With 41 cards spread across eight drops, A Perfectly Normal Superdrop gives collectors a lot of grading decisions to make. Submitting every card isn't realistic or cost-effective, so knowing which pulls actually justify the fee matters.
Grading costs money and time regardless of the outcome, so this decision is worth making deliberately rather than submitting everything on impulse.
Here's a framework for deciding which cards from this superdrop are worth that investment.
None of this requires grading anything you're not genuinely excited to send in.
The strongest grading candidates combine genuine exclusivity, since this is a specific limited drop, with strong personal or collector interest in that specific piece. A card you'd want to display and preserve long-term is a better grading candidate than one you're only mildly interested in.
Cards with the newest, most distinctive commissioned art, rather than standard reprints included for deck-building completeness, tend to carry the strongest long-term collector interest.
A quick visual check under good lighting for centering, surface scratches, and edge wear before submitting avoids paying a grading fee on a card that's unlikely to earn a high grade. This is worth doing for every card you're considering, not just the ones you assume are pristine.
Comparing a few candidate copies side by side, if you have them, and submitting only the strongest physical copy improves your odds of a grade that justifies the fee.
Protecting a card properly before it ever reaches a grading company matters as much as the card's original condition. EVORETRO's Graded Card Sleeves are built for exactly this stage of the process.
Once a card comes back graded, EVORETRO's Transparent Display Stand gives it a proper display treatment.
Standalone or artist-showcase pieces with genuinely unique commissioned art tend to carry more grading upside than the broader character-themed drops built around a mix of new art and standard reprints. This isn't a hard rule, but it's a reasonable starting filter when narrowing 41 cards down to a realistic submission list.
Ultimately, personal collecting priorities should weigh more heavily than any general rule about which drop performs best on the secondary grading market.
Grading multiple cards at once, if the service you're using offers bulk submission pricing, is generally more cost-efficient than submitting cards one at a time as you pull them. Planning a single, deliberate submission batch rather than several small ones tends to save meaningfully on fees.
Setting a realistic cap on how many cards you're submitting from this release, rather than grading everything that catches your eye, keeps the overall cost reasonable.
Different grading services carry different turnaround times, price points, and market recognition, and choosing one shouldn't be an afterthought once you've decided which cards to submit. Researching current turnaround estimates before submitting avoids an unexpectedly long wait for cards you were hoping to display or sell sooner.
Checking a service's specific track record with newer Secret Lair releases, rather than assuming all services handle them identically, can also inform which one makes sense for this particular drop.
Keeping a simple record of each submitted card, its grade, and its submission cost is useful beyond just satisfying curiosity, particularly if you ever need documentation for insurance purposes or plan to resell a graded card later. A basic spreadsheet works fine for this.
Photographing each card before submission also provides a useful reference in case of any dispute with the grading service or shipping carrier during the process.
This documentation habit takes only a few minutes per card but can save real hassle if a problem ever arises down the line. It's a small step that pays for itself the one time you actually need it. Building this into your routine from the start makes it effortless going forward.
No, focus on cards with genuine exclusivity and strong personal interest.
No, standalone and artist-showcase pieces generally carry stronger upside.
Yes, a quick centering and surface check first avoids wasted fees.
Generally yes, if your grading service offers bulk pricing.
A focused, well-considered submission list beats grading impulsively. Pick up EVORETRO's Graded Card Sleeves before you send anything in.
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