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Grading Overview

Our grading process involves a thorough and in-depth evaluation of every item submitted, regardless of the tier selected, item type, age, condition, or value. The highest level of care is taken when handling, grading, and casing each and every item sent to us.
A generalized outline of the steps your item(s) will go through once submitted is as follows:

Submission Received – Once your submission has arrived at our receiving facility, it is usually one business day until it is taken to our grading facility where it is unpacked and checked in. Once this stage has been completed, you should receive an invoice via email to confirm that your items appear to have arrived safely and have been checked for accuracy versus the information you included on your submission form. If there is any discrepancy in calculations for grading costs, they will be corrected automatically if the total change is under $20. If there is a larger discrepancy, you will be contacted to advise us of how to proceed. The correct tier codes and pricing will be included on the invoice you receive via email so that you can check all calculations for accuracy.

Submission Details Entered – The paperwork and items included in your submission are then examined carefully, with the item classification information to be included on each grade label entered into our proprietary grading software. All items are reviewed to determine whether variations are accurate, and a complete inventory of your items as we would classify them will now exist in our grading software.

Preliminary Grading Stage – A junior or senior grader documents flaws and other characteristics of each item you’ve submitted for grading. Your items are also closely inspected for various forms of tampering and restoration, as well as checked to verify they represent authentic and original examples. Even our junior graders typically have over two years of grading experience, so they are experts in their own right. Once an item is verified as authentic and confirmed that it will indeed be cased, a production order for all custom or special cases is sent to our fabrication department for manufacture.

Final Grading / Double-Checking Stage – A senior grader who typically has 5-8 years of grading experience reviews the grades and notes of the previous grader. If the senior grader disagrees with any grades or other information assigned to an item, he/she collaborates with other graders to determine the correct grade. In the case of a grade disagreement between two senior graders, a consensus is taken to decide the grade which will be assigned.

Casing Stage – Grade labels for your items are printed and sealed inside the acrylic case designed to custom fit your items. A final quality control check for grade and label accuracy is performed by a senior grader prior to placing your items in their respective acrylic cases and sealing them. If any discrepancies are found, the affected items are sent back to the Final Grading Stage.

Packing Stage – Your items are sent to the finishing and shipping department where the cases are polished, cleaned, bagged, and packaged for shipping. A final quality control check is performed to examine the case quality and to quickly review the label information one more time. Once packaged, your items are ready to ship back to you. Upon completion of this stage, customers outside of the continental United States are billed for return shipping.

Submission Shipped – Your submission is now on its way back to you. All submissions are carefully packed and fully insured. All medium to large size boxes used are thick double-wall 275 lb test boxes designed to prevent damage in shipping. You will receive an email from the shipping carrier which provides tracking information for your shipment.

Now your items are verified and protected within high quality acrylic display cases. Hopefully, you’ve added some wonderful new display pieces to your collection.
It’s now time to think about packing and shipping us your next submission if you haven’t already.

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