Mike Baker Authenticated
MBA
MBA does two jobs: it grades raw cards in its own holder, and it stickers other graders' slabs with a second opinion.
Our score30/100TierDNo. 20 on the scorecards
Resale standingRaw valueOn a high-value card, expect a buyer to cut it out and regrade it.
Cheapest way in$15Raw grading, Standard
Typical turnaround30 business daysReader reports →
BacklogNone published
Cert lookupPublicVerify a cert →
Owned byIndependentFounded 2022
The short version
4 min to read it all, belowWhy it scores 30
The full breakdownWhere the slab sells
- eBay Authenticity GuaranteeNot verified
- Major US auction housesNot standard inventory
- Public cert lookupYes
What to watch
Three, and they are structural rather than personal. First, a service paid only when it approves has an incentive pointing toward approval — the criticism leveled at every sticker service in every collectible category, and it does not require bad faith to matter.
All known concernsPricing
Two ladders. Raw grading is $15 at 30 business days or $50 at 15, plus a final value fee by the card's value: $15 up to $100, $20 up to $250, $25 up to $500, $35 up to $1,000, then 3% of the excess.
| Tier | Price | Quoted turnaround | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw grading, Standard | $15per card | 30 business days | Plus a final value fee by card value: $15 to $100, $20 to $250, $25 to $500, $35 to $1,000, then 3% of the excess; the turnaround fee is credited against it |
| Raw grading, Immediate | $50per card | 15 business days | Plus a final value fee by card value: $15 to $100, $20 to $250, $25 to $500, $35 to $1,000, then 3% of the excess; the turnaround fee is credited against it |
| Diamond crossover (sticker), Standard | $15per card | 20 business days | A final value fee only if a Diamond is awarded: $15 to $100 up to $35 to $1,000, then 1–4% of the excess by Diamond tier |
| Diamond crossover (sticker), Immediate | $50per card | 10 business days | A final value fee only if a Diamond is awarded: $15 to $100 up to $35 to $1,000, then 1–4% of the excess by Diamond tier |
| Provenance crossover (into an MBA slab), Standard | $15per card | 30 business days | Final value fee $15 to $35 up to $1,000, then 3% of the excess (1% if already Diamond-certified) |
| Provenance crossover (into an MBA slab), Immediate | $50per card | 15 business days | Final value fee $15 to $35 up to $1,000, then 3% of the excess (1% if already Diamond-certified) |
| Diamond crossover (sticker), ASAP / End of Show (show only)Restricted | $100per card | Varies | Show service; listed on the fee table only around MBA shows (seen 15 and 30 Oct 2026, absent 26 Oct) |
| Diamond crossover (sticker), Front of the Line (show only)Restricted | $300per card | Varies | Show service; listed on the fee table only around MBA shows (seen 15 and 30 Oct 2026, absent 26 Oct) |
Prices as checked on 30 Oct 2026. They change often; the grader's own list is the final word.
The turnaround fee is credited against that final value fee. Diamond crossover (the sticker) runs $15 at 20 business days or $50 at 10, and only cards awarded a Diamond pay a final value fee. Above $1,000 that fee depends on the tier: 1% for Bronze, 2% Silver, 3% Gold and 4% Black. Provenance crossover into an MBA slab is $15 at 30 business days or $50 at 15, with a 3% fee over $1,000, or 1% if the card was already Diamond-certified. Around its card shows MBA also lists two faster Diamond crossover options, ASAP / End of Show at $100 and Front of the Line at $300, each with a turnaround that varies; they come and go from the fee table, so check before relying on them. At shows, a two-hour digital review runs $25 and credits toward a later crossover.
The full file
What sets them apart
Mike Baker was PSA's first employee and its Director of Grading for over a decade, and MBA sells that eye two ways.
Raw cards are graded and sealed in an MBA holder, aimed squarely at the sub-$250 cards the majors price out. Already-slabbed cards get a Diamond sticker instead — a second-opinion grade that leaves the original holder intact, the closest thing cards have to CAC in coins. Every submission carries a Heat Map showing where the condition flaws that capped the grade actually are, which no major grader publishes.
Where the slab sells
A real premium exists on MBA-stickered slabs relative to identically graded unstickered ones, concentrated in high-end vintage where the buyer pool knows what the sticker means — a gold-diamond Griffey took a record at Heritage. That evidence is about stickers on other graders' holders. MBA's own slab is new and carries none of it: there is no resale record showing the market pays for an MBA-graded card the way it pays for the sticker. Neither is recognized by eBay's Authenticity Guarantee or carried as a category by the major auction houses.
Turnaround
That is the standard raw tier; $50 buys 15 business days. Crossover work is quoted per submission, and a two-hour digital review is offered at shows.
Raw grading is not open to the public — MBA takes it only through approved business submitters, so most collectors reach it through a dealer.
Price history
MBA has not raised a listed price since Oct 2026.
Show the price history: 10 tiers, 4 changes
These come from our own records. Small ticks are sightings where the price held. A line ends where the evidence ends.
