Card Grading and Customer Trade Decisions
Tested build: Version 1.02 on Windows PC through Steam, checked September 21, 2026. Console controls and balance may differ, so confirm the numbers shown in your own grading app after an update.
You know the scene: a customer offers a gorgeous single, your pack-opening hand starts twitching, and suddenly the cash meant for wages and replacement stock is sealed inside a grading shipment. Then the card returns as a 6. Lovely slab. Terrible lunch money. In TCG Card Shop Simulator, the fix is simple: decide what a card must return before you submit or trade for it.
Check the numbers before grading
- Open your phone and select Cardinal's Grading.
- Choose one of the four active submission slots. Each package holds up to eight cards, and you can have no more than four packages active at once.
- Select a card and record its current ungraded market value. Use this as the value you give up by grading it, not as guaranteed instant cash from a sale.
- Check that card's current values at Grades 1 through 10 in the TCG Price app. The grade-value ladder belongs to your save, and market prices can move, so another shopkeeper's dollar totals may not match yours.
- Choose a service based on speed and cost. Paying more shortens the wait; it does not improve the grade roll.
- Submit before 1:00 PM when possible. A package sent after 1:00 PM starts processing the next day.
- When the package returns, record the card's new graded market value and compare it with the old raw value and your full grading cost. Recheck the return-day price before setting a sale price or getting emotionally attached to the shiny plastic.
Grading services in Build 1.02
| Service | Fee per card | Shipping | Capacity | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $10 | $10 per package | Up to 8 cards | 12 in-game days |
| Standard | $40 | $10 per package | Up to 8 cards | 7 in-game days |
| Express | $200 | $10 per package | Up to 8 cards | 4 in-game days |
| Premium | $1,500 | $10 per package | Up to 8 cards | 2 in-game days |
The $10 shipping charge applies to the whole package. That is $10 per card when you submit one card, but only $1.25 per card in a full package of eight. The four-package limit is shared across all services, giving you a maximum of 32 cards in grading at once.
Know what the grading roll can do
An ungraded card can initially return at any grade from 1 through 10. The roll favors higher grades, but no service guarantees a 10.
| Initial grade | Chance |
|---|---|
| 10 | 38.40% |
| 9 | 23.04% |
| 8 | 17.28% |
| 7 | 8.64% |
| 6 | 4.32% |
| 5 | 5.92% |
| 4 | 1.20% |
| 3 | 0.60% |
| 2 | 0.30% |
| 1 | 0.30% |
Regrading uses a different roll: there is a 30% chance to rise one grade, a 40% chance to stay put, and a 30% chance to fall one grade. Grades stop at 1 and 10. A Grade 9 can become an 8, 9, or 10. A Grade 10 stays at 10 on 70% of rolls and falls to 9 on 30%, so it has no upside. Leave profitable 9s and prized 10s alone unless you are intentionally building a full Grade 1–10 set with expendable duplicates.
Run the break-even check
Use this formula before pressing Submit:
Required graded market value = (raw market value + grading fee + shipping share + waiting reserve) ÷ planned sale multiplier.
The waiting reserve is not a game fee. It is a planning amount for having the card and cash locked away. Pick a small daily value that fits your shop. A card needed for today's restock money should carry a much larger waiting cost than a spare trophy card.
Worked example
Suppose a raw card is currently worth $500. Its Grade 1–10 values in your TCG Price app are $50, $100, $150, $200, $250, $350, $500, $600, $750, and $1,000. You place it in a full eight-card Standard package, making its shipping share $1.25. You also reserve $5 for each of the seven waiting days, or $35 total.
- Raw opportunity cost: $500
- Standard fee: $40
- Shipping share: $1.25
- Waiting reserve: $35
- Total amount to recover: $576.25
- With a planned 10% sale markup: $576.25 ÷ 1.10 = $523.86 break-even graded market value
Grades 8, 9, and 10 clear that target. Together, those outcomes have a 78.72% initial-grade chance. If the card returns at Grade 8, its resulting market value is $600, up from the recorded $500 raw value. A 10% sticker is $660, leaving $83.75 above the $576.25 recovery target. A Grade 7 is worth $500; even a 10% sticker reaches only $550 and remains $26.25 short.
