"How long will it take?" is one of the first questions collectors ask. Turnaround varies enormously between services — here's what drives it.
What affects turnaround
- Distance. Shipping cards overseas and back can add weeks before grading even starts.
- Queues. Large backlogs at busy services stretch timelines further.
- Service tier. Most graders offer faster lanes at a higher price.
CALIBRE's turnaround
Because we grade domestically in the UK, there's no transatlantic shipping eating weeks off the clock. Standard grading is a 72-hour turnaround from when we receive your card, and the 24-hour Return lane grades, slabs and dispatches within a day of receipt.
Why we cap intake
We deliberately limit how many cards we take each week. That's how we protect those turnaround times instead of building a backlog — if a week is full, you can join the notify list and we'll tell you the moment slots reopen.
The full picture
Turnaround is measured from receipt, so the postage time to us is on top — send on a tracked service and pack well (packaging guide). Compared to shipping overseas, the difference is days versus weeks: see UK vs US grading.