The team at Gimko have some news to share with our collecting community. We are extremely excited to announce that we have partnered with The Hobby to provide bulk submission grading services for PSA to our collecting community. BGS will follow soon, however PSA is thee most used UUS service for grading cards.
“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
What does this mean for our community?
It means that you will be able to submit your cards in person directly at the Gimko Hobby Shop or tell us to grade your hits straight from our group breaks whilst your trading cards are still in our possession.
The service is offered as way for people who want to take advantage of the bulk submission price, however do not have many trading cards to grade or the time to submit trading cards for grading the correct way. Gimko will ensure that everything is packaged safely and made ready and easy for PSA to grade the submitted trading cards.
The main benefit of submitting via Gimko instead of The Hobby directly, is that you will be able to drop off your cards in person and not stress that they have been lost by AusPost, whilst in transit to The Hobby. You will also save money by not having to pay excessive insurance costs for shipping your cards to The Hobby directly and then more insurance costs to ship your cards back to you, as you will simply be able to pick them up from the shop.
You will also not have to pay the full grading fee upfront, all you have to pay is the $2 card handling fee at the shop and fill out the simple submission form (which takes 5 mins) nominating if you want your cards cleaned or cleaned and appraised. Once Thee Hobby collect your cards, they will see who wants the cleaning and/or appraisal service done, and send your cards to Cards Cleaning Australia (CCA) who will invoice you for the service.
Once your trading cards are back from PSA graded from the US, and are ready to be provided back to you, The Hobby will then invoice you for the grading! Please refer to the process below for full details how it all works and the grading prices.
Why did we partner with The Hobby?
Simply put, like us at Gimko, the team at The Hobby are passionate collectors.
The Hobby has also been grading cards for several years online and have a reputable track record in delivering a positive grading outcome for collectors, so there was no real reason to compete against them as they will offer the best value service for your money. They also have established postage distribution chains which ensure that your cars are insured for the full amount to and from America, so you can sleep at night knowing in the worst case scenario, you will be reimbursed by The Hobby.
How do I submit my trading cards for grading?
At Gimko Hobby Shop we offer grading services for PSA and BGS.
For PSA grading, complete the PSA online submission form.
For Beckett grading, complete the BGS online submission form.
We store your cards and provide them to The Hobby each month in person.
When are submissions due?
Submissions are due on the 1st Thursday of every month, otherwise your submission may end up in the following month’s submission.
Why should I grade my trading cards?
This is a common question asked. There are many reasons why collectors grade their trading cards. These are some of the main reasons:
- Extra added security. A slab encapsulates the trading card air tight and gives it that extra amount of durability.
- Condition of the trading card. By grading, you know exactly what condition the trading card is in. Some collectors will only collect the best of the best and knowing they are getting a PRISTINE trading card versus a NEAR MINT is very important to them.
- Financial investment. The higher the grade the more the trading card is worth. This concept may not be common with Australian collectors at the moment, but in America, trading card condition is everything to many collectors and over time, trading cards that have a higher grade warrant a premium price.
How much does grading cost?
The price of grading with PSA will depend on the value of your card once it has been graded. It is recommended that you look up some past sales data for various grades (i.e. PSA 8 to PSA 10) to gauge what the value might be. For example, if your card is valued at PSA 9 market price during submission stage, and grades a PSA 10, it may result in PSA up-charging the final grading fee to match the category that reflects the new market value. This is why we recommend looking at the PSA 10 price, to gauge what you may have to pay extra for grading.
Please refer to the prices below (as @ January 2025).
The price of grading with BGS does not depend on the value of the card, and are based on the speed of the grading service selected.
Please refer to the prices below (as @ January 2025).
Note: Prices will be updated from time to time by PSA and BGS, so please refer to this post for the latest prices.
How do I know when my cards will return from Grading?
For your PSA submissions, you can simply type your name in on The Hobby’s PSA Submission Status page to see at what stage of the grading process each card is in.
For your BGS submissions, you will get notified once they come back.
What is the grading process?
Below is the process flow chart of how PSA grading works
Collecting graded cards from the Gimko Hobby Shop Requirements
To ensure everyone get’s their cards back correctly, please bring your photo ID along with the paid invoice from The Hobby that shows the list of the relevant cards paid for, and their PSA certification number.