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GRAAD history, mission, philosophy and vision
Grade Authority and Authentication Division, GRAAD, is a authenticity and quality certification company for collectible cards. Born from the experience of a team of professionals who have developed an innovative processing system and rigorous, reliable and scientific procedures, it intends to offer card collectors and card enthusiasts a high quality, specific service, dedicated to the authentication and quality certification of collectible cards.
The structure and organization of GRAAD are the result of the commitment of the head expert Daniele Sarriano and the staff of Pianeta Hobby (a well known store in Milan as well as digital shop). In over twenty years of activity in the world of collectors, Pianeta Hobby has attracted in its orbit several passionate experts and card collecting professionals. Thus a very competent group was formed with the convergence of knowledge in different fields and specializations that today covers all areas of interest and all brands of collectible cards.
Sensitive to the needs of Italian collectors, the group led by Sarriano has detected different deficiencies in the work of other grading companies, especially the ones located overseas. The impossibility of certifying certain types of cards, the long processing times, the high overseas shipping costs, the impossibility of having a customer service available and accessible, the lack of specificity of the certification procedures by grading companies born decades ago and specialized in American sports cards (very different from modern collectible card games), the high costs related to the certification of high-value cards, a sort of "tax" for collectors depending of the current monetary value of their cards.
The group led by Sarriano conceived the idea of structuring itself to become GRAAD. With the help of Luigi Pignalosa, creative talent with experience in communication, the team was able to give shape and structure to an innovative company capable of filling the voids left by others and that could offer improved, well-thought services designed to be an adequate response to the requests of both italian and european collectors. Under the expert guidance of Sarriano, the team, in two years of hard work and reseatch, has developed procedures, practical and theoretical methodologies at the base of the services proposed by GRAAD.
In 2018, GRAAD was finally born. The first Italian and European grading company offering an innovative grading and authentication certification for collectible playing cards. The service is specific and scientific to meet the expectations of the most experienced collectors but, at the same time, it is simple and inexpensive, to meet the needs of new collectors or small collectors that due to the difficulty and high costs of grading overseas, have never had access to the world of certified cards.
Our main goal is to became synonymous with rigor, impartiality, precision and credibility. A well known and reliable reference point to respond to the needs of all collectors, experts and beginners alike. We want to guarantee a base service that is better than what is currently offered by other foreign companies. A fast, simple and inexpensive base service, that makes collectors save money for both the grading process and the shipping costs. We want to be partners to expert collectors guaranteeing a geographically close, attentive and helpful customer service, offering a certification service at a very fair price because it's not connected to the financial value of the cards.
All of this because we want GRAAD to become the European focal point in the world of card collecting. Through research and innovation in a field that is becoming more and more technical and specialized over time, GRAAD will continue to work in search for new tools and new procedures, increasingly specific, rigorous and scientific, to guarantee all collectors alike an absolutely accurate service.
Our customer service is at your disposal from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., via one of the following channels:
