Total-cost worksheet
Card-Grading Cost Calculator
The grading fee is only one line of the bill. Two-way shipping, insurance, marketplace fees and the raw card's value can determine whether a submission makes sense.
Use this calculator as a worksheet, then replace the illustrative company default with the exact service quote available to you.
Dated CardRevive starting prices and planning assumptions
Assumptions reviewed 13 July 2026. PSA and BGS defaults use CardRevive's published middleman starting prices effective 11 July 2026. TAG uses an illustrative external planning placeholder because TAG is not a currently listed CardRevive middleman service. Every value remains editable: final fees, declared-value rules, eligibility, insurance, shipping, upcharges and turnaround can change. Replace every default with the confirmed service and shipping quote before deciding.
Verify current CardRevive middleman services and starting pricesCompany context for this decision
PSA
- Editable fee default
- A$172.00 AUD
- Illustrative turnaround
- 5–95+ days
- • CardRevive models PSA as a single overall 1–10 grade estimate, not an official result.
- • A straightforward overall grade can be easier to compare, while it provides less condition detail than a subgrade-oriented label.
- • The default fee is CardRevive's published middleman starting price; confirm the service level, declared-value rules, final fees and card eligibility before dispatch.
BGS
- Editable fee default
- A$55.00 AUD
- Illustrative turnaround
- 5–75+ days
- • CardRevive's BGS-style estimate separates centering, corners, edges and surface before deriving an overall estimate.
- • Condition detail can help explain why a card may not reach the next grade, but CardRevive cannot predict an official label.
- • The default fee is CardRevive's published middleman starting price; confirm label options, declared-value rules, final fees and card eligibility before dispatch.
TAG
- Editable fee default
- A$31.00 AUD
- Illustrative turnaround
- 2–45+ days
- • CardRevive presents a TAG-style estimate mapped from its own condition model; it is not TAG's proprietary photometric result.
- • TAG is not a currently listed CardRevive middleman service, so this editable fee is an illustrative external planning placeholder rather than a CardRevive price.
- • Compare the report and holder experience you want, rather than treating a numerical estimate as interchangeable across companies.
- • Check current supported cards, service features, shipping and eligibility directly before submission.
Three costs collectors often omit
A card already in your collection still has an opportunity cost. Return shipping can exceed outbound postage, and selling fees apply to the final sale—not just the profit.
- • Raw value or purchase price
- • Outbound and return shipping plus insurance
- • Selling-platform fee on the full graded sale value
Break-even is not the same as a good return
Recovering costs leaves no margin for grade uncertainty, price movement or your time. Use break-even as a floor and decide what extra return is worth the wait and risk.
Worked illustration
Example: why a modest fee is not the total cost
The example combines the raw card, submission and shipping before calculating selling fees on the expected sale.
- Starting value
- A$50.00 AUD
- Expected graded value
- A$150.00 AUD
- Service + shipping
- A$197.00 AUD
- Selling fee assumption
- 13.0%
Modeled result: sell. Break-even versus selling raw is A$276.44 AUD, and the modeled difference versus selling raw is -A$110.00 AUD. This is an illustration, not a forecast.
Anonymous calculator
Calculate total grading economics
Enter every known cost. The result shows total investment, sale fees and two break-even values rather than a misleading fee-only total.
Planning assumptions only. Replace the company fee and turnaround with your current quote. All amounts are AUD.
The likely-grade and one-grade-lower sale values create a transparent local grade/value slope for the break-even-grade estimate. Replace both with sold evidence; card prices are not reliably linear.
Modeled next step
Sell
Under these assumptions, selling raw retains A$110.00 AUD more value than the graded path.
- Versus selling raw
- -A$110.00 AUD
- Estimated economic profit
- -A$116.50 AUD
- Break-even versus raw sale
- A$276.44 AUD
- Simple modeled ROI
- -47.2%
- Approx. break-even grade
- Above grade 10
PSA fee and 50-day turnaround are editable assumptions. Break-even versus raw sale includes the raw alternative's modeled selling fee.
- • The likely grade and future sale value are estimates, not guarantees.
- • Taxes, insurance, currency conversion by your payment provider, and unexpected service charges are not included.
- • The break-even grade uses your two sale values as a local A$37.50 AUD-per-grade slope. Real card prices can jump or flatten between grades, so verify sold listings at each grade.
Questions collectors ask
Does the calculator include tax?
No. Tax treatment varies. Add any tax or duties you expect to the editable grading or shipping cost before deciding.
Why include raw card value if I already own it?
Because selling raw is an alternative. Using the card for grading means giving up those potential proceeds.
Are return shipping and insurance included in the default?
The shipping field is an editable combined assumption. Replace it with your full expected two-way, insurance and handling cost.
Estimate condition before locking in the cost case
A scan-based likely grade helps you test whether the expected sale value is remotely defensible before you pay.
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