Submitting an order with us is simple - all orders must be submitted electronically through our website. To submit an order you must make an account - if you do not have one click
here.
Once you have an account you can add your cards into your dashboard. Once you are ready just select the cards you want to send in and hit Submit - this will take you to the checkout page to complete your order.
For our YouTube guide to Order Creation click
here.
Shipping cards is fairly simple. Most customers use USPS, however any carrier will do. Cards should be placed in a protective sleeve (double protection is recommended such as with a perfect-fit sleeve inserted into a rigid top-loader. The cards should be secured within something rigid such as two pieces of cardboard and shipped inside of a box rather than a bubble mailer. We recommend using shipping methods with tracking numbers, and highly recommend purchasing shipping insurance. All returned completed orders from Ambr Grading back to you are shipped with insurance matching the total cards value in the order.
For our PDF guide to shipping click
here.
For our YouTube guide to shipping click
here.
Yes! Volume pricing is available through our LVL-UP program. You are automatically enrolled by creating an account, and there are no fees or “gotchas”.
For more info on Pricing and Features click
here.
Currently we accept all Magic: The Gathering cards, Pokémon cards 1996 and newer (this includes the original Pocket Monsters, Japanese, and other foreign language cards), Dragon Ball Super (only DBS), and MetaZoo. We are actively in the process of adding more games - if you have a game request email us here.
Our slabs are specifically designed to fit the common dimension of TCGs such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. Larger cards such as sports cards will not fit in our slabs. This helps eliminate the card “rattle” found in most slabs. This TCG card size is commonly referred to as 63 x 88mm. We do not currently accept the smaller “Japanese” size as seen with games such as YuGiOh.
Yes - All cards we grade receive 4 sub-grades. This information is not printed on the label, but is always available on the Digital Report for your card.
For more information on our grading process and Sub-Grades click
here.
While common grading best-practices have been developed from the popularity of grading sports cards, there are significant differences between sports cards and trading card games. TCGs therefore should NOT be graded exactly like a sports card. For example, unique qualifiers on a card such as a print error or mis-cut may increase the value of a TCG, where oftentimes these qualifiers will de-value a sports card. We take these qualifiers into consideration and notate them, but they do not have a negative impact on the card grade which commonly happens using sports card grading methods.
For more information on our grading process click
here.
We do not reduce the grade of a card because of unique qualifiers such as a crimp or error. Instead they are notated as a “Qualifier” on the label and in the digital report. We do not consider all errors to be Qualifiers and will use discretion in determining what is and is not an error.
For more information on Qualifiers click
here.
Instead of arbitrarily grading any card sent to us, we make sure we have reliable databases to properly identify and label every card we receive. Everytime we add a new TCG, we: A. Secure all necessary resources to properly identify and authenticate every card; B. Ensure the game will fit and display correctly in our slabs; and C. Develop custom backgrounds themed to work with that specific TCG.
YES! Surprisingly many grading companies DO NOT properly authenticate cards and may even grade an inauthentic card. We thoroughly examine and document every card we receive to verify it is authentic, and will not grade or encase a fake/counterfeit card.
For more information on our Authentication process click
here.
The card will receive the Signed Card qualifier (SS) on the label and digital report. Signatures have no impact on the grade of the card. Currently our Authentication process ONLY applies to the card and not signatures. We do not authenticate signatures - we recommend consulting with a signature authentication expert if you want a signature authenticated.
A card is considered "Altered" when someone takes action to change the condition or appearance of the card. We will authenticate (apply a grade of “AO”) and slab the card, but will not grade it. We reserve the right to refuse to process a card that has been altered in a way that could be misleading.
For more information on grading and altered cards
here.
YES! We are located in Tucson, AZ and accept local drop-off and pick-up by appointment. You may either schedule an appointment and submit the order when you are at our facilities, or submit an order and select local drop-off as your shipping option.
To schedule an appointment click
here.
“AO” means Authentication Only. There are multiple reasons why this may be done, but we apply this to a card when it is authenticated and slabbed without being graded.
For more information on “AO” and other label information click
here.
All graded cards receive a numeric Final Grade (e.g. “9.5”) and corresponding letter Mint Score (e.g. “A”). We use the alphabetical Mint Score that better represents the card’s condition and is less ambiguous than “mint” terminology.
We still provide the Mint Equivalent - to see the Mint Equivalent of your card click
here.
NOPE! TCGs require a different set of expertise than sports cards and should be treated differently. We currently only grade TCGs.
Absolutely! Our team has a background in tamper-evident and anti-counterfeiting technologies and has designed these features into the Ambr Grading slabs. While some of our techniques and methods are confidential, we will tell you that our slabs and labels will self-destruct if you open the slab. None of our materials can be reused once you open one of our slabs, unlike common slab designs which use generic and easy to obtain cases and paper labels which can be reused.
Our slabs and printing techniques are unique - you cannot buy our cases or labels on the secondary market (e.g. eBay or Alibaba)!
