A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.

What does it mean when a card is graded?

Card grading is the practice of submitting a trading card to a third-party service. The card is inspected for authenticity and ranked, usually on a 10-point scale, for the condition. The card is then assigned an overall grade, sealed in a tamper-proof holder and, finally, assigned a cataloged serial number.

Is it worth getting cards graded?

The Answer. You should ONLY get your cards graded IF it will increase the value or make the sale of the card(s) easier. ... Grading cards costs money. Money that sometimes isn't returned because the grades assigned to the cards do not improve their value.