In March 2022, I sent four cards from my collection to Beckett for grading, shipping them from home in the EU. They weren’t expensive: under $200 together before grading, about $300 after. Beckett graded them and shipped them by FedEx to Ship My Cards, the US forwarder that holds my cards. Ship My Cards sent me a photo of what arrived: an empty box.
I wrote to Beckett several times. FedEx wouldn’t accept my claim because I wasn’t the shipper. That kind of claim is complicated even from inside the US. From Europe, it went nowhere. Years later, I found out that one of the four cards had been put up for auction on eBay, by an account that no longer exists.
This is Part 1 of The European View, a four-part series on what collecting from Europe costs. It’s about one question: where should a European’s cards be when they go in for grading?
Cards that are already in the US
Since then, no card of mine has crossed the ocean to be graded. I buy in the US, the card goes to Ship My Cards, and I order and pay for grading on their platform. The graded card goes straight back into their vault. I could submit cards to PSA myself, but this way I skip the paperwork and the packing.
Ship My Cards sets its own price for each PSA tier. PSA’s cheaper Value tiers have been paused since June, so the cheapest tier you can order is Standard, added in mid-September. My submissions through Ship My Cards have taken two to five months, depending on PSA’s backlog.
That route works for cards that start in the US. It does nothing for the cards I already have at home.
Cards that are already in Europe
Since September 15, collectors in the EU can send cards directly to PSA’s new facility in Frankfurt, Germany. PSA says the facility offers every service level it has worldwide, for cards and autographed cards alike, and that it will cut the time, cost and delays of international shipping.
The parcel never has to clear customs. Return shipping is extra. PSA hasn’t published the rates; the cost shows up when you place an order.
For the graded cards I keep at home, Frankfurt puts three options within reach: a review when I think a grade is too low, a crossover from another grader, and an autograph grade on a card that only has a card grade. The autograph grade is the one I’ve never tried. The card goes back in for a full review, so its grade can drop too, but I’m now considering it.
PSA isn’t the only grader here. Beckett grades on-site in the EU and CGC in Munich, but both list only trading card games for local grading. I use PSA, so the rest of this piece follows PSA.
What each route costs
Frankfurt’s prices use the same numbers as PSA’s US list, but in euros, and a euro is worth more than a dollar. At list price, Frankfurt is the more expensive of the two PSA lists; the introductory prices bring it close to US prices.
What Frankfurt doesn’t fix
Frankfurt only helps cards that are already in Europe, and my investment cards never come here. They sit in US vaults, which is where the next part starts.
Standard is capped at €900 of insured value, so anything worth more goes into Priority (€79.99 at list price) or higher. Above Express, paying more doesn’t buy speed there: every tier from Express up lists 25 to 30 business days, while in the US, Super Express lists 10 to 15.
Rules for grading from Europe
Don’t send a card across the ocean just to be graded. Four of mine went; the box that arrived was empty.
Grade the card where it already is. Cards in the US stay in the US; cards in Europe go to Frankfurt.
Know who can file a claim before anything ships. FedEx wouldn’t take mine because I wasn’t the shipper.
Have you had a card go missing between a grader and your address?
How did the claim turn out?
Reply directly to this piece — I read every response.
Next in The European View 2/4: Shipping and Storage — why my investment cards stay in the US, starting with the VAT a card pays from the first euro when it lands in the EU.
— Geminded