TERMS & CONDITIONS
Last updated May 14, 2026
These Terms and Conditions (the Terms) set out the basis on which Imperium Grading Ltd (Imperium Grading, we, us or our) provides trading card grading, crossover, authentication, encapsulation, reholder, relabel, and related services (the Services) to you. Please read them carefully before submitting any item to us. By placing an order or submitting any item to us, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use our Services.
Our FAQs, Submission Guide, website content, account portal guidance, and other operational materials may contain helpful practical information about our processes, but unless expressly stated otherwise they do not form part of these Terms.
1. About these Terms
1.1 Scope
These Terms govern all submissions made to us for the Services, whether made online, in person, at an event, or by post, courier, collection, or any other delivery method.
1.2 Consumers and business customers
Your legal rights may differ depending on whether you are a consumer or a business customer.
You are a consumer if you are an individual acting wholly or mainly for purposes outside your trade, business, craft, or profession.
You are a business customer if you are acting for purposes relating to your trade, business, craft, or profession, including if you submit cards for resale, inventory, consignment, trading activity, or on behalf of any company, sole trade, partnership, club, dealer, breaker, streamer, or other commercial venture.
If you submit as a business customer, you confirm that you have authority to bind the person or business on whose behalf you act.
1.3 Entire agreement for business customers
If you are a business customer, these Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to the Services and supersede any prior discussions, correspondence, understandings, or arrangements relating to those Services.
You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise, representation, assurance, or warranty that is not expressly set out in these Terms, and that you shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation based on any statement not set out in these Terms.
1.4 Order of precedence
If there is any conflict between these Terms and any Submission Guide, FAQ, website content, portal wording, email, or other document issued by us, these Terms shall prevail unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing.
2. Information about us and how to contact us
2.1 Who we are
We are Imperium Grading Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales.
Company number: 16767488
Registered office: Imperium Grading, Steel House, 4300 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham PO15 7FP, United Kingdom
VAT number: 504 7996 62
2.2 How to contact us
Email: [email protected]
Post: Imperium Grading, Steel House, 4300 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham PO15 7FP, United Kingdom
2.3 How we may contact you
We may contact you by email, telephone, post, SMS, via your online account, or by notices on our website.
2.4 Writing
When we use the words writing or written in these Terms, this includes email and notifications delivered through your account portal.
3. Your contract with us
3.1 Acceptance of your order
Your order is accepted when we send you an order confirmation or otherwise confirm acceptance through your account portal or in writing. At that point, a contract is formed between you and us.
3.2 No obligation to accept
We are not obliged to accept any order or submission. We may reject or cancel any order at our discretion before acceptance, including where items are prohibited, details are incomplete, declared values are inaccurate, payment has not been made, or we reasonably suspect fraud, illegality, or breach of these Terms.
3.3 If we cannot accept your order
If we are unable to accept your order after payment has been made, we will inform you and refund any sums paid for Services not provided.
3.4 Order reference
We will assign an order reference to your submission. You must quote this reference when contacting us about your order.
3.5 Geographic availability
Unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, our Services are performed in the United Kingdom and are intended for submissions originating from the United Kingdom.
4. Our products and materials
4.1 Illustrative images
Images of slabs, holders, labels, inserts, packaging, and other materials shown on our website, social media, or promotional materials are illustrative only. Colours, finishes, dimensions, fonts, label layouts, and presentation may vary.
4.2 Encapsulation environment
We use clean handling and encapsulation processes and take reasonable care, but due to the nature of encapsulation we cannot guarantee that any holder or slab will be entirely free from minute dust, fibres, particles, static effects, or other minor cosmetic imperfections that do not materially affect the service.
4.3 Product changes
We may change slab styles, inner sleeves, labels, inserts, tamper measures, packaging materials, or manufacturing partners at any time provided that the overall service remains materially consistent.
5. Declared value, shipment, insurance and risk
5.1 Declared value
You must provide a fair, accurate, and reasonable declared value for each submitted item. Declared value may be used by us for pricing, service eligibility, workflow routing, handling decisions, return shipping arrangements, and assessment of any claim.
We may request evidence of value and may amend the declared value, service tier, fees, or shipment method if a declared value appears inaccurate or unreasonable.
5.2 Shipment to us
You are solely responsible for packaging and shipping items to us safely and appropriately unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing. You are also responsible for arranging any insurance you require during transit to us.
Risk in submitted items remains with you until the items have been physically received by us and recorded into our intake process.
5.3 Intake and recorded receipt
An item is not treated as received by us merely because a courier records delivery to a building, reception, collection point, parcel locker, neighbour, or safe place. Items are treated as received only when they are physically located by us and formally checked into our intake process.
5.4 Insurance while items are in our possession
While submitted items are in our custody at our premises, we maintain business insurance for our grading operation. That insurance is arranged by us for the protection of our business and is always subject to its own terms, exclusions, excesses, conditions, valuations, and insurer decisions.
Nothing in these Terms creates a separate contract of insurance between you and us, and we do not guarantee that any particular loss, damage, or claim will be covered by any insurer or paid in full.
5.5 No customer insurance product
Unless we expressly offer and confirm a separate insurance option in writing at the time of your order, you are not purchasing an insurance product from us. Any references on our website, portal, guides, emails, or other materials to cover, declared value, protection, shipping, handling, or liability do not create an insurance contract.
5.6 Return shipment
Where we arrange return shipment, we will use a carrier selected by us or one of our service partners. Risk in the returned items passes to you when the return package is handed to the carrier, unless applicable law requires otherwise.
All delivery events after handover to the carrier, including delays, failed delivery attempts, redelivery, collection, safe-place delivery, neighbour delivery, tracking disputes, misdelivery claims, and proof-of-delivery issues, are subject to the carrier’s records, procedures, and terms.
5.7 Liability limits
Our contractual liability for loss of or damage to submitted items is limited by Clauses 19 and 20. We are not responsible for any amount above the liability limits set out in these Terms, even if you believe an item has increased in value or has special significance.
5.8 Underdeclared value
If you understate or misstate the value of an item, we may rely on the declared value you supplied in assessing service level, shipping method, operational handling, and any claim. We are not responsible for any loss said to arise from an inaccurate or understated declared value supplied by you.
6. Changes to your order
6.1 Your requested changes
If you wish to amend your order, including adding or removing items, changing service level, upgrading turnaround, or changing shipment details, you must contact us promptly.
6.2 Whether changes are possible
We will tell you whether the requested change is possible and what effect it will have on price, timing, workflow, or any already-started work.
6.3 Fees for changes
We may charge reasonable additional fees for changes, including administrative costs, repricing, shipping adjustments, or reprocessing costs.
7. Changes we may make
7.1 Minor changes
We may make minor changes to the Services to reflect technical developments, packaging updates, material substitutions, staffing changes, supply chain issues, fraud prevention, security improvements, process improvements, or legal and regulatory requirements.
7.2 Significant changes
If we make a material change to the Services after accepting your order and before completing it, we will notify you. If you do not wish to proceed, you may cancel in respect of the affected Services and receive a refund for Services paid for but not yet provided.
8. Providing the Services
8.1 Turnaround times
All turnaround times are estimates only. They are not guaranteed and do not form a binding contractual deadline.
8.2 Events outside our control
We are not liable for delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including courier disruption, industrial action, supply shortages, utility failure, cyber incidents, theft, fire, flood, epidemic, governmental action, severe weather, equipment failure, or staff absence. We will take reasonable steps to minimise the effect of the delay.
8.3 Delivery providers
Where we arrange return shipment, we may use reputable third-party carriers, postal operators, or fulfilment partners.
8.4 Failed delivery
If return delivery cannot be completed, the carrier may leave instructions regarding redelivery or collection. Any storage, redelivery, return, customs, or access fees charged by the carrier may be your responsibility.
