The fastest card grading service of the major grading companies is currently from SGC, which offers 1-2 business day turnaround for $125 per card. Both PSA and SGC offer walk-through services at an estimated 3-day turnaround, which cost $600 and $150 per card, respectively.
Again, this is simply looking at PSA, BGS, SGC, and CSG, and is based on what I’m seeing on each of their pricing and service pages, which you can find here:
Speed Isn’t Always Everything
Of course, turnaround time and grading speed is just one of a handful of considerations when it comes to grading cards. Here are a few different scenarios and when speed makes sense, or when it might be lower down the list of priorities.
You’re Going to Resell the Card
If you’re wanting to grade a card quickly because you want to resell it and thus need to take advantage of the current market (and not venture into the unknown of what months down the road might look like), then you have a big question to answer: will the card be more valuable if graded quickly, or if graded by PSA?
Read More: PSA vs. SGC
And with there being a number of additional variables, I can’t really answer that question but am simply throwing it out there so you don’t lose track of the best play. With that said, I understand the want and need to get a card graded and get it back into your hands for flexibility’s sake. It’s a hopeless feeling knowing that a card you do want to sell is completely out of your hands.
I just went through this, figuring out the best grading option for a beautiful Wander Franco Japan Edition Jade Green RC /75. I ended up going with Beckett because the BGS turnaround times seemed reasonable, and I thought the card could achieve a BGS 10 grade.
You’re Going to Keep it in Your PC
On the other hand, if your plan is to keep the card in your PC, then speed might be the least of your concerns, with something like look and aesthetic topping the list here. That said, you might still prefer to not have your card out of your possession for months on end, and thus would opt for a faster option. Again, a lot of things at play here and only you can really answer the questions.
It’s a High-Value Card
Going back to the point above, once your card leaves your hands to make its way to the grading company, there might be a rush of emotion—I hope it gets there safely, I hope it’s returned to me safely, did I package it correctly, etc. So, one reason why you might want a quick grading service is that you simply want to eliminate some of the risk of a high-value card sitting out there “behind the scenes” without any knowledge as to what’s going on with it and when it might return.
You Want to Stay Disciplined
Now this one is a bit off the wall, but hear me out. For example, I don’t open a lot of sealed wax, but when I have in the past, I like to do so with Bowman megas. Once I open though, I basically put everything in a shoebox organizer and then put it out of sight for months, maybe even years.
Why? On one hand, people like to sell their rips immediately in order to take advantage of a hot market. On the other, some (like me) would rather wait and see what comes of these players. I most recently did this with early 1st Bowman chrome Julio Rodriguez cards and still sold too early.
Point being, having cards in your possession is tempting, and if you don’t want to have to constantly consider the “what should I do with this card question” then perhaps delayed grading time isn’t the worst thing, especially for an up-and-coming name who has a value that might only increase in time.
