17, 2026