The grading process
assumption
Once your package has been accepted, you will receive a confirmation of receipt from us by email.
Upon acceptance, your package will be immediately checked for external transport damage. If your package is damaged during transport, we will communicate this damage immediately to you and the shipping service provider in order to claim possible damages from the shipping service provider.
The opening of all packages, the removal of the cards and the comparison with the order form, if available, are always filmed and archived. Immediately after the package is opened, the initial condition of your cards and their completeness are documented.
documentation
After acceptance and an initial assessment for damage, documents are first created for all cards, which accompany the submitted cards from the beginning to the end of the grading process.
Each card receives its own serial number, which is stored in the Pop Report after grading. This means that all cards can be clearly identified using the serial number.
Grading
Since your cards are collectibles of high value and our measuring equipment is very sensitive, grading is carried out exclusively under clean room conditions in our measuring laboratory.
Grading is only carried out by intensively trained and experienced personnel.
Visual assessment
In this step, your cards are checked with the naked eye for damage such as scratches or creases; the results are documented in our accompanying documents.
Microscopic assessment
After the first optical inspection, the inspection is carried out using our microscopes, so even smaller deviations can be identified.
Depending on the criterion to be checked, we use different resolutions and exposures in order to achieve the optimal result, so even the finest hairline cracks can be identified, which are not visible under normal light.
After the Centering, Edges, Surface and Corners criteria of the front and back of the card have been determined, the card receives a grade. The definitions of the grades can be found here .
label
After grading, each card receives its own label, with all information relevant to the card and the grading. You can find out more about our labels here .
Case and clasp
Next, the graded card and label are welded in our special grading case. We draw on our many years of experience in the industry and have developed a process that makes it impossible to open the grading case without destroying it.
Our cases protect your cards from all unwanted external influences, such as UV light, dust, moisture and scratches.
Return shipping
After grading and sealing, all cards will be securely packaged and sent back to you insured.
Since the cards sent are high-quality collector's items, the outer packaging for the return is deliberately kept neutral.
This means that the high-quality contents of the package cannot be seen from the outside.
