Three-way comparison

PSA vs BGS vs TAG: Build a Three-Way Decision

A three-company comparison is useful only when each path gets its own realistic quote and expected sale value. Copying one grade or premium across all three creates false precision.

Use this page as a decision worksheet: eliminate ineligible paths, compare the information each outcome gives you, then test the surviving choices financially.

Current CardRevive submission choices

Published middleman starting prices

CardRevive coordinates the listed submissions as an independent commercial middleman. The selected grading house examines the physical card and alone decides authentication and any official grade.

PSA
Destination
United States
Published starting price
From A$172 AUD per card
BGS
Destination
United States
Published starting price
From A$55 AUD per card

Prices are per card in AUD, effective 11 July 2026 and reverified 16 July 2026. Confirm final fees, declared-value charges, shipping, insurance, timing, eligibility, and upcharges before dispatch.

CardRevive is not affiliated with or endorsed by PSA, BGS and TAG, or any other grading company. No official grade, acceptance, turnaround, value, or financial return is guaranteed.

Verify current CardRevive middleman services and starting prices

Estimate context for this decision

PSA

• 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

• 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.

Use a disciplined elimination order

Start with eligibility, then image-supported grade range, then holder-specific demand, and only then compare the total financial result. This prevents a low headline fee from dominating a path that does not fit the card.

• Is the exact card accepted by the service you want?
• Does the likely grade still add value at the low end of the estimate?
• Are there enough comparable sales to support the expected value?
• Does the result stay positive after shipping and selling fees?

Keep a downside case beside the headline case

Run the calculator twice for every company: once at the likely outcome and once one grade lower. If the decision only works at the optimistic grade, holding or selling raw may be more rational.

Worked illustration

Example: comparing three holder-specific sale outcomes

The example shows one scenario only. A proper three-way comparison reruns the expected graded value for PSA, BGS and TAG separately.

Starting value: A$100.00 AUD
Expected graded value: A$300.00 AUD
Service + shipping: A$200.00 AUD
Selling fee assumption: 13.0%

Modeled result: sell. Break-even versus selling raw is A$329.89 AUD, and the modeled difference versus selling raw is -A$26.00 AUD. This is an illustration, not a forecast.

Anonymous calculator

Run the same card through three scenarios

Select a company, edit the assumptions and record the result. Repeat for the other paths using holder-specific sale evidence.

Planning assumptions only. PSA and BGS can load dated CardRevive starting prices. TAG never loads a CardRevive price or turnaround; enter a current external quote before calculating. 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

medium confidence

Under these assumptions, selling raw retains A$26.00 AUD more value than the graded path.

Worth grading? Follow evidence, economics, then downside.

Verdant Choice Demois synthetic. Its route-scoped ranges are not your card's evidence; the checkpoint only reflects the worksheet result.

1 · Demo ranges—not your card's evidence
- PSA-style illustrative range: 8–9
- BGS-style illustrative range: 8–8.5
- TAG-style illustrative range: 800–900
2 · Your evidence
Replace sale values, service cost, shipping, and fees. Use completed sales for the exact card and holder.
3 · The raw alternative leads in this model
Selling raw retains more modeled value under the entered assumptions. The calculator is not judging sentimental or collection value.

Illustrative pre-grading estimate; not an official grade. AI estimate, not an official grade. This illustrative image-based pre-grading estimate is not authentication, an appraisal, or a guarantee. CardRevive is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by PSA, Beckett/BGS, TAG, or any other grading company; a professional grading house may reach a different result after examining the physical card.

Versus selling raw: -A$26.00 AUD
Estimated economic profit: -A$39.00 AUD
Break-even versus raw sale: A$329.89 AUD
Simple modeled ROI: -13.0%
Approx. break-even grade: Grade 9.4

• 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$75.00 AUD-per-grade slope. Real card prices can jump or flatten between grades, so verify sold listings at each grade.

Check this card with AI

Questions collectors ask

Which of PSA, BGS and TAG is best?

There is no universal answer. Best can mean strongest sold evidence for a card, most useful condition detail, preferred report experience, eligible service or best net result.

Should I use the same likely grade for all three?

Use CardRevive estimates as a starting range, but do not assume official grades are interchangeable. Test a conservative downside for each path.

How often should I update this comparison?

Refresh the company quote and recent sales immediately before submitting. The assumptions on this page are dated, editable and not live pricing.

Create the grade range that anchors all three cases

Start with a scan-based estimate, then model each company independently rather than choosing from reputation alone.

Start with this card