| name | psa-grading-system |
| description | Use when submitting to PSA, evaluating a PSA grade, or pricing PSA-graded comps. Covers the 1-10 scale, qualifiers, service tiers, and PSA's market premium.
|
PSA Grading System
PSA dominates 60-70% of sports/Pokemon submissions. No sub-grades — overall number only. Watch for qualifiers.
The 1–10 scale
10 Gem Mint · 9 Mint · 8 NM-MT · 7 NM · 6 EX-MT · 5 EX · 4 VG-EX · 3 VG · 2 Good · 1 Poor. Half-points exist but are uncommon outside vintage.
PSA qualifiers
PSA appends qualifiers when ONE axis drags the card:
- OC Off-Center
- PD Print Defect
- OF Out of Focus
- ST Stained
- MK Marked
- MC Miscut
A PSA 9 (OC) sells at ~50% of a clean PSA 9. Avoid submitting cards likely to qualify — submit to SGC or BGS instead.
PSA service tiers (2026)
| Tier | Fee | Declared cap | TAT |
|---|
| Bulk | $19 | $499 | 30–60 days |
| Value | $40 | $999 | 30 days |
| Regular | $75 | $2,499 | 20 days |
| Express | $150 | $4,999 | 10 days |
| Super Express | $300 | $9,999 | 5 days |
| Walk-Through | $600+ | unlimited | 2–5 days |
Where this fits in the X3 empire
Default grader recommendation in CardPrepAI Concierge unless customer's card matches a SGC/BGS edge case.
