What Your AI Card Grade Means: Understanding Your Results
Just got your AI card grade from CardGrade.io? Here's exactly what each score means, how sub-grades work, and what to do next.
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Just got your AI card grade from CardGrade.io? Here's exactly what each score means, how sub-grades work, and what to do next.
In short: Your CardGrade report shows predicted grades for PSA, BGS, and CGC simultaneously, plus sub-grades for centering, corners, edges, and surface — with a confidence score on every prediction. A high-confidence PSA 10 prediction is a strong submission signal; a low-confidence result or a weak surface sub-grade means inspect the card manually before spending the fee. Learn how the AI detects each issue to get more from every scan.
You just uploaded a card to CardGrade.io, and 29 seconds later you are looking at a screen full of numbers, sub-grades, and detailed notes. If you are new to AI card grading — or even new to card grading in general — this can be overwhelming.
This guide walks you through every component of your AI grade report, explains what each score means in practical terms, and helps you make smart decisions based on your results.
The most prominent number on your results page is the overall predicted grade. CardGrade.io displays predicted grades on three scales simultaneously:
PSA uses whole-number grades from 1 to 10. Your AI prediction maps to the same scale:
| Predicted Grade | PSA Label | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Gem Mint | Virtually perfect across all categories |
| 9 | Mint | Excellent condition with very minor flaws |
| 8 | NM-MT | Near Mint to Mint, slight imperfections |
| 7 | Near Mint | Minor wear visible on close inspection |
| 6 | EX-MT | Noticeable handling, still attractive |
| 5 | Excellent | Moderate wear but presentable |
| 4 and below | VG-EX or lower | Significant visible wear |
For a complete guide to PSA's grading standards, see our PSA card grading guide.
Beckett Grading Services uses a more granular scale that includes half-point grades (9.5, 9, 8.5, etc.) and displays individual sub-grades on the slab. Key BGS grades:
| Predicted Grade | BGS Label | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Pristine | Essentially perfect — extremely rare |
| 9.5 | Gem Mint | Outstanding condition, very minor flaws |
| 9 | Mint | Excellent with minor imperfections |
| 8.5 | NM-MT+ | Between Near Mint-Mint and Mint |
| 8 | NM-MT | Near Mint to Mint |
For details on BGS-specific grading, read our BGS card grading guide.
CGC Trading Cards uses a scale similar to BGS with half-point increments. Their standards align closely with PSA for most grade levels. See our CGC card grading guide for more information.
Different grading companies have different standards and tolerances. A card that earns a PSA 10 might receive a BGS 9.5 because BGS has tighter centering requirements. By showing all three predictions, CardGrade.io helps you choose the right company for each card. For a full comparison of grading companies, see our card grading companies comparison.
Below your overall grade, you will see individual sub-grades for four categories. These are where the real insight lives.
Your centering sub-grade reflects how well the card's printed image is positioned within its borders. The report includes:
How to read it:
If your centering is the weakest sub-grade, you might want to verify it independently with CardGrade.io's centering tool. Our centering guide explains centering standards in full detail.
What you can do about poor centering: Unfortunately, centering is a factory defect and cannot be fixed. If centering is your card's weakest attribute, consider whether the card is still worth grading. Some collectors specifically seek out well-centered copies of popular cards for grading.
The corners sub-grade evaluates all four corners of your card and reflects the overall corner condition. The report may note specific issues at individual corners.
Common findings:
What you can do: Corner condition is largely fixed, but you can prevent further damage with proper storage. Place cards in penny sleeves immediately and use semi-rigid holders for cards you plan to grade. Handling by edges only prevents new corner wear.
The edges sub-grade assesses all four edges of the card between the corners.
Common findings:
You can get a detailed edge analysis using CardGrade.io's edge tool.
What you can do: Like corners, edge condition is mostly fixed. Prevent further edge wear by never stacking cards without sleeves and avoiding any lateral friction. Some edge issues (like minor chipping on dark-bordered cards) are common enough that graders account for them, but they still affect the grade.
The surface sub-grade is the most complex category, covering everything on the card's front and back surfaces.
Common findings:
Use CardGrade.io's surface tool for a detailed surface analysis.
What you can do: Surface is the one category where you might be able to improve condition. Fingerprints can sometimes be carefully removed. Dust or light surface contamination can be cleaned. However, never attempt to "fix" scratches, creases, or print defects — this constitutes alteration and can result in your card being returned ungraded or marked as altered.
Your results include a confidence score that indicates how certain the AI is about its prediction. Understanding this score helps you calibrate your expectations.
The AI is very confident in its prediction. The card's attributes clearly place it within a specific grade range. High-confidence predictions are your most reliable results.
The AI is reasonably confident but sees some ambiguity. This often occurs with borderline cards — cards that fall near the boundary between two grades. A moderate-confidence PSA 9 might end up as a PSA 10 or a PSA 8 at the actual grading company.
The AI has identified attributes that make the prediction less certain. This could be due to:
When confidence is lower, treat the predicted grade as approximate and consider providing better photos or using the individual tools for targeted analysis.
Now that you understand your results, here is a framework for deciding what to do with each card.
Action: Strong submission candidate.
This card is likely to receive a top grade from a professional company. Calculate whether the graded value justifies the submission cost:
Action: Submit if the value justifies it.
A PSA 9 or BGS 9 adds value for many cards, but the premium is smaller than a 10. Do the math:
Action: Generally hold unless the card has high raw value.
For most modern cards, a PSA 8 or lower does not add enough value to justify grading fees. Exceptions include:
Action: Investigate further.
When the confidence score is low:
One of CardGrade.io's most powerful features is showing predicted grades across PSA, BGS, and CGC simultaneously. Use this to make strategic submission decisions:
If the AI predicts a PSA 10 but a BGS 9.5 for the same card, the issue is likely centering. PSA allows wider centering tolerances for a 10 than BGS does. Submitting to PSA gives you the best chance at the top grade.
If the AI predicts a BGS 9.5 but a PSA 9, the card likely has an attribute where BGS's half-point scale works in your favor. A card that is solidly between a 9 and 10 gets a 9.5 at BGS but must round down to 9 at PSA.
If all three predictions are the same, choose based on other factors: market liquidity (PSA usually wins), turnaround time, cost, and personal preference.
For a full comparison of grading companies, read card grading companies compared.
Over time, your CardGrade.io account builds a history of all cards you have graded. This history is valuable for:
If you are consistently getting lower grades than expected, consider these improvements:
The single biggest factor in AI grade accuracy is photo quality. Invest 5 minutes in learning proper card photography:
If your cards are getting corner and edge wear between purchase and grading, improve your handling practices:
Different card types have different grading characteristics:
Ready to understand your cards better? Start your free CardGrade.io trial — 3 credits to get started. Upload a card, explore the detailed grade report, and use this guide to interpret every score and sub-grade.
Whether you are pre-screening before a PSA submission, evaluating a potential purchase, or simply curious about your collection's condition, your AI grade report gives you the data you need to make confident decisions.
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Founder, CardGrade
Jamie Budesky is the founder of CardGrade and the engineer behind its AI vision grading pipeline. An Army veteran and IT specialist (DoD, since 2017), he writes about card grading, AI/ML grading technology, and collecting strategy — grounded in CardGrade's own grading data.
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