Is it Safe to Buy Graded Cards From StockX?

The worst part about buying cards online is the potential to get scammed. Unfortunately, even some reputable name brand websites like Walmart.com sell fake cards. StockX presents itself as a safe, trustworthy site to buy cards from, and even offers an authenticity guarantee. Many people claim that buying sealed trading cards from StockX is unsafe, but what about graded cards?

How StockX Works

StockX built its brand and reputation through sneaker sales. Recently, they have expanded to include electronics, games, and of course, Pokémon cards on their site. 

StockX is a middleman service. This means that people can sign up to sell their products on StockX, and StockX will match the seller with a buyer through their asking/bidding system. StockX claims that all products pass through them to be authenticated before being shipped out to the buyer. All sellers are anonymous and will be paid once they ship their item to StockX to be authenticated. 

This sounds like a unique system and is probably why they are able to separate themselves from a bigger site like eBay. However, there may be flaws.

Are Graded Cards Legit on StockX?

When a trading card is graded by a reputable grading service, it is at the same time authenticated. One of the reasons graded cards sell for a premium is because of that authentication. So, it is safe to purchase graded cards from StockX.

StockX claims to have experts who authenticate every item that is sold through the site. However, we know that many customers have received products that have been tampered with. This includes resealed packs of Pokémon cards. 

We don’t know who authenticates these products at StockX or how they go about it, but our trust has been broken, and now people are wary of purchasing booster boxes and other sealed products from their site.

Thankfully, graded cards are already authenticated before they get to StockX, so the buyer doesn’t have to take a risk with StockX’s authenticated process.

Authenticating Graded Cards

Fake graded cards do exist, though. However, grading companies have implemented a counterfeit-proof system in order to prevent fake slabs from being sold. 

Graded cards such as a PSA have a barcode and serial number on the label. This can be entered into the system on PSA’s website, and the buyer should be able to confirm that the cards are real by matching them up with the data recorded by PSA.

The clear acrylic cases that grading services seal cards are often referred to as a ‘slab’. The slab is made of two pieces of plastic that are sonically sealed together. After the card has been sealed inside, the only way to remove the card is to destroy the slab. This is what PSA is referring to when they mention their “tamper-proof” cases.

Final Thoughts

Some people actively argue against the process of grading trading cards, claiming that is it practically a scam and over-priced. The truth is, that graded cards sell at a premium, and a big part of that is authentication. We are paying top dollar to purchase a card that we know is authentic and we know had been handled by an expert. There are some bad sites and safe sites to buy Pokémon cards from, but in most cases, graded cards are going to be less of a risk when purchasing online, even from StockX.