8.5 Ownership of supplied goods
You own any slab, holder, label, or related physical product supplied as part of the Services only once payment in full has cleared and the relevant work has been completed.
8.6 Information we need
You must provide all information reasonably required by us to perform the Services, including card details, declared values, identifiers, return details, and any customs information where relevant.
If you do not provide requested information, provide incomplete or inaccurate information, or fail to respond promptly, we may delay, suspend, reprice, or cancel the Services.
8.7 Suspension
We may suspend the Services where reasonably necessary to address technical issues, security issues, legal changes, payment issues, suspected fraud, or missing information.
8.8 Lien and right to retain items
Without limiting any other right or remedy, we may retain possession of submitted items and any completed slabs, labels, or related property until all sums owed to us have been paid in full, including grading fees, storage fees, shipping charges, reprocessing fees, chargeback losses, and any other reasonably incurred amounts.
8.9 Storage fees and uncollected items
If you fail to pay sums due, fail to arrange collection, fail to provide required return details, or otherwise leave completed orders unclaimed for more than 30 days after notification from us, we may charge reasonable storage fees.
If items remain unclaimed for more than 6 months after we have made reasonable efforts to contact you, we may, to the extent permitted by law, dispose of or sell the items and apply the proceeds towards sums owed to us, storage costs, sale costs, and other reasonable expenses, accounting to you for any balance remaining.
9. Submission requirements and prohibited items
9.1 Ownership and authority
You warrant that you are the legal owner of each submitted item or are fully authorised by the legal owner to submit it to us and to bind that owner to these Terms.
9.2 Authenticity and legality
You warrant that each submitted item is lawfully owned, lawfully possessed, and not counterfeit, stolen, fraudulently altered, unlawfully imported, or otherwise illegal.
9.3 Prohibited items
We may refuse, quarantine, return, destroy, or report any item we reasonably suspect to be counterfeit, stolen, unlawfully possessed, materially altered without disclosure, contaminated, unsafe, or otherwise unsuitable for our Services.
9.4 Your records and evidence
You are strongly advised to photograph or video each item and its condition immediately before packaging and dispatch and to keep copies of tracking, proof of postage, and proof of delivery.
9.5 Handling and inherent risks
You acknowledge that professional handling cannot eliminate all risk. Inspection, opening existing holders, crossover assessment, reholdering, encapsulation, cleaning-adjacent handling, and similar processes may reveal or expose pre-existing flaws, hidden defects, residue, warping, print lines, pressure marks, edge issues, factory defects, or other characteristics not previously visible.
You accept these inherent risks.
10. Grading, crossover, authentication and labels
10.1 Nature of grading and authentication
Grading, crossover, authentication, descriptive labelling, and related outputs are opinion-based services performed by us under our own standards, methodologies, and processes as applied at the time of assessment.
These outcomes are not guarantees of market value, resale value, investment return, saleability, liquidity, future cross-grade result, future grading consistency, or acceptance by any third party.
Reasonable differences of opinion can occur.
10.2 No standardised industry outcome promised
You acknowledge that trading card grading is not a universally standardised sector and that our outputs reflect our own grading framework and judgment. A difference between our opinion and your opinion, or the opinion of another grading company, does not by itself indicate error, negligence, or breach of contract.
10.3 Crossover submissions
For crossover submissions, we assess the item independently and are not bound by any prior third-party grade, subgrade, authenticity decision, label wording, or holder condition. We may assign a lower, equal, or higher grade, decline to cross, decline to encapsulate, or return the item unmodified.
10.4 Labels and data accuracy
We take reasonable care with label text, set names, numbering, card titles, variants, print details, and descriptive information, but we do not guarantee the complete absence of administrative, catalogue, database, or transcription error.
You must check returned labels promptly and notify us of any alleged error within 14 days of delivery.
10.5 Remedy for service concerns
If you believe we have made an error in grading, labelling, or encapsulation, you must notify us promptly and provide reasonable supporting information.
