Dallas Card Investors
DCI Grading
A legitimate boutique with a regional following — but outside its existing customer base, a DCI slab carries no premium.
Our score35/100TierDNo. 13 on the scorecards
Resale standingRaw valueOn a high-value card, expect a buyer to cut it out and regrade it.
Cheapest way in$25Slab
Typical turnaround14 business days (RCR); 30 for a slabReader reports →
BacklogNone published
Cert lookupPublicVerify a cert →
Owned byIndependentFounded 2020
The short version
2 min to read it all, belowWhy it scores 35
The full breakdownWhere the slab sells
- eBay Authenticity GuaranteeNot listed
- Major US auction housesNot standard inventory
- Public cert lookupYes
What to watch
Recognition is regional and the population small, so buyers outside its existing base are not searching for its slabs.
All known concernsPricing
Official price listDCI's pricing page lists Card Authentication and Grading at $15 per card with no minimum and a 14-business-day turnaround, but that tier is RCR, a sealed sleeve and label rather than a slab; a slab costs $25 per card (30 business days).
| Tier | Price | Quoted turnaround | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCR (sleeve and label, not a slab) | $15per card | 14 business days | No minimum |
| Slab | $25per card | 30 business days |
Prices as checked on 28 Sept 2026. They change often; the grader's own list is the final word.
It also lists Autograph Authentication at $30 per card (10 days), and hourly consultation at $75 with a 100-card minimum.
The full file
What sets them apart
A Texas boutique with no declared-value upcharges, publishing a population report and offering same-day grading at local shows.
Small enough that submissions are handled directly rather than through a queue.
Where the slab sells
Outside that base a DCI holder is effectively an unrecognized slab, which is a harder sell than the same card raw.
eBay
DCI does not appear on eBay's professional grader filter list and is not covered by the Authenticity Guarantee, so its slabs are neither searchable as a grader category nor protected by eBay authentication.
Auction houses
Not accepted as standard inventory at Goldin, Heritage or PWCC.
Card shops and general resale
Recognition is regional, concentrated around its Texas customer base, where the relationship rather than the label carries the trust.
Turnaround
The 14-business-day, $15 tier is RCR, a sleeve with a sealed label rather than a hard slab; a sonic-welded slab is $25 at 30 business days.
The slab and the label
Subgrades: None
A clear holder with yellow inner rails that show along the card's long edges.
Example slab shown for reference, not a card the editor owns.
A brown-and-tan label with the card details and a cert number — the number itself, five digits low, is the most informative thing on it about how much grading this company has actually done.
What they grade
- Sports Cards
Who it's for
- Personal Collection
- Protection & Preservation
- Authentication
Personal collections and protection, particularly for collectors near its Texas base who can use show-day service.
Known concerns
Recognition is regional and the population small, so buyers outside its existing base are not searching for its slabs.
Community discussion characterizes DCI grades dismissively. There is little independent coverage against which to assess consistency — nothing suggesting a problem with the grading itself, but a DCI holder does not travel, and traveling is what resale value depends on.
History
DCI Grading, operating as Dallas Card Investors, began grading in 2020 and positioned itself deliberately as a boutique rather than a volume operation, serving a collector-focused base concentrated around Texas.
Its reputation within that base is modest but legitimate. It has not sought or achieved the national recognition of the majors, and its secondary-market presence reflects that.
DCI changed hands in 2026; its own Facebook page reads '2026 New ownership and new vision', and it now operates from Longview, Texas.
Score breakdown
Five parts, each scored 0 to 100 and weighted. Market acceptance carries 60 of the 100, because the point of a slab is what the market pays for it.
Market acceptance 10 / 100 (weight 60). The other four parts together 71 / 100 (weight 40).
Market acceptance
10 / 100weight 60adds 6.0
Unverified, scored as zero: Sold-price parity with the leading label, same card and grade.
Trust and verifiability
90 / 100weight 15adds 13.5
Holder and label
35 / 100weight 10adds 3.5
Unverified, scored as zero: Standard footprint that fits hobby cases; Scannable cert code on the label.
Turnaround and access
80 / 100weight 5adds 4.0
Pricing
75 / 100weight 10adds 7.5
−5 The $15 tier is RCR, a sealed sleeve and label rather than a hard slab; a slab costs $25.
Unverified, scored as zero: No price rise over 25% in the last 12 months.
Weighted total 34.5, shown as 35 out of 100.
Scored on 5 Oct 2026. 4 inputs could not be verified and score zero. How we score
On the Wire
All 1 DCI Grading storyReader reports
Report yoursNo reader reports for DCI Grading yet.
Sent cards to DCI Grading? Tell us when they arrived and when they shipped back. Reports are checked and anonymous.