Card grading mistakes to avoid at CGC, SGC and TAG

Several mistakes carry a stated cost at CGC, SGC and TAG, among them a declared value set too low, the wrong service level, a card the company will not grade, a form that does not match the box, and packing the grader has asked you to avoid. Each company publishes what follows from these, and in several cases you pay the fee and get no slab.

Which mistakes cost the fee with nothing to show for it?

Check the price of TAG Assure on TAG’s pricing page before you rely on it. Our guide to how crossover grading works explains minimum grades and crossovers in full.

What goes wrong with the declared value?

At CGC and SGC the declared value sets the fee and caps your cover, so a figure set too low can be corrected by the grader at your cost. TAG works from the level you buy.

• CGC wants your best estimate of current fair market value. If it judges a card worth more, it moves the card up a tier and bills the difference, even if the card later proves fake or altered. CGC does not change the declared value itself, and compensation for a card lost or damaged at CGC never goes above it.
• SGC may raise the base fee on a card declared at a value that does not match its fair market value. If a card is lost or damaged at SGC, you are paid up to the lower of your declared value and the fair market value SGC works out.
• TAG charges one fee per card for each level, and each level carries its own cover per card, from $500 at BASE to $5,000 at PREMIER as its September 30, 2026 list shows. TAG pays fair market value in graded condition, generally no higher than the cover you chose. Premium Protection adds $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000.

Say a card goes in a 25-card Bulk order at $17, declared at $450, and CGC values it at $1,500. That is past the $500 Bulk and $1,000 Economy limits, so it moves to Standard at $55: $38 more for that card. If the card were lost at CGC, the most you could get back would still be $450. The figures are Rip.fan’s arithmetic from CGC’s fees, before any membership discount. Our guide to finding what a card sold for shows how to set the value.

How do people pick the wrong service level?

• At CGC, each tier has a value limit, and Bulk needs at least 25 cards. Once an order is sent, CGC cannot change or cancel it, and it gives no refunds after delivery.
• At SGC, Standard stops at $3,500 of declared value. Above that, the only grid prices are Expedited. A crossover sent without a minimum grade takes longer than the listed wait.
• At TAG, you buy the number of cards up front, and TAG cannot add cards to an order later. A purchase that mixes two levels pays for two shipments back, because each level ships on its own. You can mail a second order in the same box, kept apart, each with its own packing list.

Rip.fan’s grading cost calculator shows CGC’s and SGC’s cheapest and fastest levels for the value and card count you enter. Its prices do not include shipping both ways, insurance or membership fees.

What form mistakes cost money or time?

CGC charges $5 a card for any card not fully described on its form, and caps one invoice at 300 cards. A card with a printing error must go under its Error service, which costs nothing extra. For certain autograph cards on its list, CGC adds JSA authentication and its fee if you leave it off. A card not yet in CGC’s database can take longer while CGC researches it.

TAG sends its packing and mailing instructions only after you enter your cards in its online portal, so enter every card before you mail anything. If a card is missing from TAG’s database, add it by hand with the maker, the subject, the card number and any parallel. Without a Submission Kit, you can edit the list until the cards arrive. A forgotten packing list causes a brief delay; TAG asks you to email it your order number, account email, name and address so it can flag the box.

SGC may charge extra for any item that needs research, a custom-cut holder insert, or a card larger than 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.

Which cards will the graders refuse?

Check eligibility before you pay, because a refused card can still cost the fee.

CGC contradicts itself on one point: in one place an altered card, artist alterations included, gets no numeric grade, and in another it grades artist’s alterations. Ask CGC before you send one. Our guide to TAG grading covers TAG’s list in more depth, and the checklist before grading covers condition.

What packing mistakes cause trouble?

• Bands too tight. CGC asks for rubber bands that are not too tight, and warns that cards packed too tightly may be damaged.
• A weak box or seal. CGC says a package that arrives damaged, unsealed or poorly sealed is refused and sent back by the shipper. TAG says a heavily worn box may be sent back unopened.
• The wrong holder. TAG asks for a 3 5/16 by 4 7/8 inch semi-rigid holder and no toploaders, magnetic cases or screw-down holders. It also asks for no tape or stickers sealing the holders. Cards in the wrong holder may face delays and handling fees.
• No box marking. CGC asks for EX, WK or UV on every side for its faster tiers and says a wrongly marked box is delayed.
• Things you want back. CGC does not send back the sleeves, card savers or boards you include, and asks you not to send a certificate of authenticity.

Our guide to packing cards for grading sets out each step.

What do people assume about shipping?

• The shipping on the form is for the trip back. That is true at CGC and TAG. Getting the box to the grader, and insuring it, is up to you.
• The grader covers the trip in. None of the three does as a rule. SGC’s terms exclude loss on the way in, and TAG covers it only with its paid Submission Kit, up to $1,000.
• Any carrier will do. TAG recommends UPS, FedEx or DHL, because it cannot confirm receipt of a USPS package.
• Your own carrier account. To have CGC send the slabs back on your own account, CGC must have it on file before your box arrives, and it does not insure those shipments.
• Sending from abroad. CGC makes you the importer of record and bills duties it pays plus a $25 fee. TAG takes direct orders only from the US and Canada.

What do people miss after the slabs come back?

Deadlines. Open the box the day it arrives.

Do not open a slab to fix anything yourself. CGC says removing a card voids its guarantee, TAG may not honor a grade on a card taken out of its case before it goes back to TAG, and SGC takes no responsibility for damage from breaking a holder open. Our guide to checking a graded card’s cert covers matching each slab to its record.

Can you cancel an order?

It depends on when you paid. TAG charges when you buy, and refunds unused orders for up to 60 days after purchase, but not once the cards reach it. Cancelling in TAG’s portal only clears the card list and never refunds by itself. CGC charges your card when the box arrives, and cannot change or cancel an order once it is on its way. Our guides to submitting to CGC and submitting to SGC walk through each order from the start, and whether a card is worth grading helps decide if it should go at all.

Frequently asked questions

Does CGC charge to fix a typo on its own label?

No. CGC corrects a label with missing or wrong data, or the wrong label stock, as a free Mechanical Error, and anyone can send one in, member or not, with no time limit.

How long do you have to report a damaged CGC holder?

14 days from receipt, and only the original submitter can claim a holder defect. Marks inside the holder caused by the card itself, and rainbow effects from light, do not count.

Will TAG refund an order that runs late?

No. TAG calls every wait an estimate and issues no refund for an order that misses its estimated turnaround time.

What does TAG charge to reslab a slab you dropped?

$15 a card plus shipping, as TAG listed it on April 21, 2026. Sent with a new grading order, the reslab can share that order's shipping.