KOBA Grading Review For Canadians

Having your cards graded domestically is an excellent option for Canadians. Sending your cards to a nearby business saves time and money and supports your local economy. The biggest grading companies all reside in the US, but there are plenty of domestic options, such as KOBA Grading, which offers more than just a beautiful slab. 

Overall Experience 

My grading experience with KOBA was exceptional. For a new grading service, just over a year old, I was impressed with the professional feel of their website and submission form. Everything was straightforward and easy to understand. 

Their slabs are beautiful, and of the highest quality. In the last few years, we’ve begun to see a shift to more creative slab designs and KOBA is one of the best examples of this. The images on their website don’t do it justice, you have to see one for yourself. 

The whole journey with KOBA was enjoyable and I’m excited to grade with them again. 

About KOBA Grading

KOBA is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Many of Canada’s domestic grading services are located on the east coast, making this a prime spot for any collectors who live in surrounding provinces or even Washington or Montana.

They officially launched in April 2022, and have been killing it ever since. We’ve seen many new grading services pop up lately, but KOBA stands out with its professional website, beautiful slabs, and unique bounty system.

They are also active on social media, often announcing giveaways, discount codes, and featuring recent submissions. 

Check out their Instagram or Facebook.

Slab Design and Aesthetic

The look and feel of a slab speak volumes regarding the company’s professionalism. If the slab feels cheap, then that is reflected upon the ones who graded it. 

I’m so glad to say that KOBA has a beautiful, solid, and refreshing slab design. 

The slab

The plastic holder itself is crystal clear and solid. There is no flex to it like some cheaper slabs, and actually has a weight to it, like an expensive piece of tech. 

I can’t overstate the feel of premium quality when holding one of these slabs. It is by far the heaviest and most solid-feeling slab I’ve held. 

Its dimensions are L: 132mm W: 83mm D: 7mm.

For reference, PSA slab dimensions are L: 134mm W: 78mm D: 5mm

So compared to a PSA slab, KOBA offers a much thicker, wider, and slightly shorter case. 

The label

The label inside the slab that proudly presents the grade, is arguably the most important part of a graded slab design. It can either have a professional low-key look such as PSA, or a more spectacular design such as ACE Grading. 

KOBA has positioned itself somewhere in between. With a bold grade up front, and subgrades on the back, their label is professional, sleek, and simple, but then they get creative with the logo.

A common format among grading labels is to have the company’s logo positioned to the left or right. KOBA does this, by placing the logo to the left of the label, but in a new and innovative way.

It’s not a sticker, it’s not a stamp, it’s a proud and bold resin lion head. This is by far the most influential feature of the slab. This is what KOBA has done to stand out, and people are loving it.

Another feature common among grading services is a colour-coded label. When you submit with KOBA, you’re shooting for that black label, in this case, called the Onyx Lion. If your card is graded a perfect 10 in all four subgrades, the card is deemed an ‘Immaculate 10” and gets the black label with the Onyx Lion logo. It’s stunning. 

Grading scale

KOBA offers a very simple and standard grading scale. They use the regular 1-10 scale and grade based on subgrades (Corners, Edges, Surface, Centering). 

Service and Communication 

Bounty cards

One amazing feature that helps KOA stand out is its unique but very cool bounty system.

If you navigate over to the Bounty Page of their website, you’ll see a list of cards from multiple TCGs. You’re encouraged to send your cards in if you own any of these from the list. If you receive an Onyx Lion, then you’ve successfully claimed a bounty.

Claiming a bounty awards you a very rare KOBA Grading Bounty Trophy Card.

This is one of the most enticing offers from a grading company that we’ve seen in a long time, and it just goes to show how innovative and attractive KOBA Grading is right now.

Website and customer support

KOBA’s website is fairly easy to navigate, taking just a few seconds to find the ‘submit cards’ button and make your way over to the submission form. From here, you can choose different TCGs and specify which cards you’d like to send in. This is where communication might come in.

While KOBA does offer a wide variety of TCGs to choose from, there are still many that remain absent from the list on their submission form. In this case, feel free to send them an email, and they’ll likely agree to grade the card for you.

I exchanged a handful of emails with KOBA and the response time was great, within a few hours at most. 

You’ll receive email updates upon each milestone. For example, you’ll receive an email when your submission has been received when your cards have been received, when your cards have been graded, and when they have been shipped out. This is actually a great service KOBA provides since we all know how difficult it is to wait for your submission to arrive.

KOBA offers a 60-day turnaround time and a 10-day turnaround time. Only having the two options simplifies the experience for the user. On the other hand, they do not offer a discount for bulk submissions, but they are kind and friendly enough that you could probably email them and ask for one. 

Price

Let’s talk about the price since it is often the determining factor when choosing a grading service.

KOBA has good self-awareness of where they are positioned in the market. New grading companies have yet to build a reputation and fanbase, therefore they can’t charge a premium as some services do. On the other hand, setting your prices too low could reflect on the company, suggesting they are “cheap”.

Nothing about KOBA suggests they are cheap in any way. Rather, professional and affordable. Their prices are lower than the big grading services, but not cheap because KOBA is not cheap. 

• $15 per CAD card for a 60-day turnaround
• $40 CAD per card for a 10-day turnaround

One easy flat fee depending on which turnaround time you select. KOBA does not upcharge for more expensive cards as PSA does, as they understand how ridiculous that is!

In addition to the grading fee, you’ll have to pay for shipping and insurance on your package if you wish to do so. Aside from these charges, there are no hidden fees or dishonest charges. 

Resale Value 

A common concern when sending your cards to a new company is how it affects the resale value of the card. There is an argument to be made that you should avoid smaller services that don’t add much value and grade with the big ones to increase the value of your card.

There is some truth here. Big services like PSA will add more value to your card than KOBA. However, there are plenty of reasons to grade with KOBA over PSA.

• You’re supporting a local business
• Grading domestically is safer
• You help improve the Canadian grading industry
• You save on additional fees

The grading market is heavily dominated by the big US grading services. It’s important to support smaller services because competition is what improves an industry. If we send our cards to smaller companies like KOBA, then the big companies are forced to improve their services, benefitting the consumer. 

All that being said, having your card graded often increases the value, even if the grading service is new. We’ve done extensive research on this at Sleeve No Card Behind, and we found that people will pay more for any graded card when compared to a raw (ungraded) copy.

So having your card graded by KOBA may not add much value, but it will add value. Reputation is earned over time, and KOBA understands this, often reminding us to purchase the card, not the grade. When KOBA has a few years under its belt, its value will start to increase.

Final Thoughts 

For Canadians who want to grade their cards domestically, we have only a few options. Sometimes it’s worth it to send your cards out-of-country, but usually, it is not. KOBA Grading offers a great service based out of Edmonton, which is an underrated perk for those of us who live in British Columbia, Alberta, or Saskatchewan. 

If you live in one of these provinces, you’re going to benefit from fast shipping and a shorter, safer distance for your card to travel. 

But if you live further away, I would still highly recommend trying KOBA out. As I mentioned earlier, the slabs have to be seen in person to truly appreciate their beauty. With affordable pricing and S-tier customer support, there is no reason to hesitate.