How It Works & FAQ

This deserves a completely straight answer: grading companies classify restored cards as "altered." If a grader detects restoration work, the card will receive an "Altered" or "Evidence of Restoration" designation rather than a numeric grade. Restoration is the right choice for cards you want to look their best (display pieces, personal collections, childhood favorites), not for cards whose value depends on a clean numeric grade. If your plan is to grade and sell, say so in the application and we'll talk honestly about whether restoration makes sense for your situation.

Restoring your own card is completely legal. It's your property, and conservation of collectibles (art, comics, coins, cards) is a long-standing practice. The ethics come down to disclosure: a restored card should always be described as restored if it's ever sold. That's why every assessment is upfront about what "restored" means, and why selling a restored card as unaltered is something this shop will never help with.

Starting prices for every service are on the pricing page: cleaning starts at $10, crease repair at $80, a full restoration at $150. What your card actually costs depends on the damage: a single corner lift is a very different job from a creased, dirty vintage holo needing full treatment. That's what the free assessment is for. You'll get a specific quote before committing to anything. One thing to know for expensive cards: anything declared over $500 carries a high-value handling fee of 3% of the declared value. On a card like that, the stakes demand a level of precision, knowledge, and skill beyond the standard job, and the fee appears as its own line on your quote.

Assessments usually come back within 1–2 business days. Restoration time varies with the work needed and the current queue, and your quote will include a time estimate. The priority is always doing the job right, not doing it fast; some repairs need time between stages to set properly.

You'll get exact shipping instructions (penny sleeve, top-loader or card saver, rigid mailer, tracked service) so the card travels safely both ways. On arrival it's photographed and documented, so its exact received condition is on record. During the work, only the areas being treated are handled, and high-value cards are stored protected between sessions. Whatever your card is worth, always insure the package you send for its full value. The insured amount is what you can recover if the carrier loses or damages it.

No, and anyone who tells you otherwise should worry you. Some damage can be made to essentially disappear (lifted corners, bends, surface grime). Some can be dramatically improved but not erased (hard creases, deep scratches). And occasionally the honest answer is that the risk of working on a card outweighs the benefit. You'll always get that honest answer before any money changes hands. See the Damage Guide for what's typical per damage type.

No. Whitening is the one type of damage that genuinely cannot be restored. Whitening is what you see when the printed ink layer, most often along the back edges and corners, has been torn or worn away, exposing the raw white card stock beneath. Every other repair on the Damage Guide works because the card's original material is still there, just displaced or dirty. With whitening, the ink is physically gone, and no honest process can regenerate a printed layer that no longer exists. A card with whitening can absolutely still be restored in every other respect. The whitening itself simply stays, and your assessment will say so plainly.

Pokémon is the specialty, but the materials and techniques apply to most trading cards: sports cards, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and other TCGs. Submit it through the application and it'll be assessed the same way.

Check the Damage Guide, which covers each type with plain-language descriptions. Still not sure? Pick "Other" in the application and describe it in your own words. Good photos matter far more than the right terminology.

The application and assessment are completely free, and you'll know the exact price before paying anything. Once you approve the quote and sign the agreement, payment is due up front (in full, or a non-refundable deposit if we agree one) before your card ships to me and before any work begins. You'll never be surprised by a charge: extra work found mid-restoration is only billed after you approve it.