How to Grade Your Pokémon Cards at Home Before Sending

Miguel Perera 25/04/2025

If you’re a Pokémon card collector, you know the importance of grading your cards before sending them to professional grading services like PSA, Beckett, ACE or CGC. Properly grading your Pokémon cards at home ensures you understand their condition, increases their value, and helps avoid surprises during the professional grading process. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to grade your Pokémon cards at home step by step.

Why Grading Pokémon Cards Matters

Grading is more than just assigning a number. A professional grade validates the card’s condition, authenticity, and rarity. However, knowing your card’s condition beforehand can help you:

Set realistic expectations for resale or trade
Avoid overpaying for grading services
Identify high-value cards that deserve professional attention

By grading your cards at home first, you can also ensure that they are clean, properly stored, and safe to ship.

Step 1: Gather the Right Tools

Before starting, make sure you have the following:

Soft microfiber cloth – For gently cleaning dust or fingerprints
Magnifying glass or jeweller’s loupe – To check fine details and surface scratches
Calliper or ruler – To measure card dimensions accurately
Gloves (optional) – To avoid transferring oils from your hands
Proper lighting – Natural light is best for accurate inspection

Step 2: Inspect the Centering

Centring refers to how evenly the image is placed on the card. Pokémon cards with perfect centring are more valuable.

Front centring: Measure the borders on the left and right side. Ideally, they should be almost equal.
Back centring: Check the top and bottom borders. A well-centred card should have borders within a 60/40 ratio.

Step 3: Examine the Edges

Edges are prone to wear and chipping. Look for:

Nicks or dings along the edges
Whitening (especially on older cards)
Rounded corners

Professional graders will deduct points for visible edge damage, so a careful inspection can help predict the grade.

Step 4: Check the Surface

The card’s surface is crucial in determining its grade. Watch out for:

Scratches, dents, or scuffs
Stains, dirt, or residue
Print lines or misprints (these can sometimes increase value if rare)

Use your magnifying glass to examine the card closely, especially on holographic cards.

Step 5: Inspect the Corners

Corners are a significant factor in grading. Sharp, clean corners are ideal, while worn or bent corners reduce the grade. Compare your card’s corners to a new card if possible.

Step 6: Consider Printing and Color Quality

Check for:

Fading or discoloration
Misprints or ink smears
Holographic inconsistencies

Colour quality can subtly impact value, particularly for rare cards.

Step 7: Assign a Tentative Grade

Based on your inspection, assign a tentative grade using this common scale:

Mint (M): Perfect or near-perfect condition
Near Mint (NM): Minor imperfections
Excellent (EX): Slight wear visible
Very Good (VG): Noticeable wear and small damage
Good (G) or Fair (F): Heavy wear, bent corners, scratches

This helps you decide whether it’s worth sending to a professional grading service.

Step 8: Store and Protect Your Cards

Before sending your Pokémon cards to a grading service, make sure to:

Place the card in a penny sleeve
Insert it into a top loader
Package it securely to prevent bending or damage during shipping

Proper packaging ensures your cards arrive safely and maintain their condition.

Final Thoughts

Grading Pokémon cards at home is a critical step for any collector. By following these steps, you can accurately evaluate your cards, maximize their value, and avoid surprises when sending them to professional graders.

Pro Tip: Even if your card looks perfect at home, professional graders may notice subtle imperfections. Use your home grading as a guide, not a guarantee.