Grading didn't arrive with the Pokémon TCG — it was borrowed from sports cards, and it took the better part of two decades to become the default way serious collectors buy and sell.
Slow beginnings
Companies like PSA had been grading sports cards since the early 1990s, but Pokémon submissions were reportedly a small niche for years afterward. Interest in grading vintage Pokémon cards specifically started building from around the mid-2010s, as early collectors who'd kept childhood cards began exploring what they were actually worth in top condition.
The 2020-2021 explosion
Pandemic-era boredom, a wave of nostalgia, and viral box-breaking content on YouTube and Twitch reportedly combined to send Pokémon grading submissions through the roof almost overnight. Major grading companies were swamped, with turnaround times stretching out to a year or more, and PSA reportedly paused its lowest-cost bulk service entirely for a period to manage the backlog.
A permanent shift in how cards trade
Even as the initial frenzy cooled, grading stuck around as the standard for higher-value sales. A numerically graded card lets a buyer trust a listing without inspecting it in person, which reportedly shifted a much larger share of serious trading toward graded cards than existed before the boom — and cemented population reports and grading tiers as everyday collector vocabulary.
Frequently asked questions
When did grading become a big part of Pokémon card collecting?
Interest built from around 2016, then accelerated sharply during the 2020-2021 boom.
Why did grading backlogs get so bad in 2020 and 2021?
A sudden surge in submissions overwhelmed turnaround capacity at major grading companies.
Did the grading boom change how people buy and sell cards?
Yes, graded cards became far easier to trust and price at a distance than raw ones.