Updated October 2026
A graded slab is a sealed plastic case, and graders don't make their cases to one size. BGS and SGC cases run larger than PSA, so each slab is packed to fit its own case, sleeved against scratches and cushioned against cracks.
Graded slab fulfillment means picking, packing and shipping cards a grader has already certified and sealed in a slab. Slab cases come in different sizes, so the packing is matched to each case. An over-sleeve keeps the case from scratching, and cushioning is there to hold it still against cracks. We ship graded slabs and scan every pick against the SKU ordered.
By The Fulfillment.com team
Collectors tend to ask this before anything else. We're a 3PL. We receive and store finished, sealed collectibles, graded slabs and raw cards among them, and we pack and ship them when they sell. Assigning a grade, checking that an item is authentic and sealing a card in a slab are not things we do. The grading companies do that work, for example:
By the time a slab reaches our dock, the grader has already sealed and certified it. From then until the carrier takes the parcel, our job is to keep it just as the grader left it. That means the right slab in the box, with no crack in the case and no scratch on its face. Sending raw cards out to be graded runs the other way, and our guide to shipping cards to a grader walks through it.
Each grader makes its own rigid plastic case, and the sizes don't match from one grader to the next. That changes how every slab gets packed.
It's easy to picture every slab as the same flat rectangle, and packing on that belief is how cases end up cracked. BGS (Beckett) and SGC cases generally run larger than PSA cases, and thickness varies too. Packing cut for a PSA slab can leave a BGS case sitting up above the cushioning. Worse, it can leave the case loose in a gap that doesn't hold it still. The industry has no single slab size to plan around, so the grader belongs on the SKU record, because it decides how the slab is packed.
Some holders fall outside the usual sizes altogether. Larger memorabilia and autograph slabs, dual-card cases and the thicker holders used for high-end cards each need packing matched to them.
A case cracks when it can shift and flex in the box, and it scratches when its surface rubs. We pack against both, sized to the slab in hand.
The slab goes into an over-sleeve cut to the size of the case. It keeps the plastic from scuffing against the packing, or against other slabs when one order holds several. Once a card is slabbed, the case is the product, and the sleeve does for it what a penny sleeve does for a raw card. Every later step is built around this sleeve.
Next, the sleeved slab ships in rigid, cushioned packing matched to its dimensions. It's built to keep the case from sliding, flexing or taking a direct hit. Here knowing the grader pays off, because the cushioning is cut to that grader's case. Keeping the case still protects its corners from the knocks that crack them in transit.
The cushioned slab then goes into a rigid mailer that resists bending across the case. Higher-value orders also get an overbox, a second hard shell against crushing and blows to the edges. Our guide to how we protect collectibles in transit covers the packing for other kinds of collectibles.
Packing is there to protect the case. The scans at pick and at pack are there to check that it's the right one. A slab's value rides on its exact grade, so give each grade its own SKU, and the scans have the grade to check against. When a buyer has paid for one particular cert number, matching to that number needs per-item handling, which our guide to serialized item-level inventory explains.
Plenty of slabs are worth a lot. Carriers cap what they pay on a lost or damaged parcel and often ask for a signature on valuable ones, and our guide to coins and bullion gives the limits. Those rules apply to a slab shipped from any warehouse.
While a slab sits with us, you insure it on your own policy, as our guide to who insures your collectibles explains. Where valuable slabs are stored is covered in our guide to secure collectibles storage.
No. Grading companies such as PSA, BGS, SGC and CGC do the grading and slabbing. We ship the slab the grader made. We don't assign grades, and we don't open the case. If you have raw cards to send in for grading, we can ship them to the grader in the right packaging.
No. Graders don't build their cases to one standard size. BGS and SGC cases generally run larger than PSA cases, and thickness varies as well. We pack each slab to fit the case in hand, so a larger BGS slab doesn't end up in packing cut for a PSA one. Recording the grader on each SKU is how the right cushioning gets chosen.
First an over-sleeve goes around the slab to keep the case surface from scratching. The slab then ships in rigid, cushioned packing built to hold the case still inside a rigid mailer, and higher-value orders get an overbox as well. Cases crack when they can move and flex in transit. So the packing has to hold the slab in place; filling the empty space in the box isn't enough on its own.
We scan each slab's barcode when it comes off the shelf and again at packing, and check it against the SKU and variant on the order. That check is built to catch the same card in a different grade before it leaves. Shipping one particular cert number takes per-item handling, and our serialized item-level inventory guide explains it.
You do, on your own policy, slabs included. We're a public warehouse, and every client of ours insures its own stock that way. After a slab ships, the carrier's own limits and signature rules apply, and our coins and bullion guide goes through those.
Yes. Tell us the release date and how many slabs are coming, as early as you can, and the slabs are received, set up as SKUs and staged before the window opens. Release-day slabs are packed the same way as on any other day.