Using all ten grade chances, the probability-weighted graded market value is $737.35. A 10% sticker on that expected value is $811.09, leaving an estimated $234.84 after the raw value, fee, shipping share, and waiting reserve.
That last number is an estimate, not cash already in the till. A buyer still has to choose the card, have enough money, and accept its price. For a safer test, run the same math at market value with no markup. If the deal only works when a rich customer instantly pays a premium, the slab is wearing a tiny red flag.
Compare every customer offer with market value
A trading customer waits beside a register with a red exclamation mark. An untouched offer normally expires after one in-game hour. Open the offer to check the card, grade, current market value, asking price, and number of copies you own. If you need time to inspect your collection or earn more cash, choose Let Me Think. That keeps the customer until the end of the day, but the waiting offer continues to occupy that register's trading slot.
| Offer type | Market-value check | Example | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer wants cash | Projected sale price minus negotiated purchase price | $990 projected sale minus $1,050 asking price = -$60 | Decline or negotiate below your walk-away price |
| Customer wants a swap | Value received minus value given | $1,400 received minus $1,100 given = +$300 | Accept only after checking protected copies |
When the customer wants cash
Compare the negotiated purchase price with the card's current market value, not its artwork, rarity label, or possible Grade 10 value. A raw card worth $900 with a $1,050 asking price is already $150 over market. Even an eventual sale at a 10% markup produces only $990, a $60 loss before grading or waiting costs. If the customer accepts $720 instead, the same projected sale leaves a $270 gross spread before grading or waiting costs.
Customers have different limits and may leave after a low counteroffer. Set your walk-away number first, increase offers only while the deal remains below that number, and accept that some bargains will walk out the door. There is no fixed discount that every customer accepts.
When the customer wants a card swap
Subtract the current market value of the card you give from the current market value of the card you receive. Receiving a $1,400 card for a $1,100 duplicate creates a $300 market-value edge. Giving away your only $1,100 deck staple for that same deal may still be a bad trade because replacing it can block your deck. For graded cards, compare the value of the exact grade shown, not the raw version.
A collection upgrade can justify an even or mildly unfavorable swap, but call it collection spending rather than shop profit. That keeps your cozy collector goals intact without letting binder math quietly eat the register.
Protect cards before profit decisions
- Deck copies: Keep every copy currently needed by your Tetramon deck. Trade or grade only the surplus unless you already have a tested replacement.
- Collection pieces: If you want to retain the card, never let the owned count fall to zero. Keep one copy out of your sale, trade, and grading batches.
- Display trophies: Choose the exact copy that belongs in your display and treat it as unavailable inventory. A Grade 10 centerpiece can be worth more to your dream shop than its cash value.
- Profit copies: Only cards left after those reservations enter the grading and trade math. A useful default is collection copy first, deck needs second, chosen display piece third, surplus for business.
If grading has already drained your till, stop Express and Premium submissions, pause regrades, and sell one or two safe duplicates raw at market value or a modest markup. Refill dependable sealed stock, cover bills and wages, then rebuild grading batches with Value or Standard service. Do not ask the pack goblin to rescue a cash-flow problem; it has never worked a register in its life.
Use this final counter check
- Grade when the expected graded value clears the raw value, full fees, waiting reserve, and a realistic sale plan.
- Buy from a customer when the negotiated cost leaves room for resale or fills a collection or deck need you chose in advance.
- Accept a swap when the market-value difference and card utility both make sense.
- Walk away when the deal consumes operating cash, depends on a guaranteed Grade 10, or takes your only protected copy.
The best result is not always the largest sale. Sometimes it is a clean profit that funds the next shop upgrade. Sometimes it is the perfect slab sitting under glass, absolutely refusing to help with payroll. Both are valid—just know which decision you are making before the card leaves the counter.
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