Frequently asked questions

Our AI uses the same criteria as PSA — centering, corners, edges, and surface — and analyzes high-resolution photos to produce an estimated grade. Most estimates land within 0.5–1.0 points of what a professional service would assign. That said, this is an estimation tool, not an official grading service. Think of it as a smart second opinion before you decide to submit.

Master Grade supports Pokémon TCG, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece TCG, Disney Lorcana, and major sports cards (MLB, NBA, NFL). The AI identifies the card type automatically from the photo.

Try one grade without an account. Free accounts get 5 free scans per day, resetting at 00:00 UTC. After that, you can buy credits or subscribe to Pro for more scans.

No — the front photo alone is enough for a grade. However, adding the back gives the AI more data for centering analysis and can catch surface issues (whitening, printing defects) that are not visible from the front. We recommend uploading both when possible.

Place the card flat on a dark, matte surface. Use even, soft lighting with no flash. Shoot straight-on so the card fills most of the frame. Remove the card from any sleeve or toploader first because reflections and glare reduce accuracy. Check the photo guide on the grading page for visual examples.

No. Master Grade provides AI-powered grade estimates, not official authenticated grades. It uses PSA-equivalent criteria and a 1–10 scale, but the grades are for personal reference and decision-making only. For official grading and authentication, submit cards directly to PSA, CGC, or Beckett.

Credits are purchased in packs: 10 for $2.99, 30 for $7.99, or 100 for $14.99. Each grade uses one credit. Credits never expire and are tied to your account. If the AI fails to produce a grade because of an API error or a non-card image, the credit is automatically refunded.

Photos are processed by the AI in real time and are not permanently stored on the servers. If you are logged in, a thumbnail and grade data are saved to your grade history so you can reference them later. You can delete any grade from your history at any time.

Batch grading is currently reserved for Pro subscribers. Free accounts get 5 scans per day, while Pro users can run multi-card batch workflows and export CSV results.

The AI estimates what the card would likely sell for at different grade levels such as PSA 10, 9, 8, and raw based on its knowledge of market data. These are educated estimates, not live market prices. Always verify on eBay sold listings, TCGPlayer, or PriceCharting before making buying or selling decisions.

The Verify page lets you look up PSA, BGS, and CGC certification numbers to check official grade details, population data, and card images. Enter any cert number to pull the record directly from the grading company's database.

Each card takes about 30–45 seconds. Our AI runs a 3-pass analysis — first detecting defects, then measuring centering, then scoring each category — which takes longer than a simple scan but produces much more accurate results.

The AI will still grade the physical condition of the card (centering, corners, edges, surface) even if it can't identify the exact card name or set. It will label the card as 'Unknown Card' and you'll still get a full condition report.

Yes. After grading, you can download a shareable grade report image or share it directly via the share button. Your full grade history is also accessible from your account on any device. Pro users can export batch grades as CSV.

Yes. The AI can grade cards in any language — Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and European editions all work. The grading criteria (centering, corners, edges, surface) are language-independent. Card identification may be less precise for non-English editions.