Shipping policy
SHIPPING AT A GLANCE
One flat shipping charge of $14.99 per submission covers both directions — the prepaid label we email you to send your cards in, and the insured return of your slabs. There is nothing to pay at the post office counter, and nothing to pay when your cards come home.
Your submission also includes $100 of insurance at no extra cost. Coverage above that is charged automatically based on the declared value you enter at checkout.
GETTING YOUR CARDS TO US
We email your prepaid label within 1–6 hours after checkout. Print it, tape it to your package, and drop it off. You do not buy postage, and you do not need an account with us to receive it.
If your label has not arrived within 6 hours, check your spam folder first, then email us at support@gradedbycrest.com and we will resend it.
Always use the label we send you. It is tied to your submission ID, which is how we match your package to your order the moment it arrives. Packages sent to us without a Crest label may be delayed while we identify them, and we cannot insure a shipment we did not label.
How to pack your cards
- Penny sleeve each card.
- Slide the sleeved card into a top loader.
- Tape the top loader shut so the card cannot slide out.
- Bundle the top loaders together and pack them snugly in a bubble mailer or small box so nothing shifts in transit.
- Include your printed packing slip if you have one.
Do not use paper clips, rubber bands directly on cards, or loose sleeves. Cards that arrive damaged because of inadequate packing are not covered — this is the single most common avoidable problem we see.
DECLARED VALUE AND INSURANCE
Declared value is required on every submission. It is your good-faith estimate of the total market value of the cards you are sending, and it does two things: it sets the insured value on the return trip, and it caps what we can pay out on a claim.
- Up to $100 — included free with your $14.99 shipping.
- Above $100 — $2.00 per $100 of coverage, billed in $250 bands and added to your cart automatically.
- Maximum $2,500 per submission through the website.
The exact charge appears on the submission page as soon as you enter a value, before you check out, so there are no surprises at the till.
Sending more than $2,500? Email support@gradedbycrest.com and we will quote it and arrange the shipping with you directly. Do not split a high-value collection across several submissions to get under the cap — if the cards travel in one box, the coverage on one submission is all that applies.
Declare honestly. If you declare $500 and send $4,000 of cards, our responsibility is still $500. Under-declaring to save a few dollars on insurance is the worst trade in this hobby.
WHERE WE SHIP
We currently ship to addresses within the United States only, including all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We are not able to issue prepaid labels for international submissions at this time.
For APO/FPO/DPO, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories, email us before ordering and we will let you know what we can do.
TURNAROUND AND WHEN IT STARTS
Turnaround begins the business day your cards are logged in at our facility — not the day you order, and not the day you drop the package off. It does not include transit time in either direction.
- Bulk — 15 business days. 10-card minimum.
- Standard — 10 business days.
- Express — 5 business days, front of the queue.
Turnaround times are estimates, not guarantees. Heavy submission volume, cards that need extra review, or an incomplete submission can extend them. We will keep you posted if yours is running long.
GETTING YOUR CARDS BACK
Once grading and encapsulation are finished, your slabs ship back to you insured to your declared value, with tracking.
We ship to the address on your order. Please make sure it is correct and complete before you check out, and make sure someone can receive the package there.
TRACKING
You will receive tracking for your return shipment by email as soon as the label is created. Your inbound label is also trackable from the moment you drop it off, so you can confirm it reached us.
Every graded card also gets a permanent online certification record, so you can look up any Crest slab by its cert number at any time.
DELAYS
Delivery times are estimates only and are not guaranteed. We are not responsible for delays caused by shipping carriers, weather, holidays, or other events outside our control. Once a package is in the carrier's hands, their timeline is their own.
WRONG OR UNDELIVERABLE ADDRESSES
If a return shipment comes back to us because the address was incorrect or incomplete, or because delivery was refused, we will email you to sort it out. Reshipping to a corrected address is at your expense.
If we cannot reach you and you do not arrange for return within 90 days of our first attempt to contact you, the submission is treated as abandoned under our Terms of Service.
LOST OR DAMAGED SHIPMENTS
Inspect your cards as soon as they arrive. If anything is missing or damaged, email support@gradedbycrest.com within 14 days of delivery with your order number and photos. Claims made after 14 days cannot be processed.
If a shipment is lost or damaged by the carrier, we will file the claim and pursue the insurance on that shipment. Recovery is limited to the declared value of the submission.
Full details on custody, insurance and the limits of our responsibility are in our Terms of Service.
QUESTIONS
Email us at support@gradedbycrest.com and a human will answer.
Crest Grading
P.O. Box 70
Bridge City, TX 77611
support@gradedbycrest.com
Shipping rates, insurance rates and turnaround estimates in effect at the time you place your order apply to that order. We may update this policy at any time.