Delta Grading – Review
Many of the writers of our site are avid card game players or collectors, and that’s also why we have taken an interest in grading services around the globe. A few years ago, we started featuring different European card grading services, but we have sadly had a bit less time to keep looking into more and more of these businesses due to other review work. Luckily, after our long break, we’re immediately going to make it up to you by featuring a local company, Delta Grading, which is clearly putting a focus on making a name for themselves on the European market. Delta Grading is actually the company that took over Cardmarket Grading, trying a new approach with the new management. Delta Grading is clearly invested in gradual expansion by partnering with a lot of game stores, rather than mainly focusing on having cards sent to them directly. We put the company to the test, and were pleasantly surprised.
Note: to learn more about terminology for card grading, and card grading service reviews, be sure to check our announcement article which will be updated frequently. You can do so by clicking here.
Ordering process
We found the ordering process to be easy and intuitive, and the company already helps you out a lot. Delta Grading allows you to ship directly or drop it off at one of the partner stores, and it even filters the options if you select the correct country and region. The company currently only has partner stores in Belgium and Bulgaria, but they are expanding rapidly, offering more and more options as time goes by. After selecting your drop-off point or the option to ship directly, you’ll be asked to fill in a form about your cards. This is something that is often overlooked by smaller grading companies, and even the now closed down Cardmarket Grading did not have this. We can only commend Delta Grading for this, as it prevents mistakes, discussions about what cards were dropped off in certain stores, etc. There is also just one grading option that will always offer you subgrades as well, and you even get a discount for every five cards you want to have graded.
Slabs
Delta Grading slabs are very clean, simple, and don’t have too many bells and whistles. You’ll be treated to a slab that looks fairly traditional in the card grading world, albeit slightly thicker. There are cases for both Japanese and regular-sized cards, and the graded card has a frosted border around it, making the card stand out a bit more. The cards themselves cannot really move around in the case, which is certainly already a plus. There’s only a tiny welding mark visible at the bottom.
The labels are very classy, clear, clean, and change slightly depending on the score itself. The grade is clearly visible on the label, as well as the subgrades, card name, number, set name, and certification number. The back of the label clearly depicts the Delta Grading logo and the QR code that takes you directly to the database showcasing the graded card’s information.
Database
The database on the Delta Grading website is easy to use, and the information is clear. If you type in the certification number or scan the QR code on your slab, the site will take you to the graded card you want to look up, and it will display the final grade, the subgrades, and even the date it was graded. You’ll also see an example of the graded card, but this is sadly just a stock photo. It’s still a step up from a lot of other grading companies, which just show you the general information and the grade, however. We do hope that Delta Grading does opt for the pictures of the actual graded card, as it would be easier to prevent fake slabs in the future, as potential buyers could look up the actual graded card then.
Preservation or worthy investment?
As Delta Grading is currently still a fairly new company in the grading landscape, we’d argue that it’s currently more interesting for preservation purposes. Even so, the company is clearly investing in expanding its business all over Europe by gradually partnering with more and more stores. So, in the long run, this could become a worthy investment if the company keeps up its current momentum, gaining more brand awareness. Europe is in desperate need of a few big players in the grading service business, and it seems that Delta Grading wants to fill in this gap.
Conclusion
Even though Delta Grading is still a new player on the card grading service market, the company has ambition, and they are already trying their best to make a name for themselves. Our first impression left us with quality graded cards, clean slabs, a functional database, and an affordable local grading solution. We hope the company can continue finding more partner stores in other European countries, and that the database is updated with actual pictures of the graded cards. The latter is just us nitpicking, perhaps, but this would certainly boost the company’s image, as most EU grading services don’t offer this feature on their database page.
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