FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND HELP WITH THE FCA GRADING SERVICE

The grading price per card depends on two different factors;: the declared value of the card and the hired service (Standard or Express). You can check the updated prices by clicking here.

Currently a maximum of 30 cards per order is accepted. For any questions or clarification do not hesitate to contact us.

The declared value of a card refers to the approximate price that a certain card has in the buying/selling market. The customer will define, as accurately as possible, the economic value of the card they wants to authenticate and encapsulate with us. Please bear in mind that, in case of losing or damaging the package during shipping, the insurance service (if it has been paid for) will only cover the package declared value (The sum of all cards).

In this case the best option is to contact us directly, to evaluate the inclusion of this new collection in the accepted card list. The most important information you need to provide us, apart from the collection name, is the card size (height and width, in mm). Contact us.

No. We only grade “RAW” cards, this is, as they are obtained from booster packs. Opening a sealed case is an extremely sensitive process that can damage the card contained in it. Thus, it is a process that Fantasy Cards Authenticator DOES NOT perform.

No. The case has been designed in order to prevent opening once sealed. Moreover, the sealing is made using ultrasound and thus, the only way to recover the card inside is by breaking the case. This process is not recommended by Fantasy Cards Authenticator because it is very likely to damage the card.

No. The card will need to be evaluated again by our experts like it was done the first time around. Since the card has been extracted from the case, the previous grade score of the card is not valid anymore. Under no circumstances it is guaranteed that the card will get the same score in the new grading process, as it could have been altered or damaged someway.

We do NOT currently authenticate signed cards. Verifying a signed card is a very meticulous and complex process that needs not only outer information but also reliable evidence of authenticity. In other words, is very difficult to demonstrate the origin of a signature. Therefore, be careful if you buy them!

YES. Cards that included printed signatures from a factory are accepted at FCA for grading. In this case there are no doubts about the origin of the signature (are printed with the rest of the card), and thus, we will only need to evaluate if the card is original or not and qualify the conservation condition. EASY!

We actually accept cards from a high variety of well-known collections. At FCA we have two different cases, one designed for standard size cards (63x88mm) like Pokémon, Magic, Dragon Ball, etc. The second cases is for 59 x 86 mm size cards, like Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

Before sending your cards check the full list of the accepted collections in FCA by clicking here.

We are located in Spain. Currently we only work with countries belonging to the European Community. We do not ship to Andorra, the Canary Islands or non-European countries (except United Kingdom). If you are interested in hiring our services from any excluded location, contact us to find a solution.

If we receive a fake or counterfeit card, we will return it to the customer as it was received indicating that the card is not an original. These kinds of cards are not graded or encapsulated. The grading service is charged in full and there will NOT be any kind of refund given.

In both cases the same website is loaded, which contains all the information of your graded card. If this is not the case, ensure that your graded card is an original.

The current price for including a custom message in the label is two euros.

The answer for both questions is NO. The sentence will always be included in the back part, just below the partial scores of your card.

Regarding the sentence, you can add what you want if you meet two requirements:

1. )The length is not higher than 20 characters.
2.  The content is not offensive to any person or group. At FCA we are strongly committed to our values and respect. We will not tolerate that kind of content.

The cases are sealed by ultrasounds. Explained very shortly, this technique causes the melt and the fusion of the contact points that exist between the two halves of the case when this is closed. As a result, the case cannot be opened again if is not forced or broken. Cases that show evidence of been forced automatically will lose the authenticity guarantee.

The PMMA with which the case has been produced has an additive that provides high UV protection properties. Thus, a reasonable exposure time of the sealed card to sunlight will not affect the colouring or the condition of the card. However, we do not recommend prolonged exposure of the card to direct sunlight because it could modify the properties and finishing of both the case and the card.

NO. Even if the ultrasound sealing guarantees a total attachment of both parts of the case and blocking the dust entering, it is common the appearance of some micropores alongside the welding zone. Submerging the case causes water to enter at a certain depth due to the increased pressure.

We have already done these tests, there is no need to repeat them again and destroy your cards.

Cards will be sent using tracked packaging (with the corresponding insurance if you have hired it). The tracking number will be added in the order information in your account.

Yes. FCA will provide you with all the necessary information and tracking numbers of the shipments that you have contracted via our website.

In case that your cards have been shipped by our website service, we will mediate with the shipping company to find a solution. If it is confirmed that the package has been lost, we will negotiate with the shipping company a compensation for the damages caused. If the package is covered by insurance, a full refund (equivalent to the insurance) will be requested.

If you have sent your cards on your own with your preferred shipping company, you will be the responsible for managing this process.

It is not mandatory, but highly recommended. The transport company, in case the merchandise is lost, will cover only a small part of the value of the contents of the package. Therefore, in those cases where the value of the cards is high, it is advisable to take out insurance for what could happen. When you send us your cards, check with your courier company. And, when we return them to you already encapsulated, you can take out insurance when completing your order. The costs (VAT included) of the available shipping insurances are shown below:

* It is not possible to hire a shipping insurance for a lower amount.
** If the declared value of your order exceeds 5000 €, contact us.

The shipping costs are variable because we constantly negotiate its price with the shipping company according to the volume of packages we manage. This way, we always obtain the cheapest shipping cost possible. During the order submission all the information about the shipping and the associated costs will be shown, as well as the price of the insurance, which is optional (At FCA we recommend purchasing it).

We strive to get the best price for the transport of your cards. DHL is our used shipping company both nationally (in Spain) and in Europe *. The shipping costs (VAT included), based on the number of cards, are shown below:

* * No shipments are made to Andorra, the Canary Islands or non-European countries. If you are interested in hiring our services from any excluded location, contact us to find a solution.

The best way to protect your cards is to ship them in a rigid envelope or in a box. It is highly recommended to fill the box will paper or bubble wrap to avoid the cards hitting each other during the shipping process. It is almost mandatory to send the cards inside sleeves as well as inside top loaders.

If you want more information about how to prepare highly secure packages for shipping your cards click here.

As a general rule we do not cancel orders once the process has begun. Please place an order only if you are completely sure about it. However, please contact us and we will try to help you.

No. At FCA we are very strict with regards to the evaluation of the card conditions. The equipment used enables us to detect faults and damage in the cards that are barely visible to the naked eye. Accordingly, it is very common for customers to receive a lower grading score in their cards in comparison with expected one. However, this does not mean that a refund can be requested.

The user account will contain a register of all your orders as well as the created tickets with FCA. In addition, is the only way to access to the authentication digital certifications.

For security reasons and aiming to guarantee that the modifications are made by the account owner, this kind of actions will be managed directly by FCA technicians. Modifications will only be made after the property of the account is confirmed, which is done requesting different kind of data.

If you have decided to not use our package collection service and thus, to send us your cards by another shipping company, you should provide us the tracking number. You will be able to add it in the corresponding order section into your user account (user icon in the web menu / Orders / View).

We currently accept three different languages: Spanish, English, and Basque