The Under Glass
Sleeves and toploaders, semi-rigids and submissions, grading, slabs and display — plus the price tools that decide how far a card should climb. 12 guides so far.
130point for quick comps, Card Ladder for deep sales history, Market Movers for cheap collection tracking and alerts, PriceCharting for a free price guide. Plans, prices and data sources from each tool’s own pages.
Card Ladder is a broad sales database with a free tier and one $20-a-month Pro plan; Market Movers is a three-tier app built around a curated card list, deals and alerts. Here is how their prices, data and features compare, from their own pages.
130point is the quick comp check, known for showing accepted best-offer prices; Card Ladder is the research tool with all-time sales history and value estimates behind a $20-a-month Pro plan. How they compare, and when to use each.
Cardboard Gold's Card Saver 1 is the semi-rigid holder PSA's packing rules are built around. What its listing says, where it beats a toploader, where it doesn't, and who should buy it.
How to display graded cards: wall frames, stands, binder pages and show boxes, from the makers' own listings, plus the display sold as a 'graded card display case' that is actually sized for raw cards.
Sleeve each slab, store it upright in a box or bin made for graded cases, and keep it dry and out of the sun. Which sleeves, boxes and bins do the job, from the makers’ own listings.
PSA's own submission and packing rules in order: create the order online, pick a service level by turnaround and insured value, declare value, then sleeve each card in a semi-rigid holder (never a toploader) and ship.
Grading pays when the expected graded value, across the grades a card might get, beats its raw value plus every cost. The four variables, where to find each, a hypothetical worked example and when not to grade.
Toploaders protect cards cheaply in bulk; magnetic holders like Ultra PRO's ONE-TOUCH close around a bare card for display, with UV-blocking additives, at dollars per card. Specs, prices and the sleeve rule, from the makers.
Ultra PRO and BCW penny sleeves compared from each maker's own specs: the same 2 5/8" x 3 5/8" size and polypropylene, different stated thickness ranges, and prices that vary more by store than by brand.
PSA, SGC, CGC and TAG compared from their own fee pages: entry prices from $17 to $59.99 a card, value caps, turnaround estimates, grading scales and which tiers were paused in September 2026.
Toploader sizes combine a 3" x 4" outer size with a point rating for card thickness (one point is .001 inch). Standard cards take 35pt; thick cards need a rated thick holder. Ranges and specs from Ultra PRO and BCW.
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