Terms of Grading
1. Ownership & Customer Relationships
LABOGE AS is an authorized reseller of PSA's grading services, and is thus approved to submit collectibles on behalf of customers.
For grading purposes, the "customer" will be the individual who orders and submits cards for grading. We need to know the identity of the owner of the objects we submit for grading, so all orders must contain correct contact information.
It is not permitted to submit cards on behalf of others, and by ordering grading you confirm that you are the owner of the cards/objects you submit.
Exception: Parents are of course allowed to submit cards on behalf of children who are not yet of legal age.
2. Submission
Customers who order grading must arrange for the shipping of cards from the customer to LABOGE AS themselves.
All shipments of cards for grading must use the tracked shipping option.
Return shipping from LABOGE AS back to the customer is ordered at the same time as ordering grading, and this will be used to return the cards to the customer when the cards have been graded.
3. Insurance and Liability
Before receiving:
The customer is responsible for the cards until they are received by LABOGE AS.
We recommend that the customer use insured shipping with appropriate insurance amounts when sending cards to us for grading.
During shipment to PSA in the US:
When the cards are sent to PSA in the USA, they will be insured with our carrier according to the insured value for which the customer has purchased insurance when ordering.
NB: As of now, we have chosen not to include insurance in the grading fee as this would be more expensive in most cases.
During your stay at and return from PSA in the USA:
When the cards are graded and eventually sent back from PSA to us in Norway, they will be covered by PSA's insurance. It is important to emphasize that the cards will be insured up to the lowest of the following amounts:
A: The service level at which the card is submitted. (Ex. $200, $500, $1000 etc.).
B: "Fair market value", i.e. actual market value at any time.
Here, the raw/ungraded value will be used until the card is graded.
4. Receipt and Documentation
Upon receipt of cards for grading, LABOGE AS will document the received cards on video and register these into our system. The customer will then receive a written receipt by email showing which cards have been received and registered. The receipt will also include a reference number that corresponds to the submission that your cards are part of, and this number can be used to track the progress on our status page.
When returning graded cards from PSA, we will usually review the return on stream to document the entire return on video. We will then review the grades and conditions, if damage to cards or slabs is discovered during this process, we will contact the customer and handle the matter further in consultation with the individual customer. NB: We do not provide names or other identifying information about the customer when reviewing subs on stream.
5. Grading Fee and Upcharge
When ordering a rating, the customer pays a rating per card for the desired service level.
The grading price in our online store covers the following:
- Shipping to PSA in the USA (Insurance on this part is added separately)
- PSA grading cost for specified service level.
- Insurance while the card is being graded and return transport.
- Our job is to receive, register and handle the objects.
The grading price in our online store does not cover:
- Upcharge if the card receives a higher value than the specified service level after grading.
Upcharge is the specific difference from the submitted grading level up to the correct grading level. In cases where a card receives an upcharge, we will receive a message from PSA that the card has received a higher value after grading than the specified grading level and that the card has been moved up to a higher level. We will then contact the customer and inform them of the upcharge and invoice the difference.
The exact cost of an upcharge will be calculated on a case-by-case basis as this depends on the exchange rate at any given time, but we provide estimated upcharge prices on the grading order page.
When upcharging, the actual costs are invoiced to the customer, which consist of:
- Upcharge cost to PSA (depends on service level)
- Currency fee for conversion (approx. 2%)
- Online store transaction fee (approx. 3%)
6. Processing time
The processing times stated for each service level are the time the cards are expected to be used at PSA. This then includes the time the cards are with us before shipping to the US, transport time to the US, receipt at PSA and return of cards from PSA. Therefore, approximately 2-4 weeks should be calculated on top of the processing time stated by PSA.
Due to new tariffs in the US, non-English language cards (Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, etc.) as well as English language cards produced abroad (e.g. English One Piece produced in Japan) must be submitted in separate submissions. These submissions are estimated to take an additional 2-3 weeks due to more extensive import procedures in the US.
All processing times are estimated and not guaranteed.
7. Gradability & Card Manipulation
It is not possible to grade cards that have been tampered with or restored.
PSA will not grade cards in the following categories:
(N1) Evidence of Trimming
When one or more of the card's edges appear to have been manipulated by cutting or trimming.
(N2) Evidence of Restoration
When the card's cardboard appears to have been rebuilt or restored to appear new.
(N3) Evidence of Recoloration
When the card's suit(s) appear to be enhanced in an unoriginal way.
(N4) Questionable Authenticity
When the card appears to be a copy/forgery, or when an autograph appears to be a forgery.
(N5) Altered Stock
When the card appears to have been restored, e.g. through the removal of bends, polishing of the card or holo. In addition, when the card has been coated with a foreign substance, e.g. cleaning agent or polishing wax.
(N6) Minimum Size Requirement
When the dimensions of a card deviate significantly from manufacturing specifications.
(N7) Evidence of Cleaning
When a foreign substance is used to clean or bleach the card surface.
(N8) Miscut
When the card is incorrectly cut at the factory.
(N9) Don't Grade
Used in cases where the card/issue is not graded by PSA.
With the exception of categories N6, N8 and N9, you will have to pay a grading fee for cards that end up in one of the non-gradable categories.