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Grading & condition

Grading Turnaround Planner

Published turnarounds are in business days, which is not how anyone plans. Pick a tier and a posting date and this gives you the calendar date the cards realistically come back — then shows what each faster tier costs per week of waiting it saves.

Most graders start the clock at intake, not at delivery.

The queue before your order is even logged. Longer during a backlog.

Used to price the cost of hurrying.

Every tier, as a date rather than a number of business days.
Grader & tier Business days Back around Total weeks Fee/card Cost per week saved

Why the published number understates the wait

A grader's turnaround estimate covers the time between your order being logged into its system and the cards being packed for return. It excludes three real stretches of the calendar: the post out, the queue before intake, and the post back. SGC states this explicitly — its clock starts when your package is unboxed and logged.

calendar wait = post out + days waiting to be logged in + published business days (5-day weeks) + post back 40 business days = 8 calendar weeks before any of the above

A 40-business-day tier is eight weeks of grading, and roughly ten weeks door to door once postage and intake are counted. Plan against the second figure.

Turnaround as of 3 September 2026

Published per-card grading fees and availability, checked 3 September 2026.
Grader Tier Per card Max declared value Business days Status
PSA Value Bulk 20+ cards $24.99 $500 95 paused
Value $32.99 $500 75 paused
Value Plus $49.99 $500 45 paused
Value Max $64.99 $1,000 30 paused
Regular $79.99 $1,500 40–50 open
Express $149 $2,500 20–30 open
Super Express $349 $5,000 10–15 open
Walk-Through $599 $10,000 7–10 open
Premium 1 $999 $25,000 5–7 open
BGS Base (no subgrades) $14.95 $250 75–90 paused
Base + subgrades $17.95 $250 75–90 paused
Standard $34.95 $1,000 45 paused
Express $79.95 $2,500 15 open
Priority $124.95 $5,000 5 open
CGC Cards Bulk 25+ cards $17 $500 150 open
Economy $20 $1,000 90 open
Standard $55 $3,000 10 open
Express $100 $10,000 5 open
WalkThrough $300 $100,000 2 open
SGC Standard $15 $1,500 40–50 open
Standard (mid) $85 $3,500 40–50 open
Expedited $150 $3,500 2–3 open
Expedited 7.5K $250 $7,500 2–3 open
TAG Basic $22 $500 45–60 paused
Standard $39 $750 30 paused
Express $59 $1,000 10–15 open
Priority $149 $2,500 5 open
Walkthrough $299 $10,000 2–3 open

What speed is worth

The last column of the planner divides the extra fee by the weeks it saves. It usually produces an uncomfortable number: paying up from a $15 tier to a $150 one to save six weeks costs about $22 per week saved, per card. On a ten-card submission that is $1,350 to have the cards back in June rather than August.

Speed is worth paying for in exactly two situations: a card you intend to sell into a market that is moving now, and a show or deadline you have committed to. Everything else is impatience, and impatience is the most expensive line item in this hobby.

The 2026 caveat. Published estimates are less reliable this year than usual. PSA has paused four tiers under a backlog it describes as roughly 10 million cards, and Beckett paused two. When a company stops taking orders at a price point, the turnaround on the tiers that remain is under pressure too. Treat the dates here as the optimistic case.

Questions people ask about this

How long does PSA grading take in 2026?

PSA quotes 40 to 50 business days for Regular, 20 to 30 for Express, 10 to 15 for Super Express and 7 to 10 for Walk-Through. In calendar terms Regular is eight to ten weeks of grading, and closer to eleven or twelve door to door once postage and intake queueing are added. The four Value tiers, which quoted 30 to 95 business days, are paused.

What is the fastest card grading service?

CGC WalkThrough at two working days is the fastest published turnaround of any tier, at $300 per card. TAG Walkthrough quotes two to three days at $299, and BGS Priority five days at $124.95. Below that, PSA Premium 1 returns cards in five to seven business days for $999.

Does the turnaround start when I post the cards?

No. At every major grader the clock starts when your package is received, opened and logged into the system, which can be a week or more after delivery during a busy period. SGC states this outright. Your real wait is postage out, plus intake queue, plus the published estimate, plus postage back.

Is it worth paying for a faster grading tier?

Divide the extra fee by the weeks it saves. Going from a $15 tier to a $150 tier to save six weeks costs about $22 per week per card, which is worth it only when you are selling into a market that is moving now or have a hard deadline. For cards going into a collection, the cheap tier costs you nothing but patience.

Where these numbers come from

Rates on this page were last checked against the published price lists on . Grading companies change fees and pause tiers without notice — confirm the total on the submission form before you pay.