What determines the grade: centering, corners, edges & surface

Centering

Centering is about whether the artwork is printed neatly in the middle of the card. Graders compare the borders left/right and top/bottom, on both front and back. A card can come straight out of a pack and still score low on centering, it is a print flaw, not wear. That is exactly why it is the sneakiest subgrade for many collectors.

Corners

The four corners are examined under magnification for whitening, dings and fraying. Corners are the most vulnerable part of a card: slid into a box once without a sleeve and the damage is done. Sharp, crisp corners are a requirement for the very highest grades.

Edges

On the edges the grader looks for chipping (flaked print ink, especially visible on dark borders such as older Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon cards), white specks and cutting irregularities. Here too, damage is often barely visible to the naked eye but obvious under magnification.

Surface

The surface assessment covers everything on the card face itself: scratches (especially on holofoil), print lines, stains, fingerprints, dents and discolouration. Holographic cards are extra sensitive here: foil shows every tiny scratch as soon as light hits it.

From four subgrades to one final grade

The four subgrades together determine the final grade on a scale up to 10, half points included. One weak aspect drags the final grade down noticeably: a card with three strong subgrades and one weak one ends up closer to the weak score than the strong ones. At WDTC all four subgrades appear on the certificate and in the public library, so you can see exactly why a card earned its grade.

Want to keep your cards in top condition until they are graded? Store them in sleeves and toploaders, handle them by the edges only, and never try to clean a card, polishing causes precisely the scratches the surface subgrade punishes.

Assess your card yourself: the home check

With a few simple tools you can make a surprisingly good assessment at home, and choose better which cards to submit:

• Good, bright light: put the card under a lamp and tilt it slowly. Scratches on holofoil and print lines only appear at an angle.
• A loupe or a macro photo with your phone: corners and edges that look clean to the naked eye often show whitening under magnification.
• Measure the centering: compare the borders left/right and top/bottom, and do not forget the back.
• The back in general: collectors stare at the front, but the back counts fully in the assessment.
• Be stricter than your gut: owners judge their own cards with loving eyes. Graders do not.

The details collectors miss most often

Some flaws are there straight from the factory. Print lines (thin streaks in the print layer), ink specks and cutting irregularities happen during printing and cutting, and they count in the assessment even if the card never left a box. Other commonly missed details: whitening on the back edges, a tiny dent that only shows in raking light, and adhesive residue from tape or binder pages the card was stored in.

No reason to panic, but a reason for realism: “pack fresh” does not automatically mean a 10. That is exactly why it pays to examine your card critically before deciding what to submit.

Why four subgrades are fairer than one number

A single final grade without justification leaves you guessing: why is this an 8 and not a 9? Four subgrades make the assessment verifiable. You see exactly which aspect held the grade back, and so does a buyer. That makes pricing fairer: an 8 with weak centering but immaculate corners is a different card from an 8 with damaged corners.

At WDTC all four subgrades are public, too: every graded card sits in the library with its full report. Nobody has to take our word for it, verification is always possible.

What if a subgrade disappoints?

It happens to the best: the card that looked perfect turns out to score 7.5 on centering. Remember that a print flaw like centering is never your fault, that the certificate does justice to the rest of the card, and that from now on the card sits protected in its slab. An honestly recorded condition is worth more to a buyer than a nice story, and it gives you certainty about what you own.