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Grading ROI

Is it worth grading this card?

Grading costs money and time, and only pays off on the right cards. Enter the numbers and see your expected return — based on what the card sells for at each grade.

Your card

Chance of a 1035%

Be honest — centering, corners, edges, and surface all have to be clean for a 10. Measure centering first →

Don't know the value at each grade? Look it up on Slabline — every card page shows real, comp-based values by grade.

The math

Expected graded value
$273
− Raw value
$60
− Grading cost
$25
Expected net gain
+$188
Expected ROI
+221%
Worth grading

Expected value is probability-weighted across the 10 and 9 outcomes. A rough guide, not financial advice — grading results and markets vary.

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When grading is worth it
Grading tools · FAQ

Pre-Grade & the Slabline engine

What is Pre-Grade?
Pre-Grade is Slabline's AI condition read. Upload a photo of a card and it assesses the four factors graders judge — centering, corners, edges, and surface — and returns a directional grading-readiness lean (for example, 'gem-mint candidate' or 'likely a 9'). It's a signal from one photo to help you decide whether to send a card in — not a grade, an appraisal, or a guarantee. The actual grade is always determined by the grading company.
Why does Pre-Grade say 'unclear' instead of guessing?
Because it is honest about its limits and it is actively getting better. Pre-Grade describes only what is visible in your photo, and it will say 'unclear' when glare, angle, or low resolution make a factor impossible to judge — rather than inventing a confident grade the way many tools do. And it improves over time: as more of the Slabline community scans cards and reports the grades those cards actually receive, the engine sharpens.
What makes Slabline's engine different from other AI grading tools?
Two things. First, it is hybrid: where most tools make the AI guess centering, Slabline measures centering precisely with deterministic geometry and hands that exact number to the AI — so it spends its judgment on corners, edges, and surface instead of re-guessing the one factor we can measure exactly. Second, it runs on a proprietary feedback loop: Slabline pairs the photos people scan with the real grades those cards later receive, building a labeled dataset no competitor has. Pre-Grade also lives inside the full Slabline system — real value-by-grade comps, the grading ROI calculator, your collection, and your Slabline Score — so it answers 'should I grade THIS card, given what it is worth and how protected my collection is,' not just 'what grade might this be.'
How accurate is Pre-Grade?
It is a readiness signal, not a verdict, and accuracy depends heavily on photo quality — a clean, straight-on, well-lit shot reads far better than a blurry or angled one. Use it to triage which raw cards are worth the grading fee, then confirm with the centering analyzer and real value-by-grade comps before you submit. Treat it as a smart gut-check, not a guarantee.
Is it free?
The grading ROI calculator and the centering analyzer are fully free with no signup. Pre-Grade gives you 3 AI condition scans per month free; unlimited scans, on a higher-quality model, come with an Insured plan.
Which grading companies does it cover?
Slabline values and reads cards graded by PSA, BGS, SGC, CGC, and TAG.

Learn more about how Slabline scores and values cards →