Does it make any difference if I grade this?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Fred

I kind of get that, but what happens if you have a card that you think is an "8" and at that valuation it is $10K, but when you receive it, the label indicates "7" and the value of the card at that grade is half. Does that mean you paid a higher grading fee for the card?

In your case, yes. You would still pay the grading fee for a $9999 value card even if after grading it is only worth $4,000. Your extra benefit was that it took 2 less days at PSA's headquarters than if you had estimated it at $4,000 in the first place.

Most people underestimate their grades by about 1 number and submit with that projected valuation. Sometimes that will lead to them underpaying and getting a good grade. Sometimes PSA will upcharge them to the $9999 level since they have to underwrite the return shipping costs and that is also part of the service level.