SGC Grading Cost in 2026: Every Tier and Fee
SGC grading costs $15 per card for cards valued up to $1,500, with fees scaling by declared value and a 2-3 day express lane from $150. The full 2026 table.
SGC grading costs $15 per card for standard-size raw cards with a declared value up to $1,500, on an estimated 75+ business day turnaround. That $15 tier is the cheapest published price at any major grader right now, and it’s the reason SGC has become the default budget slab. Above $1,500 in declared value the fee scales steeply, and a 2-3 business day express lane starts at $150. Here’s the full table, verified against SGC’s published pricing at gosgc.com on August 3, 2026.
The full SGC price table (2026)
Standard-size raw card grading, per card:
| Maximum declared value | 75+ business days | 2-3 business days |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | $15 | not offered |
| $3,500 | $85 | $150 |
| $7,500 | not offered | $250 |
| $20,000 | not offered | $500 |
| $50,000 | not offered | $1,000 |
| $100,000 | not offered | $2,000 |
| Over $100,000 | not offered | $3,750 base |
Above $100,000 in card value, SGC adds $375 to the base fee for each additional $10,000. Shipping both ways is on top of everything.
How SGC’s structure differs from PSA and BGS
The three big graders price three different ways, and it matters for what you pay:
- SGC prices by declared value. The $15 rate exists only for cards you declare at $1,500 or less. A more valuable card pays more even if you’re happy to wait.
- PSA prices by service tier, each with a declared-value ceiling, currently starting at $79.99 (see our PSA grading cost breakdown).
- BGS prices a flat menu by speed, from $14.95 to $124.95 regardless of card value (see the BGS grading cost breakdown).
Two fine-print items from SGC’s own page worth knowing: the turnaround clock starts when your order is unboxed and logged, not when it arrives, and crossover submissions (cards already in another company’s slab) take longer if submitted without a minimum-grade requirement.
What the $15 tier is actually for
At $15, the break-even math changes character. A PSA submission at $79.99 needs a card where grading adds roughly $100+ of value to be worth considering. SGC’s $15 tier makes slabbing defensible on cards where grading adds maybe $30 to $40, which covers a lot of mid-range modern rookies and solid vintage commons that would never justify a PSA fee. The trade-offs are the three-to-four month wait and the market’s pricing of SGC slabs, which is strong in vintage and improving in modern but still generally behind PSA on resale in most modern sports segments.
The decision math is the same as ever: raw comp, graded comp in the same company’s slab, all-in cost including shipping, and months of your capital in Boca Raton. Our PSA grading calculator runs this break-even structure with live PSA rates, and the logic transfers directly: just swap in SGC’s fee. For what the eventual sale itself nets after eBay’s cut, run it through the eBay fee calculator.
SGC grading cost FAQ
How much does SGC charge to grade a card?
$15 per standard-size raw card with a declared value up to $1,500, at an estimated 75+ business days, per SGC’s published pricing as of August 2026. Cards declared between $1,500 and $3,500 cost $85 at the same speed. The 2-3 day express service runs $150 to $3,750+ depending on declared value.
Is SGC the cheapest card grading company?
At the entry tier, effectively yes. SGC’s $15 and Beckett’s $14.95 Base are within a nickel of each other, and both undercut PSA’s $79.99 floor by more than five times. BGS Base is technically cheaper by five cents but doesn’t include subgrades at that price, and both budget tiers share the same weakness: a 75+ business day wait.
How long does SGC grading take?
The $15 and $85 tiers are estimated at 75+ business days, roughly three to four months, and the clock starts when SGC unboxes and logs your order. The express lane is estimated at 2-3 business days once logged.
Is SGC respected like PSA?
SGC has graded since 1998 and its black “tuxedo” slab has real standing, especially in vintage, where SGC slabs sell competitively. In most modern sports segments, PSA slabs still typically realize higher resale prices for the same numeric grade, which is why the honest comparison is graded comps in the specific company’s slab, not the grade number in the abstract. We compare all three graders directly in PSA vs BGS vs SGC.
Cheap slabs still need the math
A $15 fee makes it tempting to slab everything, and that instinct loses money one shoebox at a time. Know what the card is worth raw first: WaxEngine prices your cards from real eBay sold data the moment you scan them, so the grading decision starts from the real number instead of a hunch. Start a free trial and price the whole pile before anything goes in a box.
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