Raw grading, Standard$15 unchanged since 26 Oct 2026
Diamond crossover (sticker), Standard$15 unchanged since 26 Oct 2026
Provenance crossover (into an MBA slab), Standard$15 unchanged since 26 Oct 2026
Raw grading, Immediate$50 unchanged since 26 Oct 2026
Diamond crossover (sticker), Immediate$50 unchanged since 26 Oct 2026
Provenance crossover (into an MBA slab), Immediate$50 unchanged since 26 Oct 2026
Paused or retired
Diamond crossover (sticker), ASAP / End of Show (show only)Restricted since 30 Oct 2026 · was $100
Diamond crossover (sticker), Front of the Line (show only)Restricted since 30 Oct 2026 · was $300
Diamond crossover (sticker), ASAP / End of ShowRetired 26 Oct 2026 at $100
Diamond crossover (sticker), Front of the LineRetired 26 Oct 2026 at $300
Every change
| Date | Tier | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 2026 | Diamond crossover (sticker), ASAP / End of Show (show only) | Paused at $100Routine saw a change (add): "$100 ASAP / End of Show Varies $100" | Our twice-weekly check |
| 30 Oct 2026 | Diamond crossover (sticker), Front of the Line (show only) | Paused at $300Routine saw a change (add): "$300 Front of the Line Varies $300" | Our twice-weekly check |
| 26 Oct 2026 | Diamond crossover (sticker), ASAP / End of Show | Retired at $100Routine saw a change (retire): "Standard 20 business days $15 Immediate 10 business days $50" | Our twice-weekly check |
| 26 Oct 2026 | Diamond crossover (sticker), Front of the Line | Retired at $300Routine saw a change (retire): "Standard 20 business days $15 Immediate 10 business days $50" | Our twice-weekly check |
An archived page shows the price on the day it was saved, so a change happened somewhere between that page and the one before it.
The slab and the label
Subgrades: None
MBA does slab, and its own holder is a clear acrylic jewel case the company says was chosen to sit beside PSA slabs on a shelf.
Example slab shown for reference, not a card the editor owns.
It takes cards up to 360pt and 6x8in. Two of the three services leave the card where it is: a Diamond crossover keeps the original third-party holder and adds a sticker to the case. Black Diamond cards are the exception among stickered cards — they cross into a dedicated MBA Black Diamond slab. Any Diamond card can be crossed into an MBA holder later, and the grade and tier travel with it.
Two label systems. On MBA's own slabs, a metallic fraud-resistant label carries the technical grade. On other graders' slabs, a holographic Diamond sticker sits below the existing label in one of four tiers: Bronze confirms MBA agrees with the grade, Silver marks superior eye appeal in roughly the top 15% of the grade, Gold means MBA judged the card worth at least half a grade more, and Black is reserved for virtually flawless cards above Pristine. The sticker sits on someone else's label, which is exactly the point and exactly the objection.
What they grade
- Sports Cards
- TCG
Who it's for
- Resale Value
- Long-Term Investment
- Condition Documentation
- Authentication
Two different decisions. As a sticker, it is worth considering only on a card already in a PSA, BGS, SGC or CGC holder where you believe the grade undersells it — a resale play, not a protection one.
As a grader, MBA is aimed at cards under $250 that the majors price out, but its holder has no resale record yet, so that is a documentation-and-cost choice rather than a value one. Either way, raw submissions go through an approved business submitter rather than direct.
Known concerns
Three, and they are structural rather than personal. First, a service paid only when it approves has an incentive pointing toward approval — the criticism leveled at every sticker service in every collectible category, and it does not require bad faith to matter.
Second, MBA both assigns the sticker and publishes the scarcity claims that give it value; the percentages describing how rare a gold Diamond is cannot be checked by anyone outside the company, and forum regulars have said so directly. Third, at least one documented case has an MBA-stickered card rejected by PSA on crossover as altered stock, and Baker's association with Brent Huigens of PWCC — a marketplace accused of selling altered cards and ultimately banned from selling on eBay — sits uncomfortably beside a business built on the credibility of one person's eye. None of this is settled, and MBA's defenders point out the higher Diamonds are awarded sparingly — though the new Bronze tier, which only confirms the existing grade, widens what counts as a Diamond.
History
Founded by Mike Baker, who was PSA's first employee and its Director of Grading for over a decade, and has graded professionally since 1991.
MBA runs two lines. Raw Grading assigns an MBA technical grade on a 10-point scale and seals the card in an MBA holder, after what the company says was a two-year development of its encapsulation and fraud-prevention process. Crossover Grading is the sticker business: a tamper-proof holographic Diamond is applied below the existing authenticator's label, leaving the card in its PSA, SGC, BGS, CGC or TAG holder. The Diamond has four tiers: Bronze confirms the existing grade, Silver marks superior eye appeal (the top 15% of a grade), Gold a higher technical grade, and Black a virtually flawless card. A third path, Provenance Crossover, photographs the original label, opens the old slab and crosses the card into an MBA one, keeping the prior grade on the report card. Baker's history runs further back than PSA: after Global Authentication collapsed in 2009 he was director of grading at Global Authority, the company assembled from GAI's assets. MBA also lists Passport, described on its site as MBA-assisted selling.
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 61 / 100 (weight 40).
Market acceptance
10 / 100weight 60adds 6.0
−10 The real premium (a record at Heritage) is on MBA stickers on other graders' holders; MBA's own slab is new and has no resale record.
Unverified, scored as zero: eBay Authenticity Guarantee; Sold-price parity with the leading label, same card and grade; Recognised in a major non-US market.
Trust and verifiability
50 / 100weight 15adds 7.5
−10 MBA is paid only when it approves and publishes the scarcity claims that give its stickers value, and nobody outside the company can check those percentages.
Unverified, scored as zero: Public population report.
Holder and label
72 / 100weight 10adds 7.2
Unverified, scored as zero: Scannable cert code on the label.
Turnaround and access
60 / 100weight 5adds 3.0
Unverified, scored as zero: Backlog figure published.
Pricing
65 / 100weight 10adds 6.5
−5 A final value fee by the card's value comes on top of the headline price.
Unverified, scored as zero: No price rise over 25% in the last 12 months.
Weighted total 30.2, shown as 30 out of 100.
Scored on 5 Oct 2026. 7 inputs could not be verified and score zero. How we score
On the Wire
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