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Pokemon Cards Grading | An Overview of a Controversial Topic

God of Cards: Pokemon

Pokémon Card Grading

Pokemon has now become one of the largest franchises in the world, and as such, at least since the COVID crisis and the associated Pokemon Hype from 2020-2021, quite a few Pokemon collectors, that behind certain Pokemon cards there is also a certain Value is stuck. This can be done with the help of a so-called Grading (Review) under certain circumstances increase. However, this is not guaranteed with all companies, and furthermore, this topic is now being discussed more frequently and controversially. We are therefore providing you with a brief overview of this subject.

Pokemon Card Grading | An Overview

The beginnings in the 1990s

As is so often the case, the pioneer in terms of grading and the like was the USA. It was there in the late 1990s that an up-and-coming company developed which, to this day, specializes in the grading of trading cards. Today, it is certainly well-known to many collectors, because this is about PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator).


During this time, another American grading company also developed, which is known today as Beckett Grading well-known and just like PPE recognized worldwide and quite renowned.


Initially was degrees however, relatively unknown and hardly any collector, especially outside the USA, had sent their valuable cards to PSA and co. For international collectors was the Effort is simply too high ...or people simply didn't know these companies at all, and even in America back then, people didn't really know what to do with the grading.

Until 2020

Over time, however, global interest in Pokemon cards grew, and as the franchise expanded, so did the value of certain Pokemon cards. Consequently, grading gradually became more appealing as more and more people wanted to provide special protection for their valuable cards. Yet, international collectors continued to face the major problem that grading in America was hardly profitable, as import duties, customs fees, and grading costs wiped out any added value.


As a result, the first so-called middlemen emerged, working directly with PSA and others to send out monthly bulk submissions to make the effort worthwhile. In Germany, one of the first middlemen was "die Pokegeodudes," who continue to provide this service to this day.

2020-2023: The Peak

Middlemen and grading companies experienced their absolute peak by far during the global Pokémon hype of 2020-2021. During this period alone, several million Pokémon cards were sent to PSA & Beckett, forcing these companies to temporarily implement a submission freeze and massively increase their prices. As a result, millions of cards backlogged, and to this day, they have not all been processed and returned.


As the hype subsided and PSA and others increased their production capacities, regular operations gradually reopened, and today it is once again very easy to ship to America via intermediaries.





Why should you have Pokémon cards graded (or not)?

Reasons for Grading

  • The main reason for grading Pokemon cards is to get a Increase in card value hoped for. Because an external company was responsible for the Authenticity as well as Condition of the cards determined and this provides, for example, a basis on which to build your Cards without any issues on eBay and similar platforms sell can. You can do everyday Discussions about condition etc. directly and easily get out of the way. Buyers also don't have to worry about cards potentially being forged, so from that perspective, grading would generally be sensible.

  • If you are not aiming for an increase in value or similar and, for example, simply your Favorite cards secured in a great case want to have, degrees can also be worthwhile.

Reasons against grading

  • Grading is also a Cost factorto consider. Therefore, you need to know in advance whether a potential increase in value can even be achieved. For this reason, you must have studied the subject matter in great detail.

  • In addition, there are many grading companies, which during the hype suddenly arisen and no reputation at all ...as can be demonstrated by PPE and the like. In particular, also in Germany this has occurred.

  • Many newer grading companies from Europe and especially from Germany also advertise a value increase through their product and compare likes to with the well-known competitors from the USA, however, it must be noted that PSA and others have built their reputation over many years and are now recognized worldwide. You can find European companies as well not with the well-known compare American companies. This reputation that PSA and others have worldwide is something you have to earn first. Therefore, you have to make sure you only send to certain grading companies. We recommend exclusively PSA & Beckett, if you are looking for an increase in value.

  • If you just his special cards in a great case issue wish, we recommend so-called Magnetic Holder, because unnecessary grades are ultimately only expensive Pre Grades and not worth much (more).

Which grading companies are there?

PSA

First of all, there is PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator). This American grading company had its beginnings in the 1990s in the USA and has since become the largest and most famous grading company in the world. Today, their grades are used as the benchmark for most trading card valuations, and almost every collector has likely heard of the company in one way or another.


You can submit items from Germany through various middlemen, but today there are also numerous providers from other parts of Europe who can handle the middleman service for you.


You can also send items to PSA yourself, but unfortunately, this is not really lucrative due to high customs and import fees as well as expensive shipping costs.

Zoroark GX

BGS (Beckett)

Beckett, or also abbreviated as BGS, is the second largest grading company in the world and, like PSA, also comes from from America. It had its beginnings in the early 2000s and has since become known worldwide, primarily for its recognized strictness in grading. Especially with BGS is the so-called Black Label, which you get with a perfect card. In addition, BGS also offers so-called Subcategories, which individually show exactly where cards had weaknesses, for example. These are in 1. Surface (surface), 2. Centering (centering, 3. Edges (edges) and 4. Corners (corners) divided, and in each category, a card must receive a 10 (the highest rating) to obtain a coveted Black Label. For BGS, just like for PSA, there are numerous middlemen in Europe (and especially in Germany).


