FAQ
Grading
Grading Cards/Comics/Funkos/VHS or Video Games protects them, makes for easy and professional display and can increase the value drastically.
The process can take anywhere from a week to several months. This depends on which grading company (e.g PSA or CGC) is used. More expensive services have faster turnaround times. (these can be done privately but come with a hefty price)
Unfortunately, turnaround times cannot be guaranteed as the backlog that grading companies have to get through is constantly changing.
It is usually estimated to be 90 days with most submissions.
When cards are submitted they are placed in a specific order and return in that same order. This order and who each card belongs to will be noted to ensure you receive the correct card.
Once your cards are in our care they will be stored safely until sent overseas for grading. When they are sent they are packaged professionally to avoid any damage in transit. Once in the hands of a grading company they, too, take the utmost care to prevent any damage to your cards to ensure that you will receive your card back graded and in the same condition you sent it.
Comics
Pressing is a process that can enhance the appearance of a comic book by removing non-color breaking defects such as dents, bends, crunches, rippling, warping, spine rolls and indentations. It neither adds nor takes away from the comic, making it a non-restorative process that will not make a comic book “restored.” Dry cleaning a comic to remove soiling and any unwanted substance is also considered a non-restorative process, and is included in the CGC pressing service when necessary.
CGC is the industry leader in comic book pressing. Their multi-step process has been modified and honed through thousands of hours of research and development. They've pressed hundreds of thousands of comics, many of them regarded as the most valuable in the hobby. Their experienced Pressing team has been entrusted with pedigrees, key issues, modern comics, signature series, atypical comics, and abnormal defects, all with expert results.
What Pressing Can Do
Mishandling and exposure to the elements can cause any comic book to suffer from bends, creases, tears, missing pieces, stains and tanning. Unwanted repairs - such as color touch, glue and tape - can also reduce the appeal of a comic book. CGC specializes in the correction or removal of these defects and repairs to improve a comic's appearance or desirability.
Bends
Curved or bent areas of paper that do not break color, on or through the book.
Ripples
Tight areas of waves, often caused by exposure to moisture.
Non-color-breaking spine stress
Bends along the spine of a comic book that do not break color, usually resulting from a curling of the spine.
Dirt
Foreign substance on book due to handling or from contact with another object.
Finger Bends
Bends created by the frequent handling and reading of the book, impacted by one's fingers.
Corner Crunch
Corner of the book that has been impacted to cause multiple bends in both directions through the book.
Spine Roll
A condition where the left edge of the comic curves toward the front or back, caused by folding back each page as the comic was read.
Stacking bends
Large bends caused by the weight and pressure of other books or objects resting on top of the book for a prolonged period.
Writing
Any marks created by a pencil to the book.
Shipping
So once you are ready to grade your Cards you will be taken to checkout with 4 shipment options that look something like this:
Explained Below:
International Postage Share: This is a once off charge R100 per submission (not per item) to get the card returned to South Africa from the United States. Required Before Submission is sent.
Postnet Return: R100 Postnet to Postnet Charge. (Optional, you could also always collect)
Customs Charge: This is an unavoidable 17% Tax charge, charged on importing the items back per card grading cost (not declared value) .
Well, yes and no, That will be the final cost for grading and shipping to the United States (currently all the services that we use are in the USA) unfortunately we have to get the card back to South Africa, These costs are added to the checkout process.
There are 3 more costs involved all with Return shipping:
- International Return Shipping R100 - International Shipping cost to get the card returned to us safely with insurance.
- Postnet Return Shipping(Pickup Optional) R100 - If you cannot Pickup we will send the returned item via Trusty Postnet.
- Customs (17% of total GRADING Cost) - This is final 17% Customs Tax added by the South African Government and can not be avoided.
Unfortunately not.
Since we need to ship the items TO and FROM The grading service, this adds roughly 20-25 days on the waiting period. (We do ship using DHL which is the fastest method and could be faster than the 20-25 days)
The Days in the table provided in Here are just estimates according the each grading services websites. Grading Services have backlogs too as these could cause time delays in grading, but we promise we are trying out best to get the cards there as fast and safe as possible!
The easiest way to ship your cards safely is to ensure that each card is in a card sleeve and then inside either a toploader or a card saver.
Then they can be shipped to us using your preferred shipping service (PostNet or similar recommended) inside a protected bubble mailer or protected box.
You are welcome to contact us personally to arrange drop off in Cape Town or Johannesburg.
- Johannesburg, Midrand
- Cape Town, Durbanville