# Riftbound PSA & BGS Grading Guide

_2026-08-21 · RiftCompare_

How to get Riftbound cards graded — PSA vs BGS, the grading scale, what graders look for, and whether it's worth it for your card.

## The short version

- **PSA and BGS are the two grading services collectors use for Riftbound** — neither is affiliated with Riot Games or UVS Games; they grade physical trading cards from any game.
- **PSA gives one overall grade, 1 (Poor) to 10 (Gem Mint)**, and is the most widely recognised, most liquid grading name in the hobby.
- **BGS gives four subgrades — centering, corners, edges, surface — plus an overall grade**; a card with all four subgrades at 10 earns BGS's famous Black Label.
- **Grading is worth it for Riftbound's chase tiers** — Signature, Showcase and Overnumbered printings — not for ordinary singles, where the flat submission fee usually costs more than the card is worth.

**PSA and BGS** are the two names collectors mean when they talk about "getting a card graded" — independent companies with no affiliation to Riot Games or UVS Games, which grade physical trading cards from any game, Riftbound included. Here's how the two services differ, what graders are actually looking at, and when grading a Riftbound card is worth the fee.

## Why grade a card at all

Grading does two things: it locks the card in a tamper-evident case (a "slab") that protects it from further wear, and it puts an independent, numeric condition grade on it that a buyer doesn't have to take your word for. For a raw (ungraded) single, condition is a judgement call the seller makes at listing time — see [the Riftbound condition guide](/guides/riftbound-card-condition-guide) for how that works. A graded slab replaces that judgement call with a third party's number, which is worth something specifically on cards expensive enough that buyers want that certainty.

## PSA vs BGS

- **PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)** grades on a single 1-10 scale — Poor at the bottom, Gem Mint 10 at the top — collapsing centering, corners, edges and surface into one overall number. It's the most widely recognised grading name in the hobby, and that recognition tends to translate into the deepest, most liquid resale market for a graded card.
- **BGS (Beckett Grading Services)** grades all four criteria separately as subgrades, then combines them into an overall grade in half-point increments. A card that scores a perfect 10 on every subgrade earns BGS's **Black Label** — a genuinely rare result that carries real premium over an ordinary 10. The subgrades give a more granular read on exactly where a card falls short, which matters more to some collectors than the single PSA number does.

Neither is objectively "better" — PSA's name recognition usually wins on resale liquidity, BGS's subgrades win on detail. Some collectors submit their most valuable pulls to both over time and compare.

## What graders actually look at

Both services score the same four things, whether or not they show it as one number or four:

- **Centering** — how evenly the printed border frames the card's art and text on all four sides. A card that looks fine at a glance can still be noticeably off-center under close inspection.
- **Corners** — sharp, undamaged corners with no whitening, fraying or rounding.
- **Edges** — clean edges with no nicks, roughness or whitening where the card's colour gives way to white card stock.
- **Surface** — no scratches, indentations, print lines or other marks across the front or back.

You can check the first three yourself before submitting: hold the card up to a light and compare the border margins on all four sides for centering, and run a finger lightly along the edges and corners (never the printed surface) to feel for damage a photo might miss.

## Is it worth it for Riftbound specifically?

Grading only makes financial sense once a card's raw value clears the submission fee by a comfortable margin — so it's a question of which Riftbound printings are worth enough to clear that bar. That's [the same chase tier as the rest of the value conversation](/guides/most-valuable-riftbound-cards): Signature printings, Showcase alt-arts and Overnumbered prints, not ordinary Commons or Uncommons. Riftbound is still a young game without a long graded-sales history the way an established TCG has, so treat any specific resale-premium claim for a graded Riftbound card skeptically — the graded aftermarket for this game is still forming.

## Before you submit

- **Never touch the printed surface with bare fingers** — oils transfer and can affect the surface grade. Handle a card by its edges only, or wear cotton gloves.
- **Sleeve it immediately** in a fresh penny sleeve, then a rigid toploader — a card that arrives at the grader already damaged in shipping grades exactly as it arrives.
- **Don't try to "fix" a card** — trimming, pressing or cleaning a card before submission is grading fraud at every major service and will get the card rejected or the submitter banned, not a better grade.
- **Check current fees and turnaround on the grader's own site** before submitting — both PSA and BGS run multiple tiers priced by speed and declared card value, and both change pricing and wait times often enough that any number printed elsewhere, including here, risks being stale by the time you read it.

## Grading FAQ

**Should I get my Riftbound cards graded?** Usually only your highest-value chase cards — Signature printings, Showcase alt-arts, Overnumbered prints — since the submission fee is fixed no matter what the card is worth. For an ordinary single, grading rarely pays for itself.

**PSA or BGS — which is better for Riftbound?** PSA's name recognition tends to mean deeper resale liquidity; BGS's four subgrades give a more granular read on condition. Neither is exclusive to Riftbound — both grade cards from any trading card game.

**What do graders actually look at?** Centering, corners, edges and surface — PSA folds these into one overall number, BGS scores each as a separate subgrade.

**Is a Riftbound card officially graded by Riot or UVS Games?** No — PSA and BGS are independent companies with no affiliation to Riftbound's publishers.

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Not sure whether your card clears the bar? **[Check its live raw price across every store we track](/browse)** first — if it's nowhere near the chase tier, save the submission fee and enjoy the card raw.

## FAQ

**Should I get my Riftbound cards graded?**

Usually only your highest-value chase cards — Signature printings, Showcase alt-arts, Overnumbered prints — since the submission fee is fixed no matter what the card is worth. For an ordinary single, grading rarely pays for itself.

**PSA or BGS — which is better for Riftbound?**

PSA is the more widely recognised name and the deeper resale market, which matters for liquidity when you eventually sell. BGS's four subgrades give a more granular picture of a card's condition, which some collectors prefer for display-grade copies. Neither service is exclusive to Riftbound — both grade cards from any trading card game.

**What do graders actually look at?**

Four things: centering (how evenly the border frames the art on all sides), corners (sharpness, no whitening or rounding), edges (no nicks, roughness or whitening), and surface (no scratches, print lines, or indentations). PSA folds these into one overall number; BGS scores each separately as a subgrade.

**How much does it cost to grade a Riftbound card, and how long does it take?**

Both PSA and BGS run multiple submission tiers priced by turnaround speed and the card's declared value, and both change their pricing and wait times fairly often — check the current fees and turnaround directly on PSA's or Beckett's own site before submitting, rather than trusting a number from anywhere else.

**Is a Riftbound card officially graded by Riot or UVS Games?**

No. PSA and BGS are independent third-party companies with no affiliation to Riftbound's publishers — they'll grade a Riftbound card exactly the way they grade a card from any other game.

Source: https://riftcompare.com/guides/riftbound-psa-bgs-grading-guide