Grading Companies — PSA, SGC, BGS, CGC

Quick comparison

Rates and turnaround change quarterly. Always confirm current service tiers on the grader's website before sending a submission.

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PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)

PSA is the dominant grader for modern sports cards by sales volume and population. Holders sell at a market premium across virtually every modern set.

Service tiers (general structure)

PSA prices by declared card value:

• Value tier — cheapest service; subject to declared-value caps. Slowest turnaround in normal market conditions.
• Regular tier — middle declared-value range.
• Express / Super Express / Walk-Through — higher fees, faster turnaround; required above certain declared-value thresholds.

Autographs add an authentication surcharge on top of base grading.

Strengths

• Largest population reports (signals scarcity / supply).
• Strong market premium on PSA 10 modern stars.
• Authenticity Guarantee partnership with eBay for graded cards over $500 streamlines high-value sales.
• Dual-service grading + autograph authentication via PSA/DNA.

Trade-offs

• Highest grading cost per card at most tiers.
• Turnaround varies wildly with submission volume — sometimes weeks, sometimes months.
• Stricter on centering and surface for modern; PSA 10 rate on Bowman Chrome / Topps Chrome / Optic is famously low.

When to pick PSA

• Modern star rookies, popular inserts, on-card autos where the PSA 10 ceiling justifies the cost.
• Cards likely to grade PSA 9 or 10 — the gap to a slabbed PSA 9 from a clean raw NM-MT is often where the math works.
• Cards above $50 raw where the slab adds enough value to clear cost + premium.

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SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Company)

SGC is the preferred grader for vintage sports cards and the value-tier modern submitter's pick.

Strengths

• Faster turnaround than PSA in most market conditions.
• Lower fees at every comparable tier.
• The black-tuxedo slab is universally recognized as the vintage-friendly presentation.
• Looser centering tolerance on pre-1980 cards — vintage grades come out fairer.

Trade-offs

• Modern SGC slabs trade at a market discount to PSA (commonly 20-40% off the same grade on the same card).
• Population reports thinner than PSA.

When to pick SGC

• Any pre-1980 vintage card.
• Modern cards where you're optimizing for turnaround time rather than maximum sale price.
• Lower-value modern (<$100 raw) where the PSA premium doesn't justify the fee delta.

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BGS / Beckett

BGS introduced the sub-grade system (separate scores for centering, corners, edges, surface) that many collectors still treat as the most rigorous slab.

Strengths

• Sub-grade transparency — the slab itself tells you exactly where a 9.5 fell short of a 10.
• Autograph sub-grade is the gold standard for on-card autos. A BGS 9.5 with Auto 10 is the most prestigious autograph grade in the hobby.
• BGS 10 Pristine and Black Label are rarer and more valuable than equivalent PSA 10s — but only for cards that earn them.

Trade-offs

• Slowest turnaround of the four for most service tiers.
• Modern non-autograph BGS slabs lost market share post-2020; the discount to PSA can be steeper than SGC's.
• Sub-grade composition matters — two BGS 9.5s trade at different prices.

When to pick BGS

• On-card autograph rookies and stars where the Auto 10 sub-grade is worth chasing.
• Vintage or high-end singles where the sub-grade breakdown adds genuine value.

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CGC Cards

CGC entered sports-card grading after a long history grading comics and trading-card games (Pokémon, Magic). CGC's TCG presence is dominant; sports-card adoption is growing.

Strengths

• Often the cheapest premium-grader tier.
• Comparable turnaround to SGC.
• Strong presence on non-sport TCG — useful if your inventory spans Pokémon, MTG, or Yu-Gi-Oh alongside sports.

Trade-offs

• Newest entrant for sports — pop reports thin, market discount versus PSA still material.
• Buyers may discount CGC sports slabs as "non-standard" in some communities.

When to pick CGC

• Mixed-category sellers (sports + Pokémon + MTG) who want one grading partner.
• Lower-value modern when SGC is backlogged.

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How Vault Agent uses this reference

When asked "should I send this for grading," Vault Agent should walk through:

1. Identify the card and pull raw vs graded comp deltas.
2. Choose the grader most likely to maximize net (often PSA for modern stars, SGC for vintage, BGS for premium autographs).
3. Apply the appropriate fee tier based on declared value.
4. Multiply the expected grade-distribution outcome (e.g., 25% chance of 10, 55% chance of 9, 20% chance of 8) by the corresponding graded comp medians, subtract grading cost + shipping, and report the expected net vs raw net.

When the math is borderline (<10% expected uplift), Vault Agent should advise holding raw — grading risk and time-to-cash usually aren't worth a thin edge.