GRAAD – Review
Over the course of the last few weeks, we have taken a closer look at some card grading services in Belgium and The Netherlands, and for the most part, we have discovered a few fun services that treat your cards with respect, and also grade them with care. This time, however, we go all the way to Italy, to discuss the card grading services of GRAAD, which are building up an impressive portfolio of different collectible cards and card games they are grading. They even preserve some cool original artwork in their slabs. We sent over a few Cardfight!! Vanguard and Weiss Schwarz cards to be graded, and we were quite impressed by the company’s service.
Note: to learn more about terminology for card grading, and card grading service reviews, be sure to check our announcement article that will be updated frequently. You can do so by clicking here.
Ordering process
The ordering process on GRAAD’s website is quite simple. The company offers a few types of grading options, and we were allowed to try out their Standard format. When submitting your order, the website will ask you to fill in a proper form in which you have to fill in each of your cards separately. At the end of your order, you can check if you have submitted all the cards you wanted to, and then you’re basically good to go.
After submitting the order, you can also consult your order history and check what cards you have sent to GRAAD to be graded. Even after our order was completed, we were still able to check the original order form via our account, which is a great function.
The only remark we could possibly make about the website is that there are a lot of spelling mistakes present in the English version. This may actually scare off potential clients, as it does give a somewhat less professional impression. This is something that could be easily fixed by hiring someone who could go over the current text on the site. Some warnings also pop up in Italian, even when ordering via the English version.
Slabs
GRAAD’s slabs are surprisingly simple, and that’s how we prefer it. Our graded cards were returned to us in simple clear slabs, that have an equally simple but clear label. The slabs themselves also have small markings with the company’s name, to prevent forgeries of the slabs. The cases are extremely clean, they do not show any welding marks, safe for a small mark at the bottom.
The label shows the card game name, the card name, the set, the number, and of course also the final grade. The standard format of GRAAD’s services does not have any subgrades. The backside of the label has a holo marking, the company name, as well as a very clear and clean QR code that will lead you to the card’s landing page on the company’s database. All information is present, and the somewhat sober label design makes your graded card(s) look very classy.
Our cards were presented to us in a snug-fit slab, which is absolutely great. Seeing Cardfight!! Vanguard and Weiss Schwarz cards both have different sizes, it was very pleasant to see that GRAAD offers different slabs for different types of cards.
Database
GRAAD’s database is fairly simple, but it looks clean and has all the information you need. When scanning the QR code at the back of the label of your graded card(s), you’ll be taken to that specific card’s database entry. On this page, you’ll see the details that are also mentioned on the label, as well as a declaration of authenticity and the signature of the company’s president. (Database entry example can be found here.)
Preservation or worthy investment?
The company is currently gaining ground all over Europe, and it’s doing it without aggressive marketing, which means that happy customers are spreading the word themselves. Thanks to this, GRAAD is building up a good reputation, and it might have the chance to build itself up to becoming a trustworthy presence in Europe. While at this point in time, the cards you submit to GRAAD might not end up becoming that much more valuable, we believe that if this company keeps up this spotless track record, it might become one of the bigger companies in Europe. For the price you’re paying, you do get a lot in return, and the company clearly treats your collectibles with care.
Conclusion
Having our cards graded by GRAAD was a very pleasant experience and we were extremely happy with the results. After a few days, we received very clean and good-looking slabs, with our cards in a snug-fit compartment. All the necessary information was clearly visible on the label, the company has a great ordering process, and the database is also simple and clean. We do hope the company polishes the English version of the site a bit more, but other than that, we were extremely happy with this card grading service.
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