FAQ
What is card grading?
Card grading is the process of evaluating trading cards based on condition factors like centering, corners, edges, and surface.
How much does card grading cost in Australia?
Pricing depends on service level and turnaround time.
Alpha Card Grading offers competitive grading services for collectors with zero upcharges, we are among Australia's fastest turnaround times.
What types of cards do you grade?
With our new API integration, we are now able to accept all standard sized Trading cards for grading including:
Pokémon
One Piece Card Game
Magic: The Gathering
Dragon Ball Super
Disney Lorcana
Flesh and Blood
Riftbound
Digimon
Weiss Schwarz
Final Fantasy TCG
Star Wars: Unlimited
Union Arena
Shadowverse: Evolve
MetaZoo
Sorcery: Contested Realm
Battle Spirits Saga
KeyForge
World of Warcraft TCG
Transformers TCG
My Little Pony Collectible CG
Bakugan TCG
When does my turnaround time start for my submission?
ACG Turnaround times commence the day we receive your cards!
Do you do AI Card Grading?
ACG is the first card grader in Australia to adopt AI in its grading practices.
We currently utilize AI for our centering grades, the work is shown to the grader who double checks and approves or amends to ensure correct results.
The work for centering is then shown on every card entry in the database from the time this feature was implemented.
We have more exciting updates coming soon..
Check our database here
Do you grade autographed or metal cards?
At this stage we do not grade or authenticate autographed or metal cards.
Is it normal to have a white dot on the top and bottom of the slab?
Yes, completely.
This is the injection spot that was used to create your slab!
Do you grade miscut cards?
Yes, we do grade miscut cards.
The process is slightly different, please reach out to our team if you need further clarification.
If either one front or rear border is printed off the card OR print dots are visible, we will award an 'M' Miscut grade for centering, under the cards overall grade it will also be labelled 'MISCUT'.
The card will still be graded on the other 3 subgrades (Corners, Edges & Surface). However, the centering grade will not be taken into consideration when calculating your grade.
Can i grade with you if i live outside of Australia?
No, at this stage all orders placed with ACG must be shipped back to an Australian Address.
We have had many requests for grading overseas, we will open this up soon!
Do you have insurance for sending cards?
ACG has several insurance options available when we return your cards ranging from $1000 to $5000. These options will be offered to you at checkout when choosing your shipping method.
Remember, purchasing insurance on our site only insures packages we are returning to you one way and are based on the provable value.
Please contact Australia Post if you need further clarification.
Please reach out if you have any questions regarding insurance and we'll do our best to assist you.
Do you grade sealed cards?
At this stage we are only grading unsealed standard TCG cards.
If you wish to have a sealed card graded it will need to be unsealed and placed in a sleeve and top loader or semi-rigid prior to sending it in for grading.
Feel free to reach out through the contact form if you would like further clarification.
Where are my cards kept while grading?
We take security seriously.
Alpha Card Grading operates from a secure, private location that is not open to the public.
All submissions are monitored and stored under 24/7 security surveillance or kept in a secure safe accessible only by the company director.
At no time are customer cards exposed or accessible to unauthorised individuals. All cards in our possession are fully insured while on-site.
Can i drop off my cards in person?
You can currently drop off your cards in person to any of our partners, see our partner section for details.
Until we open our retail store in 2026 we are not able to offer direct drop-off to retail customers.