CGC Grading
The value pick that grew up. With PSA's cheap tiers paused, CGC's $12–15 pricing made it 2026's default grader for Pokémon, TCG and every card worth under ~$200.
CGC fees in 2026
| Tier | Fee / card | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk | $12 | 25-card minimum · ~60+ days |
| Economy | $15 | ~30–45 days |
| Faster tiers | $25+ | Express options scale up |
Excludes shipping and insurance both ways. Declared-value upcharges apply when a card grades above its tier's cap. Full market comparison: card grading costs 2026.
Is CGC respected?
Increasingly, yes — especially for Pokémon. CGC brought its comic-grading infrastructure (and tamper-evident holders) to cards, grades consistently, and modern CGC 10s have closed much of the price gap with PSA 10s on TCG. For vintage sports the premium still leans PSA/SGC.
The 2026 context
When PSA paused its $24.99/$32.99 tiers in June 2026, CGC became the rational default for mid-value submissions almost overnight. At $12–15 a card, the break-even math survives on cards PSA's $79.99 tier would bury — run your card through the worth-grading calculator with the CGC preset to see it.
Verify any CGC slab with the CGC cert lookup — modern certs often include photos of the actual slab.
Before you submit — two free checks
- Measure centering. Worse than 55/45 and the Gem Mint is gone before anyone looks at corners.
- Run the grading math. Fee, shipping, selling costs and honest odds — know the expected value before paying.
Buying an already-graded card instead? Verify the slab first: CGC cert lookup.