PSA Graded Mickey Mantle

For those that have been out of the hobby or are new to the hobby, the world of baseball cards has gone through a serious change regarding condition. Learning the ins and outs of grading cards can be a lifelong process. For anyone looking to sell baseball cards, fortunately there now exist third party graders. The concept of third party grading emerged in the 1990s as a way for collectors to get honest appraisals for a cards condition.

The top companies in the billion dollar sportscard market are PSA, SGC and Beckett. It is good to familiarize yourself with what it means to have a card slabbed versus raw and understand the process behind grading. Graded cards will normally fetch much higher prices on the open market. The very act of having a card graded adds some value because it costs money! To learn more about graded cards try reading this sportscard article, which presents a great overview of the Big Three card grading companies. Understanding the pricing, service tiers, and process makes the world of graded baseball cards not seem such a scary place.