How to submit cards for grading from the UK

There are two routes out of the UK and the choice mostly determines how much of the administration you do yourself.

Direct, or through an intermediary

• Direct. You open an account with the grader, complete the submission form, and ship internationally yourself. Cheaper on paper, and you own every customs question that follows.
• Through a UK intermediary. A dealer or group submission service batches your cards with others. You pay a margin and they handle shipping, declarations and the return leg.

For a first submission the intermediary route is usually worth the margin, because the failure modes on the direct route are expensive rather than annoying.

Preparing the cards

1. Each card in a fresh penny sleeve, then a semi-rigid holder. Not a top loader: graders need to slide cards out.
2. Do not tape anything shut.
3. Order the cards to match the order on your submission form.
4. Pack the stack so it cannot move inside the box, then post tracked and insured.

Never clean, trim or press a card before submitting. Alteration is detected, and a card returned as altered is worth less than it was before you touched it. This is covered in how to spot a reprint from the buyer side.

Declared value

You declare a value per card. It sets your service tier, your price, and your insurance. Declare what the card is genuinely worth, established from comps as in how to price a sports card.

The return leg

Cards coming back into the UK can attract import charges depending on how the shipment is declared. Budget for it rather than being surprised by it, and understand that this is the main reason the total cost of grading from the UK exceeds the headline fee. The full cost picture is in what card grading costs in the UK, and what you are buying for it is in what grading does to the price.