I’ve been wanting to try out NICE Grading for a while and I finally had the perfect card to send in: my Chinese Sylveon 075/208.
The best part? I pulled this card out of one of those mystery Eeveelution keychain boxes.
So obviously, she needed a slab.
Why NICE Grading?
Honestly? Price was a big part of it.
There are cards I’d absolutely spend the money to send off to one of the big grading companies but not every card in my collection needs to become a financial investment just because I want it graded.
Sometimes I just really like the card.
NICE Grading made that easy. Grading plus return shipping came out to $23 total, which felt incredibly reasonable, especially for a card I pulled myself and wanted slabbed for my personal collection.
The submission process was also surprisingly painless. I followed the instructions, packed up Sylveon, sent her on her little grading adventure and prepared myself to wait.
Except… I really didn’t have to wait that long.
That Was Fast
The turnaround was much quicker than I expected, and the return shipping was fast too.
I’m used to sending something off and mentally accepting that it belongs to the postal system now and I may see it again someday.
This was not that experience.
Before long, I had a package from NICE Grading sitting in front of me and it was time for the fun part:
THE REVEAL.
First Can We Talk About the Packaging?
This was probably my favorite unexpected part of the whole experience.
The return packaging was really nice. I'm actually annoyed with myself for not filming the opening, or even grabbing a picture of it. The card was well protected, everything felt carefully packed, and opening it actually felt like opening a gift.
Which is exactly how a graded card return should feel.
You’ve already waited to find out what your card got. There’s a slab hiding somewhere inside the package. You know there’s a grade on it. You’re trying not to accidentally see it before you’re ready.
Might as well make it dramatic.
NICE Grading understood the assignment.
And the Slab?
It looks really freaking good.
The card was clearly handled well, the slab itself looks great, and Sylveon looks fantastic in it.
Obviously grading is about the grade, but I also care about how a slab actually looks sitting in my collection. If I’m going to encapsulate a card instead of keeping it in a binder or display case I want the finished product to make the card look better.
This one absolutely does.
And yes I stared at it from several different angles immediately after opening it.
Collector rules.
So, Would I Use NICE Grading Again?
Yep.
For $23 including grading and return shipping I’m really happy with the experience.
The submission was easy. The turnaround was faster than expected. The card came back packaged extremely well. The slab looks great. And the whole return experience made getting my card back feel like an actual grading reveal instead of just another package showing up at the door.
Will every card we own suddenly be heading off to NICE Grading?
Probably not.
But for personal collection cards, cool pulls, cards we want protected, and cards that deserve something a little nicer than living in a top loader forever?
NICE Grading is absolutely staying on our list.
And considering this whole thing started with me opening a mystery keychain box and pulling a Sylveon?
I’d say she cleaned up pretty nicely.
Okay, But What’s It Worth?
Right now? Who knows and honestly that’s part of the fun.
There really aren’t any solid comps for this card yet, especially graded. The set is still new so there just hasn’t been enough time or enough sales to get a good idea of where the market is going to land.
But I’m totally fine with that. I didn’t grade this Sylveon because I was trying to immediately flip it or squeeze a profit out of it. I pulled it, loved it, and thought it deserved a slab.
Now I get the bonus of watching what happens as the set gets older.
Maybe the card takes off. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe a year from now I’ll look back at this post and laugh at what it was selling for when there were finally enough comps to track.
Either way, having one graded this early gives me something fun to keep an eye on as the set ages and that’s half the fun of collecting in the first place.
And just to be clear: this isn’t sponsored by NICE Grading. They didn’t pay me, send me anything, or ask me to write this. I paid for the grading myself. I was just really freaking surprised by how good the whole experience was and figured it deserved a post.
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