 

Basis Set Booster Glurak

CGC

CGC is the third largest grading company the world and originates from the USA. The company started originally with the Grading Comics and More. Since the Pokemon hype of 2020, they have but also trading cards added to their portfolio. However, they are therefore not as renowned as the other companies from the USA. Especially with you, however, the so-called Error/Miscut Label, which they issue or designate exclusively. For such cards, you should definitely go to CGC. However, there are currently no middlemen in Germany who can ship to CGC for you.

Basis Set Booster Glurak

SGC

This company is also from America and, prior to the 2020 Pokemon hype, exclusively Sports Cards authenticated. However, they have now also started grading Pokémon cards, among others. Currently, there are no middlemen from Europe who can ship there for you.

Basis Set Booster Glurak

Gold Standard Grading (GSG)

This company is this time from Germany. It existed even before the Pokemon hype of 2020 and was initially specialized primarily in sports cards. However, Pokemon cards have since become the priority. It is arguably the largest European (and also German) grading company and is also, especially in Germany, Austria & Switzerland relatively knownDue to the hype at the time and the fact that American companies were no longer accepting orders, GSG experienced a significant boost, and thousands of cards were sent to them during this period. GSG is for your Batches during evaluation of cards known and only awards a 10 if every subgrade is a 10. A GSG 10, just like with Beckett, is issued with a Black Label shown.

Basis Set Booster Glurak

Absolute Objective Grading (AOG)

This company is also included this time from Germany. It emerged with the Pokemon hype of 2020 and specialized directly in Pokemon cards. In the meantime, however, you can also have numerous other TCGs graded by them. In addition to the hype at the time, their breakthrough in the German-speaking world was likely also due to a innovative grading method taken care of. Because AOG uses AI-based technology, in order to evaluate trading cards as objectively as possible. Grades are assigned from 0-100, and a perfect card must achieve a score of 100 points in every subgrade.

Basis Set Booster Glurak

Platinum Grading Service (PGS)

This company is this time, just like GSG & AOG, from Germany. Just like AOG, it emerged during the Pokemon hype of 2020 and also specialized directly in Pokemon cards. In the meantime, however, you can also have numerous other TCGs graded by them. In addition to the general hype, the fact that right from the start they several collaborations with well-known influencers received. For example, they hosted a Box break of the Pokemon Base Set and attracted the attention of thousands of people through that alone. Currently, in addition to trading card grading, they also offer Rating video games on.

Basis Set Booster Glurak

Conclusion

So, that was our compact overview about the topic of Pokemon Grading.


As you can see, there are quite a few grading companies these days, whether from America or Germany. There are many other companies that remain unmentioned in this overview, such as PCA from France, Straight from Italy or ACE Grading from Great BritainHowever, we wanted to focus on the most important grading companies as well as the largest grading companies from Germany, which is why we did not mention these and other businesses.


Ultimately, it is also extremely important for us to clarify that we did not intend to offend any company with this guide. Naturally, every collector is free to choose where they ultimately send their cards, but we also wanted to explain why Company XY might make more sense than Company YX.


We are pleased that there is now greater competition; however, in the interest of transparency, it must be noted that as long as these new European competitors have not yet established a long-standing, positive reputation like their American counterparts, this distinction remains relevant.



Your opinion is important to us

But what do you think about grading in general? Have you ever sent items to America? Were you already familiar with all these companies, or was this overview helpful to you? Feel free to let us know in the comments, but please remain objective regarding this controversial topic. We look forward to hearing from you.

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5 comments

Global Grader

Global Grader

Bloß nicht zu AP schicken , haben mein comic versaut !!! Einfach die Beschreibung abgerissen , also die Beschriftung der comic con !! Original von Stan Lee , haben somit den Wert gemindert !

Stefano Cards

Stefano Cards

Kennt ihr bzw. einer von euch Gradifycards und hat dort seine Karten graden lassen? Mir sind die bei https://www.easydealz.de/magazin/grading/ aufgefallen und ich hatte noch keine Karte von denen gesehen. Weiß da jemand mehr?

Grading Star

Grading Star

Ich rate euch AOG oder PGS …lasst eure Karten BLOß NICHT bei AP GRADING graden!!!! Nur Ärger, stornieren und erstatten das Geld nicht zurück. Ich muss jetzt eine Anzeige bei der Polizei erstellen um an mein Geld zurück zu kommen.

Grading Star

Grading Star

Ich rate euch AOG oder PGS …lasst eure Karten BLOß NICHT bei AP GRADING graden!!!! Nur Ärger, stornieren und erstatten das Geld nicht zurück. Ich muss jetzt eine Anzeige bei der Polizei erstellen um an mein Geld zurück zu kommen.

Marcel Kolloch

Marcel Kolloch

Aog ist aus meiner Sicht mit weiten Abstand die beste Grading Firma.

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