Graded in Britain: Why Your Cards Shouldn't Spend Half a Year Abroad

Retrograding is now open. From today, collectors anywhere in the UK can send their trading cards to us in Thatcham to be slabbed, checked and graded. No sending them across the Atlantic, no international queue and no wondering where your cards have got to.

We started Retrograding because we kept hearing the same thing from collectors coming into the shop: "I sent my cards off months ago and I still haven't had them back." So here's why grading at home makes sense for most UK collectors, and how we compare with the biggest name in the hobby.

The half year wait

PSA is the best known grading company in the world, but it doesn't grade cards in the UK. Since April 2025 it hasn't accepted submissions sent directly from the UK to its American facilities, so UK collectors have to go through an authorised dealer. Your cards are grouped with everyone else's, shipped to America, graded, shipped back and then posted on to you.

Every one of those steps adds time. UK collector guides commonly put a standard submission at four to six months or more from posting to getting them back, and PSA itself describes its turnaround times as estimates rather than promises. A UK receiving centre has been announced, but it's somewhere to drop cards off rather than somewhere they get graded, and at the time of writing it still has no confirmed opening date.

That's a long time for a card you love to be out of your hands, and a long time to be sat on a card you were planning to sell.

Trust has taken a knock

Grading only works if collectors trust the grade. Over the past year, a few very public stories have left plenty of collectors uneasy:

• The buyback regrades, December 2025. Collectors widely reported that cards sold back to PSA through its buyback programme as 9s later had their certifications updated to 10s. PSA accepted that a regrade had taken place but denied any wrongdoing.
• #NoPSAMay, April 2026. Collectors organised a month long boycott over slow turnaround times, rising fees and inconsistent grading.
• A proposed class action, July 2026. A lawsuit filed in an American federal court claims PSA misled customers about its grading, pricing and turnaround estimates. These are allegations, PSA disputes them, and none of them have been proven in court.

We're not here to knock anyone. But it's fair to say a lot of collectors are now asking whether the biggest name is automatically the best choice, especially when they're waiting half a year for it.

Why grade with The Retrograde?

Your cards never leave the UK

You post your cards to us in Thatcham, Berkshire, and we post them back to you. No international postage, no customs forms and no middleman bundling your cards in with anyone else's. If you're local, you can drop them off and collect them in person too.

Back in days or weeks, not months

Need them back quickly? Our Priority Grading express service grades your cards and returns them within 5 working days. Our Standard Grading service returns them in up to 5 weeks. Both are counted from the day we receive and accept your cards, from our door, not a dealer's.

Clear, honest pricing

Standard Grading starts at £12 per card if you collect in person, or £18.75 with insured return postage. Priority Grading starts at £30 per card collected, or £35.99 with insured return postage. No membership fees and no hidden handling charges. Just want your card protected and on display? Our Just Slab It service starts at £7.99.

Know before you grade

Not sure if your card is worth grading? Our Grade Check service gives you an estimated grade from your photos for £5, and we take that £5 off if you then grade the same card with us.

Be first and earn the Golden 10

Every card is assessed against our published criteria for centring, corners, edges and surface, then sealed in a premium slab with a Retrograde label and its own certification number.

Then there's the Golden 10. It's awarded to the first copy of each card that we grade a 10, and only one is ever given for that card. It rewards speed: if you think you're holding a perfect card, the sooner you get it to us, the better your chance of being first. Pair it with Priority Grading and you'll know within 5 working days.

Every submission does some good

The Retrograde supports charitable causes, including the No Knockout charity, so every submission helps something bigger than your collection.

Side by side

When PSA might still be the better option

We'll be honest with you. If you're planning to sell a very valuable card on the international market, a PSA slab currently has the widest recognition when it comes to resale, and that can be worth the wait. Our grades follow The Retrograde's own standards and don't guarantee the same grade from any other company.

For most collectors though, it's about the collection: the childhood favourite, the pull you'll never forget, the set you're proud of. For those cards, getting them back beautifully slabbed in days or weeks, from people just down the road, simply makes more sense.

Ready to send your cards?

1. Choose your service on our Card Services page.
2. Follow our guide, How To Pack & Send Your Cards.
3. Pop them in the post, put the kettle on, and we'll take it from there. It won't be a long wait.

New to grading? Have a read of Card Grading Explained: How It Works and Is It Worth It?

Start Your Submission

Information about PSA is based on public reporting and collector guides available in November 2026, and turnaround times can change. The lawsuit claims mentioned above are allegations that PSA disputes, and none have been proven in court. PSA is a trademark of its owner, and The Retrograde is not affiliated with PSA.