How to use a card Pre-Screen before grading

Pre-Screen is a structured way to slow down before sending a card into deeper review or a paid grading submission. It helps you check the same evidence in the same order: photo setup, visible centering, corners, edges, front/back coverage, and skipped observations.

The value is consistency. A pre-screen does not make the final decision for you, but it can prevent common mistakes like checking only the front, overlooking a back corner, or treating a blurry photo as strong evidence.

Use Pre-Screen when the decision is still open

Pre-Screen is most useful before you have already decided to submit. Use it when a card looks clean at a glance, when the card is valuable enough to deserve a slower check, or when you want to prepare observations before AI Review. It is less useful when a card already has a confirmed crease, heavy whitening, peeling, or other obvious defect that rules out your goal.

Start with the front, then add the back

The front usually carries the most visible collector appeal, but the back often reveals corner and edge issues more clearly. Upload a front photo first, align the boundary, then add the back when you can. If the back is skipped, treat the result as incomplete rather than assuming the back is clean.

Confirm what was actually checked

A strong pre-screen summary should distinguish between clean evidence and missing evidence. "No issue seen" is different from "not assessed." If surface was not photographed at an angle, or if a corner is cropped out, the correct conclusion is lower confidence, not automatic strength.

Use the result as a checklist

After completing the workflow, review the summary before moving on. Look for the weakest area, not the best area. A card with solid centering but one suspicious edge should be inspected again under better light. A card with a skipped back should not be treated as fully reviewed.

What Pre-Screen does not guarantee

Pre-Screen cannot authenticate a card, guarantee a PSA, TAG, BGS, CGC, or other grading result, or see damage hidden outside the uploaded photos. It is a guided inspection aid. Final outcomes can still depend on in-hand review, current grader standards, photo quality, surface texture, and defects that are not visible in the image.