Refund policy
THE SHORT VERSION
Grading is a service, not a product. Once your cards are logged in and our graders begin work, that work has been performed and grading fees are not refundable. We do not accept returns or exchanges of graded cards, and we do not refund a submission because you disagree with a grade.
What we do stand behind:
- A slab damaged on its way back to you — we reholder it free, including shipping both ways.
- Cards lost or damaged in transit — covered by the insurance on your submission, up to your declared value.
- A mistake on our end — wrong card, wrong label, wrong cert information — we fix it free.
- An order cancelled before your cards reach us — refunded.
Details on each of these are below. Please read the 14-day inspection window in particular.
WHY THERE ARE NO RETURNS ON GRADING
When you submit cards to Crest, you are buying our graders' time and judgment. Each card is examined under magnification and controlled lighting, scored against four pillars, reviewed by a minimum of two graders, encapsulated in a tamper-evident holder, and given a permanent certification record.
That work cannot be undone or resold. Once it is done, it is done — which is why grading fees are earned at the point your submission is logged in and graded, and why we cannot offer returns, refunds or exchanges on completed submissions. This is standard across the grading industry.
CANCELLING BEFORE WE RECEIVE YOUR CARDS
You can cancel any time before your cards arrive at our facility. Email support@gradedbycrest.com with your order number and we will refund your grading fees in full.
If we have already emailed your prepaid shipping label and you have not used it, we will refund your grading fees and the insurance charge; the shipping charge is non-refundable once a label has been issued, because it has already been paid to the carrier.
Once your cards have been logged in at our facility, the order can no longer be cancelled. If your package is already in the mail, email us immediately and we will do what we can.
DAMAGED SLABS
If a Crest holder arrives cracked, scuffed, or otherwise damaged in return transit, we will reholder the card free of charge and cover shipping in both directions. The card keeps its original grade and certification number.
To start a reholder, email support@gradedbycrest.com within 14 days of delivery with your order number, the certification number, and photos of the damage. We will send you a prepaid label.
Please do not crack the holder open yourself. A card removed from its holder cannot be reholdered under this policy, and removing a card voids its grade and certification record.
This covers damage that occurred in transit or in our hands. It does not cover holders damaged after delivery — dropped, scratched in storage, damaged in onward shipping to a buyer, or opened deliberately.
CARDS LOST OR DAMAGED IN TRANSIT
Every submission travels insured. The first $100 of declared value is included with your shipping charge, and any coverage above that is what you purchased at checkout based on the declared value you entered.
If cards are lost or damaged in transit, email us within 14 days and we will file the carrier claim and pursue the insurance on that shipment. Payouts are limited to the declared value of the submission, allocated across the cards in it, and to what the insurer actually pays.
This is the reason declared value matters. If you declared $500 and sent $4,000 of cards, the most that can be recovered is $500. Full details are in our Terms of Service.
IF WE MADE A MISTAKE
If we return the wrong card, misidentify a card on its label, enter incorrect information on a certification record, or otherwise get something wrong on our end, tell us and we will correct it at our expense, including shipping both ways. Email support@gradedbycrest.com with your order number and cert number.
There is no time limit on correcting a factual error on a certification record. The 14-day window applies to physical damage and missing cards, where evidence goes stale quickly.
GRADES ARE FINAL
A Crest grade is the considered opinion of at least two graders working from our published grading standard. Disagreeing with a grade is not grounds for a refund, a return, or a free regrade, and we do not refund submissions because a card graded lower than you hoped.
If you believe a grade is wrong, you are welcome to submit the card for review as a separate paid service. You can also read the full grading standard on our site to see exactly how the number was reached — every pillar score is published on the card's certification record, so the math behind your grade is never hidden from you.
NO GRADE (0) OUTCOMES
Some cards cannot receive a numeric grade — evidence of trimming, recoloring, restoration or chemical alteration, counterfeits and unauthorized reprints, or damage so severe the card cannot be safely encapsulated.
A NO GRADE determination takes the same examination and the same two-grader review as any other outcome. The work was performed, so the grading fee is not refunded. The card is returned in a Crest holder marked NO GRADE with the reason noted on the cert.
CARDS WE DECLINE TO GRADE
If we receive a card we do not grade, or cannot grade for a reason that is not the card's condition, we will refund that card's grading fee or apply it as credit to your next submission, whichever you prefer, and return the card with the rest of your submission at no extra shipping cost.
PAID FOR MORE CARDS THAN YOU SENT
If you paid for more cards than arrived, the unused per-card fees are held as credit toward a future submission. If you would rather have the money back, email us and we will refund the difference to your original payment method.
If you sent more cards than you paid for, we will grade what you paid for and invoice you for the rest before returning them. See our Terms of Service.
DUPLICATE OR ACCIDENTAL ORDERS
Placed the same order twice, or checked out by mistake? Email us before your cards arrive and we will refund the duplicate in full, including shipping if no label was used.
HOW TO START A CLAIM
Email support@gradedbycrest.com with:
- Your order number
- The certification number, if the card has been graded
- Clear photos of the damage or the problem
- The original packaging, kept until the claim is resolved — carriers often ask to inspect it
Do not ship anything back to us before contacting us. Packages sent without an approved claim and a label from us cannot be accepted or insured, and we cannot be responsible for them.
HOW REFUNDS ARE ISSUED
Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within 10 business days of approval. Your bank or card issuer may take a few additional days to post it.
If more than 15 business days have passed since we told you a refund was approved and you still do not see it, email support@gradedbycrest.com and we will chase it.
We will always tell you plainly whether a claim is approved or declined, and why.
QUESTIONS
If you are unsure whether something is covered, ask before you ship. We would much rather answer a question up front than sort out a problem afterwards.
Crest Grading
P.O. Box 70
Bridge City, TX 77611
support@gradedbycrest.com
This policy applies to submissions placed on or after the date it was posted. It should be read alongside our Terms of Service and Shipping Policy, which set out custody, declared value and the limits of our liability in full.