Instant Comic Grading — and an Instant Answer on the Money
A grade on its own does not tell you what to do. Upload a photo and get the grade band plus the part that decides it: what the book is worth slabbed, what the CGC submission costs, and whether the difference is worth having.
- GO / NO-GO / PRESS FIRST
- Grade band + the fee maths
- Expected dollar outcome
Instant Grading, Where the Decision Actually Happens
At a convention, in a shop, or halfway through an eBay listing — the moment you need the answer is the moment you are about to spend money.
Answer at the Point of Sale
The grade band and the value gap arrive while the book is still in your hand and the dealer is still standing there.
Buy or Walk
Use your phone at conventions, shops, garage sales and estate sales to see whether the asking price leaves you anything once condition is priced in.
24/7 Availability
No appointments, no business hours, no holidays. Grade your comics anytime, day or night, from anywhere in the world.
Smartphone Camera Ready
No special equipment needed. Your iPhone or Android camera provides enough quality for accurate AI grading results.
Pick the Right Copy
Run several copies of the same issue back to back and see which one is actually worth paying up for once grade is factored in.
Convention Floor Maths
Grade dealer-bin books on the spot and spot the ones where the slabbed value comfortably clears both the asking price and the submission fee.
Route a Whole Collection
Work through a long box in an evening and come out with a submission list sorted by expected net return.
Share the Verdict
Send the grade band, the comps and the submission maths to whoever else is weighing in on the purchase.
Built for the people who live in the long boxes.
Will this book pay for its own submission?
CGC is $27–45 a book plus handling and shipping both ways. Find out which of your comics clear that bar — and which ones never will — before the box goes out.
Price it, don't guess it.
A defensible comic grading report on every listing, and a straight answer on whether slabbing it first would net you more than selling it raw.
Raw or slabbed?
See both numbers side by side — what the book fetches raw today against what it fetches slabbed, minus the fee.
Route a whole collection.
Sort a long box by expected net return, then send only the books that clear their own break-even grade.
Skip the costly misfires.
Find out which books are NO-GO before the box goes out, not 45 days after it comes back.
Priced against one wasted submission.
Pay once, per decision. No subscription, and nothing to cancel — because deciding whether to slab a book is something you do a few times a year, not every month.
Every visitor
Costs you nothing and proves we can read the book.
- Grade band with a confidence level
- No card, no account
- Unlimited on the books you own
One book that might be worth real money
Against the $27–45 you are about to spend on a book that might come back a 7.5.
- The verdict: GO, NO-GO or PRESS FIRST
- The arithmetic — raw comp, slabbed comp, tier fee, net
- Subgrades and an annotated defect map
- What happens if it grades half a point under
- Guest checkout — no account needed
Up to 10 books, ranked
CGC's cheapest per-book tier needs 25 books. One you shouldn't have sent costs more than this.
- Everything in Single Verdict
- Up to 10 books ranked by expected net return
- An explicit send-these, skip-the-rest call
- Built for the 25-book bulk minimum
Inherited, downsizing, estate sale
Less than two CGC submissions, across a whole collection.
- Everything in Lot Verdict
- Up to 50 books assessed
- The attention list — what actually matters
- A submission plan by tier
Running a shop, or moving volume on eBay? Dealer plans bill monthly and include API access.
Instant Grading FAQ
What does instant comic grading actually return?
A grade band on the CGC 0.5-10.0 scale with a confidence level, a subgrade breakdown for centering, corners, edges and surface, an estimated value raw and slabbed, and the submission verdict — GO, NO-GO or PRESS FIRST — with the break-even grade beside it.
Is a fast grade a worse grade?
The speed comes from how the analysis runs, not from skipping any of it. The real limit is the photo: a camera cannot see everything a grader holding the book can, which is why the result is a band with a confidence level rather than a single number. That band is enough to make the submission call, which is the only thing riding on it.
Can I use instant grading at comic conventions?
Absolutely. Many collectors use ComicMintAI on their smartphones at conventions to quickly grade dealer books and identify deals. Just snap a photo with your phone camera and get instant results.
Is there a limit to how many comics I can grade?
Free accounts include a generous number of monthly grades. Premium plans offer unlimited grading so you can grade as many comics as you want, as fast as you can upload them.
Do I need a special camera or scanner?
No special equipment is needed. Any modern smartphone camera (iPhone or Android) provides sufficient quality for accurate AI grading. Just ensure good lighting and a straight-on angle.
Get the Verdict While the Book Is Still in Your Hand
Instant comic grading is only useful if it ends in a decision. Upload a photo and get the grade band, the value gap, and whether the submission pays.
GO · NO-GO · PRESS FIRST — with the expected dollar outcome beside it.