PSA is the company whose slab resells the fastest, and the one with the most demanding submission process from outside the United States. The two go together.
In short
PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) grades cards from 1 to 10 and prints no subgrades on the label. A 10 (Gem Mint) requires front centering between 55/45 and 60/40 and back centering no worse than 75/25; a 9 (Mint) tolerates up to 65/35 at the front. PSA paused its cheapest Value service levels in June 2026, making the Regular level at $79.99 per card the entry point for declared values up to $1,500. In summer 2026 PSA opened its first European grading centre in Frankfurt, which removes the transatlantic leg for European submissions.
The scale is published; it is the centering tolerances that decide most submissions.
| Grade | Label | What it tolerates |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Gem Mint | 55/45 to 60/40 front centering, 75/25 back, no defect visible to the naked eye |
| 9 | Mint | Up to 65/35 front centering, one minor print flaw or a barely touched corner |
| 8 | NM-MT | One slightly blunted corner, a small surface imperfection, wider centering |
| 7 | NM | Light wear on several corners, or a surface mark visible at an angle |
| 6 | EX-MT | Clear defects but still presentable: rounded corners, light scratches, edge wear |
| 1 to 5 | PR to EX | Heavy wear, creases, writing or a damaged cut — value becomes marginal outside rare cards |
PSA also issues half grades up to 8.5, but there is no PSA 9.5: the scale jumps straight from 9 to 10.
PSA prints no subgrades, but the overall grade behaves as if it did: the weakest criterion caps the result. A flawless card with one whitened corner comes back an 8, not a 9. That is exactly what the GradeMate report makes explicit with its scored dings.
A grade can carry a qualifier — OC (off-centre), MK (mark), PD (print defect), ST (stain). A PSA 8 (OC) does not resell like a clean PSA 8, and many collectors prefer a lower unqualified grade to a higher qualified one.
It sets the service level. Under-declaring can get an order reclassified, with an extra charge before the cards are returned, and PSA applies an insurance surcharge above a declared value threshold.
PSA suspended its Value tiers on 2 June 2026 after a general price increase in February, making Regular at $79.99 the entry point. A price quoted in a year-old article is worthless: check the official grid before running your numbers.
The order of operations that keeps a submission from losing money.
A card capped at 8 by its centering costs exactly as much to grade as a card that gems, usually for no upside. This is the only reversible step — do it first.
Direct submission requires a PSA membership; from most of Europe, collectors go through an authorised dealer who batches submissions and handles logistics.
The post-grading declared value sets the service level. Too low and the order gets reclassified; too high and you pay for a level you did not need.
Between batching, shipping and PSA's own processing time, a submission is measured in months. Plan accordingly if the card has to be sold by a given date.
In practice, no: individual submissions from Europe go through an authorised dealer who groups the cards and handles the paperwork. That is also what makes shipping and insurance affordable per card.
It removes the transatlantic leg and US customs formalities, which cuts out a source of delay and risk. It does not remove the dealer step, nor PSA's own processing time, which remains the longest part.
The published entry level was $79.99 per card at the Regular tier as of 29 July 2026, for declared values up to $1,500, with faster levels at $149, $349, $599 and beyond. European collectors submitting through a dealer typically pay around €25 to €30 per card on a standard group submission. These figures move — the official grid is authoritative.
PSA paused its Value tiers in June 2026 after a February price increase. The company adjusts its grid according to intake volume, and paused levels can reopen.
The gap between 9 and 10 is what decides whether a submission pays. On a common modern card it is often too small to cover the fees; on a sought-after vintage card it can be a factor of five or ten. Estimate that gap, not the grade in the abstract.
No. GradeMate is an independent pre-grading tool with no affiliation to PSA. The analysis is calibrated on PSA's published criteria and produces an estimate from two photographs; the grade PSA assigns may differ, and some defects do not show in a photo.
Two photos, an estimate calibrated on PSA criteria, and the points you are losing.