Frequently asked questions

Here you can find the answers to our most frequently asked questions, please contact below if you can’t find the answer you’re looking for.

What is PSA Grading? And why chooseGradedGem?

PSA authenticates and grades your collectables, giving them a grade between 1 and 10 based on the quality of the item.

For cards, there are four key areas. Corners, Edges, Surfaces and Centering. The cards are then placed in their own tamper-evident plastic cases, with a label that displays the cards information, grade, and unique certification number.

PSA are based in California and New Jersey, and are experts at what they do.

GradedGem is a Official PSA Dealer, offering £1000 per card insurance as standard and started in the UK in 2016 with Connor (GradedGroudon) and in 2018 Tom (BaseSetTom) joined the team. Mats (pokemon_unboxing) joined the GradedGem team in 2021, and has been submitting for years, and is a very knowledgeable trading card collector.

GradedGem has submitted over 100,000 cards to PSA over the past 4 years, with over £1,000,000 worth of collectables being sent through us.

We show all collectables off in Submission & Returns Videos, as well as talking about our thoughts on trading cards and the current environment of the hobby over on YouTube

We are collectors ourselves, and try to help collectors in the ways we can, and try to make the grading process as simple as possible.

 

How do I order?

Orders start with submitting cards to GradedGem. Based on the service you are ordering, there will be a different submission slip which can be found here.

Place this form in with your submission or email to nosubs@gradedgem.com.
When emailing, please enclose your first and last name in with your submission.

For Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, it is not necessary to fill in the individual card information, however for cards outside of this remit, we do ask for additional information so we can input your cards quickly and accurately.

Once we’ve confirmed arrival of your submission, an order needs to be created on the site within 10 working days of the deadline.

How and where do I send my submission?

Please do not place tape over semi-rigids/toploaders, but rather use bubble wrap around them. Submissions for all services must include a submission form.

The submission form must have the correct service circled, so we can organise your submission correctly, as well as the total amount of items you have sent.

If you have an Instagram you would like to be shouted on on the videos your cards will be in, please put this next to your name.

The address to send to is:

Mats Rudi Mathisen
Postboks 54
2391 MOELV

Should I send in card information with my submission?

Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards do not need to be listed with information, however we do ask that other cards have as much information as possible on the submission form.

How often do you send to PSA?

GradedGem Norway dispatches submissions to GradedGem UK in time for their deadline.

Our Specials are submitted once every two months, with the deadline being the end of the 2 month period.

How long after the deadline does it take for PSA to receive my cards?

Depending of the volume of submissions for each service level, we aim to get all submissions to PSA within 2 weeks.

To help GradedGem be able to offer the best service possible, submission forms are needed for all submissions (however card details are not necessary for ordinary Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards)

 

How long until I get my graded cards back?

The expected turnarounds for each service are on each service page.

However, external factors can affect this, such as PSA Closures.

Demand is currently extremely high for PSA services, therefore delays are to be expected.

 

Are my cards insured?

Items sent to PSA, and being returned from PSA, are insured for a max value per parcel of up to £75,000. GradedGem, to their best efforts, will ensure parcels are always under this maximum declared value.

This provides cover for theft, loss or damage of the items including full or partial stolen goods, items going missing and damages such as accidental damage, impact, fire, water damage etc. All items are sent by, and received via, FedEx Express.

Items are insured for ungraded value on their way to PSA, and for their graded value upon return from PSA (up to the max value per parcel) and up to a maximum of £1000 per card.

Upon any potential claim, market price is used via eBay sold listings, if no sold listings, then it would be required for the submitter to have a receipt of their purchase to prove value.

 

How do you ensure you never mix cards?

We have our own database and storage systems that separates each submitter, with multiple checks at each stage of the process.

Do you pregrade my cards? How much does it cost?

Pre-grading is a service offered directly through Mats. Please contact Mats@gradedgem.com for prices and more information.

Please make sure when submitting to review your cards, and check out our YouTube for tips and advice.

You can also use the following resources to help you:

Please see PSA Grading standards here – PSA Card

We can also recommend this article at – PSACollector

What cards can GradedGem grade?

GradedGem can grade any card that is in the PSA registry (if you can find a PSA graded example, we can grade it).

Items not found on the PSA registry, please contact us to see if we think we can get it graded.

 

When will I be updated about my PSA Submission?

You will be contacted via your preferred contact method upon submission received by us, submission sent out, and when your cards are returning to us so we can confirm your address.

Every month there will be an update video in regards to everything GradedGem, you can find our channel here.

An overall month-by-month update on submissions is available here which is updated every Friday evening.

What payment plans are offered?

3 month split, 2 month split, 1 month split (4, 3 or 2 payments including a deposit)
Payments can be made in My Account -> My Payments

Your next payment will be enabled as soon as you make your last payment.

For example if you have a 3 month split, after your deposit, payment 2 will be active. After that is made, payment 3 will be active, etc

Payment Plans are offered at no additional cost, however these are offered at our full discretion on a customer by customer basis, and can be refused.

Will my cards be featured on YouTube?

All cards will feature in both Submission and Returns videos.

All Special submissions (excluding Reholders) are shown in PSA Returns videos.

What are Value Charges?

PSA can charge additionally for cards that have a considerably higher value after grading.

Please see PSA Card

The submitter will be responsible for any value charges their cards attain, GradedGem will pay these charges immediately as to get PSA return’s as quickly as possible, however the submitter will have to pay these charges before graded cards are returned to submitter.

Approximate value charges breakdown:
Value once graded ~€200-£500 – Additional charge of ~€8
Value once graded ~€501-1500 – Additional charge of ~€60
Value once graded ~€1501-4000 – Additional charge of ~€170

PSA Pricing specialists may decide to levy charges dependant on values of cards they use https://www.psacard.com/auctionprices/

GradedGem can provide proof of any value charge. GradedGem only raise charges if PSA raise them on an order and charges are raised at the end of the process.

We will never ask for value charges to be paid until after the grading process.

European submitters and Brexit

The Brexit withdrawal agreement negotiated between the UK & EU looks increasingly likely to happen. For now, all trade between the EU & UK will work exactly as previously years until 31st December 2020.

This mean’s it will have no impact on our service until later in the year when an outlook of the future relationship between the EU & UK should become clear.

Our GradedGem Europe offices will not be affected by Brexit changes and all charges will be inclusive for those services.

So no need to hesitate, Submit your cards!

 

Is the price per card, or per 1-9 cards?

The price for any bracket is per card or per special item.

For example, one card submitted in Preferred would be in the 1-9 cards bracket of £10.49 per card, therefore costing £10.49 total.
3 cards submitted would be in the same bracket, so would cost 3 * £10.49 = £31.47 total.

YouTube

Your cards will also be on YouTube, one video documenting submission and another for the returns this allows you to document the full turnaround and show off your trading cards. Best of luck with your Grades!

https://youtube.com/gradedgem

If you have an Instagram, eBay or any other social media account you want to be shared on the video please do let us know.

Can I send cards in with other people?

GradedGem does not officially support multi-person submissions from submitters.

If you wish to submit cards from multiple submitters within a singular submission we would suggest sending with no duplications.

GradedGem will not separate out your package into individuals.

GradedGem’s responsibility is to return your cards back to you correctly.

All of the cards will be under your submission, and are inputted into PSA in a format to get the best grades possible.

When sending 300+ cards you may also request cards are inputted in a specific order, and card order must be clearly sorted and labelled within the submission package.

Cards are sorted and input to give the best chance of favourable grading returns.