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Grading & authentication

How much does it cost to get a comic graded?

Published Sep 14, 2026 · Updated Sep 14, 2026 · 1 min read

Short answerGrading fees are charged per book and depend on the service tier, which is set by the book's declared value and the turnaround you choose, plus return shipping and insurance. Economy tiers for low-value modern books are the cheapest and slowest; high-value and express tiers cost considerably more. Fees change regularly, so always check CGC's or CBCS's current price list rather than a guide.

What you pay for

A grading submission has several separate costs:

  1. The grading fee, per book, set by the tier.
  2. Optional services — pressing, cleaning, fast-track, reholdering, or witnessed signatures.
  3. Return shipping and insurance, charged by the grader on the way back and paid by you on the way there.
  4. Membership, if the grader requires one for direct submissions. Submitting through an authorised dealer avoids this.

How tiers work

Both CGC and CBCS group submissions by the declared value of the book — what you say it would be worth in the expected grade — and by turnaround. A modern book worth a few hundred dollars goes in a low tier; a Silver Age key worth thousands goes in a higher tier that costs more and is handled with more care and insurance. Declaring a value that is too low to save money is a mistake: it caps the insurance if the book is lost or damaged.

Making the numbers work

  • Batch your books: submitting several at once spreads the shipping cost.
  • Do not grade books whose expected graded value is below the total cost — see Should I get my comic graded?.
  • Use a dealer submission service if you are only sending a few books; dealer rates and consolidated shipping are usually cheaper than a one-off direct submission with membership.

Our service

Our grading submission service quotes the exact fee for your book before anything is sent, includes insured shipping both ways, and pre-screens every book so you are not paying to grade copies that will disappoint.

Sources and further reading

Written by the Rare Comics Collectors grading team. Spotted an error or have a question this guide does not answer? Tell us.

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