How to read a TAG label: grade, score and cert
Grading 8 min read
What TAG prints inside its clear slab, how its grades, condition names and scores line up, where the cert number sits, and how to check a slab's report.
Grading
How card grading works at CGC, SGC and TAG: fees, waits, labels and grades, how to check and pack a card before you send it, and how crossover grading works.
Guides in this topic
TAG grading explained: scores, reports and prices
Grading 9 min read
How TAG Grading scores a card out of 1,000, what its DIG report and slab show, which cards it takes, and its prices and waits.
How to read an SGC label: grades, names and codes
Grading 8 min read
What each part of an SGC label tells you: the card's details, the grade and its name, an autograph grade, the cert code, and what to check when a slab arrives.
How to pack cards for grading: CGC and TAG rules
Grading 8 min read
How to pack cards for grading at CGC and TAG, stage by stage: the stack, the paperwork, the seal, box markings, the address, the carrier and cover in transit.
How to grade sports cards: CGC, SGC and TAG compared
Grading 8 min read
Which sports cards CGC, SGC and TAG accept, from vintage to thick patch cards, how each treats autographs, what a submission costs and what each label shows.
How to grade Pokémon cards: CGC, SGC and TAG compared
Grading 7 min read
Which Pokémon cards CGC, SGC and TAG accept, from Japanese cards to promos, jumbo and error cards, which service fits each card, and what each label shows.
How to clean a graded card case
Grading 6 min read
Cleaning the outside of a CGC, SGC or TAG slab: what to use, what to keep off it, which marks are normal, and when a free fix or a new holder is better.
CGC subgrades explained, and why CGC dropped them
Grading 7 min read
CGC stopped giving subgrades in 2023. What the four scores covered, what they cost, how older CGC and CSG labels showed them, and what a new holder removes.
CGC Pristine 10, Perfect 10 and Gem Mint 10 explained
Grading 7 min read
What separates CGC's Pristine 10 from its Gem Mint 10, what the retired Perfect 10 meant at CGC Trading Cards and CSG, and how SGC and TAG set their top grades.
Card grading mistakes to avoid at CGC, SGC and TAG
Grading 9 min read
The grading mistakes that cost money or time at CGC, SGC and TAG: low declared values, the wrong level, refused cards, form gaps, packing and late claims.
Is a card worth grading? Fees against the price gap
Grading 7 min read
A card is worth grading when its graded price beats its raw price by more than the full cost of grading. CGC's and SGC's fees, with a worked example.
How to submit cards to SGC: levels, fees, shipping
Grading 7 min read
How to send cards to SGC: starting an order, its service levels by declared value, where to mail the box, what the trip back costs, the wait and what to check.
How to submit cards to CGC: account to slab
Grading 9 min read
How to send cards to CGC Cards: the free account, choosing a tier, the online form, declared value, packing, box markings, tracking and the trip back.
How to read a pop report: CGC's counts explained
Grading 6 min read
How CGC's population report counts graded cards, how to find a card and read each column, why the counts can mislead, and how SGC's report differs.
How to read a CGC label: grades, colors and codes
Grading 7 min read
What each part of a CGC Cards label means: the grade name, the letter codes, the label colors, the back of the label, and how older CGC and CSG labels read.
How to check a card before grading: a checklist
Grading 7 min read
Check centering, corners, edges and surface against the CGC and SGC grading scales before you send a card in, using a loupe, a ruler and our table.
How long does card grading take at CGC and SGC?
Grading 6 min read
CGC's and SGC's published grading waits by service level, when each clock starts, what counts as a business day, what stretches a wait, and the trips each way.
How crossover grading works at CGC and SGC
Grading 7 min read
A crossover moves a graded card into another company's slab. How CGC and SGC price it, what CGC does when the grade would drop, and when the move is worth it.
Grading Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece cards
Grading 6 min read
Which CGC and SGC services take Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece cards, the rules that apply to each game, and how to tell when the grading fee makes sense.
CGC vs SGC: scales, labels, fees and waits
Grading 8 min read
CGC Cards and SGC side by side: grading scales, labels, holders, fees, estimated waits and shipping back, with the full cost of five sample orders at each.
Card condition problems explained, flaw by flaw
Grading 9 min read
Whitening, dents, creases, print lines, centering and surface wear: how TCGplayer measures each flaw and how CGC and SGC describe it on their grading scales.
Card condition explained: Near Mint to Damaged
Grading 7 min read
What Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played and Damaged allow on TCGplayer, and how eBay and CGC word the same wear.
Card images from Scrydex.