About CGC Cards FAQs - CGC Cards Merger

CGC Cards Merger

How do I submit to CGC Cards?

The CGC online submission form will soon include all cards that are eligible for grading, but for now, fill out the online submission form for TCGs and non-sports cards and/or the online submission form for sports cards, and send your submission in one box to CGC Cards, with all packing slips.

A paid membership is no longer required to submit. You just need to set up a free account, which takes no time at all. Meanwhile, paid members pay lower grading fees and get other exclusive benefits, all for just $25 per year. For more information about how to submit, go here. To join, go here.

Why is the company changing its name to CGC Cards?

The name CGC Cards represents that virtually all TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards are accepted by CGC Cards. In addition, the CGC brand is known the world over as the leader in pop culture collectibles certification. Immediately recognized by collectors and dealers, CGC signifies best-in-class grading services and strong prices realized.

What cards does CGC Cards grade?

CGC Cards grades virtually all TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards, sized 2-5/8" x 3-3/4" (6.6cm x 9.5cm) or smaller. Cards may be up to 7.25mm thick. All non-sports cards are now eligible for grading, including many series that were not accepted previously, such as Garbage Pail Kids, Mars Attacks, Wacky Packages, Star Trek and many more, from 1879 to today!

What do I do with my cards that were previously graded by CGC Trading Cards or CSG?

CGC Cards supports cards that were previously graded by CGC Trading Cards and CSG, and they continue to be backed by the comprehensive CGC Cards Guarantee of authenticity and grade. With the merger of the companies, all cards, including those graded by CGC Trading Cards and CSG, will soon be searchable in the Verify CGC Cards Certification tool, viewable in the CGC Cards Population Report and eligible for the CGC Cards Registry. Cards previously graded Gem Mint 9.5 are automatically updated online to appear as Gem Mint 10.

For collectors and dealers who would like to reholder cards certified by CGC Trading Cards or CSG with the new CGC Cards label, CGC Cards has lowered its reholder fee to just $5 until September 30, 2023, for cards valued under $10,000.

To qualify for the discounted reholder fee, the submission form must be completed on CGCcards.com by September 30, 2023, and delivered to CGC Cards by October 20, 2023. All submission forms completed October 1, 2023, and later, and all packages delivered October 21, 2023, and later, will receive the regular reholder rates ($10 for ReHolder and $30 for High Value ReHolder).

What happened to the Perfect 10 grade?

The Perfect 10 grade, which was seldom used, is no longer being assigned. In both surveys and focus groups, the majority of respondents stated that three 10 grades (Perfect 10, Pristine 10 and Gem Mint 10) would be too many. After careful consideration, CGC Cards decided to make the top grade Pristine 10 over Perfect 10 because a significantly greater number of Pristine 10 cards have been certified compared to Perfect 10 cards.

The Perfect 10 grade is still supported by all of CGC Cards’ online tools. Moreover, all cards graded by CGC Trading Cards and CSG continue to be covered by CGC Cards’ comprehensive guarantee of authenticity and grade, the strongest guarantee in the industry.

Should I get my cards graded Perfect 10 reholdered?

Cards graded Perfect 10 will be reholdered to Pristine 10. CGC Cards recommends that submitters not reholder Perfect 10s.

What do I do with my Gem Mint 9.5s?

Cards graded Gem Mint 9.5 are equivalent to cards graded Gem Mint 10. You can keep your Gem Mint 9.5s, and they will be considered Gem Mint 10s in Verify CGC Cards Certification, the CGC Cards Population Report and the CGC Cards Registry.

If you would like to reholder your Gem Mint 9.5s to Gem Mint 10, you can take advantage of our reholder special (just $5 per reholder for cards valued under $10,000) through September 30, 2023.

What happened to Sub-Grades?

While CGC Cards recognizes that Sub-Grades have a loyal following among a small group of collectors, CGC Cards believes eliminating Sub-Grades is the right move for the hobby for a couple of key reasons:

The hobby needs one industry-standard grading scale. It does not make sense that a Gem Mint 9.5 at one grading service equates to a Gem Mint 10 at another grading service. This creates confusion and makes it more difficult for new collectors to enter the market. It has become clear that the hobby has moved towards a Gem Mint 10 grading scale and away from Sub-Grades. Three of the four major grading services now use very similar grading scales. Of course, there is still an opportunity for some nuance, but having dramatic differences in the grading scales used by different grading services is bad for the hobby.

By June 2023, fewer than 5% of CGC Trading Cards submissions included a request for Sub-Grades. Some Sub-Grades fans have asked whether that reduced interest in Sub-Grades was really the result of the price point ($15), so here is some more information. CGC Trading Cards raised its Sub-Grades fee to $15 in July 2022 to help cover rising costs in general and the additional time required to individually designate four additional grades. In the two months prior to this announcement, approximately 15.8% of new submissions included a request for Sub-Grades. In the two months after this announcement, approximately 11.7% of new submissions included a request for Sub-Grades. While it is not surprising that there would be a drop in demand with a price increase, even before the price increase, demand for Sub-Grades was relatively low (at 15.8% of total), and even after the price increase, demand for Sub-Grades did not decrease by a meaningful amount (4.1% of total).

Of course, if Sub-Grades were free, there would probably have been more demand, but that’s not practical given the additional time (and therefore cost) involved.

The reality is that demand for Sub-Grades had decreased nearly every month in a row — with or without a price increase — for the last 18 months. Perhaps many collectors and dealers found it difficult to reconcile so many possible combinations of the overall grade and Sub-Grades. It is difficult for people to value and collect/inventory so many different permutations of grades. Additionally, the market was clearly moving towards a simpler grading scale centered around a Gem Mint 10.

CGC Cards believes that education and transparency are vitally important, but Sub-Grades are only one way to provide collectors and dealers with more information about why their card received the grade that it did. CGC Cards is committed to providing the hobby with the highest levels of accuracy, consistency, transparency and education, and looks forward to providing more innovative ways for collectors to learn about card grading.

Please note that cards with Sub-Grades will not have Sub-Grades if they are reholdered. CGC Cards encourages submitters to consider carefully whether it makes sense to reholder cards that previously received Sub-Grades.

Can I still get the original CGC Trading Cards or CSG labels?

With the official merger of CGC Trading Cards and CSG, the original CGC Trading Cards and CSG labels are no longer being offered. Cards previously graded by CGC Trading Cards and CSG cannot be reholdered with CGC Trading Cards or CSG labels. They must be reholdered with the CGC Cards label.

What if I submitted an order before July 11 and requested the original labels?

If your order was entered online before July 10 and you requested the original labels either on the packing slip or through CGC Cards Customer Service, you are still eligible for the original labels as long as the package is received by Friday, July 21, 2023. Any submissions entered online July 11 and later will receive the new label. All packages received July 22, 2023, and later will receive the new label.

What is happening to the population reports?

Right now, there is a CGC Cards Population Report for TCGs and non-sports cards alongside a CGC Cards Population Report for sports cards. We expect that in mid-September the population reports will be combined so that card counts for TCGs, sports cards and non-sports card will all be viewable in one CGC Cards Population Report. Card counts in the CGC Cards Population Report will reflect the updated CGC Cards Grading Scale.

What is happening to the registries?

Right now, there is a CGC Cards Registry for TCGs and non-sports cards alongside a CGC Cards Registry for sports cards. We expect that in mid-September the registries will be combined so that TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards are all able to be added to one CGC Cards Registry. The points awarded in the CGC Cards Registry will reflect the updated CGC Cards Grading Scale.

Still not finding an answer? Contact CGC Customer Service at (+44) (0) 20 3968 3848 or [email protected].

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