Unless required otherwise by law, our preferred remedy for any proven service error is, at our option, one or more of the following:
(a) review;
(b) correction;
(c) reholder;
(d) relabel;
(e) regrade; or
(f) refund of the relevant service fee.
We are not obliged to compensate alleged market loss, resale loss, lost opportunity, or dissatisfaction with an opinion-based outcome.
10.6 No obligation to alter completed work
Once a card has been graded, labelled, or encapsulated, we are not obliged to revisit, revise, remove, or repeat the service unless we choose to do so or are legally required to do so.
11. Your rights to end the contract
11.1 General
Your rights to end the contract depend on whether you are a consumer or business customer, whether we have begun performing the Services, and the reason for cancellation.
11.2 If you want to end because of something we have done
You may end the contract before completion if:
(a) we tell you about a material change you do not agree to;
(b) we have made an obvious pricing or description error and you do not wish to proceed;
(c) there is a risk of substantial delay caused by events outside our control and you no longer wish to continue;
(d) we suspend the Services for an unreasonable period for reasons within our control; or
(e) you otherwise have a legal right to end the contract because of our breach.
11.3 Consumer cooling-off rights
If you are a consumer and you place your order at a distance, you may have a 14-day right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
However, if you ask us to begin the Services during that 14-day period, you agree that:
(a) we may start work before the cancellation period expires; and
(b) if you then cancel after work has started, you must pay for the proportion of Services already supplied.
Once the Services in relation to a particular item have been fully completed, you lose the right to cancel in respect of that item.
11.4 How to cancel
To cancel, email [email protected] with your name, address, order reference, and details of the cancellation request.
11.5 Refunds
Where you are entitled to a refund, we will refund you by the original payment method unless we agree otherwise.
11.6 Partial performance
If work has begun on some but not all submitted items, we may make a partial refund reflecting the stage reached for each item and the work already performed.
11.7 Delivery costs
Any refund of delivery charges, where applicable, is limited to the least expensive delivery method we offered.
12. Our rights to end the contract
12.1 When we may end
We may end the contract immediately or cancel any uncompleted part of it if:
(a) you fail to pay sums due;
(b) you fail to provide information reasonably required by us;
(c) you fail to accept return delivery or collection;
(d) we reasonably suspect fraud, illegality, counterfeiting, chargeback abuse, or breach of these Terms;
(e) a third party payment provider reverses or disputes payment; or
(f) continued performance would expose us to legal, regulatory, reputational, operational, or security risk.
12.2 Consequences
If we end the contract under Clause 12.1, we may refund sums paid for Services not yet provided, less reasonable administrative charges, payment processing losses, shipping costs already incurred, storage charges, and any other amounts lawfully due to us.
12.3 Withdrawal of Services
We may stop offering any Service, holder type, label style, add-on, or pricing tier at any time. Where reasonably possible, we will honour accepted orders already in progress or provide a suitable alternative or refund.
13. Problems and complaints
If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints, contact us at [email protected] or write to Imperium Grading, 4500 Parkway, Solent Business Park, Whiteley, PO15 7AZ, United Kingdom.
You must notify us promptly of any alleged problem and, in any event:
(a) for transit-to-us issues, as soon as discovered;
(b) for alleged return delivery issues, as soon as discovered;
(c) for slab, label, or visible encapsulation issues, within 14 days of delivery; and
(d) for any other complaint, within a reasonable time.
You are strongly advised to photograph or video your items immediately before packing and shipment, and to keep proof of dispatch, tracking, and delivery. We are not liable for loss or damage alleged to have occurred before items are physically received and recorded by us, or after returned items have been handed to the return carrier, except to the extent required by law or expressly stated in these Terms.
14. Consumer rights
If you are a consumer, we are under a legal duty to provide Services with reasonable care and skill and in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Nothing in these Terms affects rights that the law says cannot be excluded or limited.
15. Warranty for physical goods supplied with the Services
15.1 Warranty
If physical goods such as slabs, holders, inserts, or labels supplied by us are materially defective due to manufacturing fault or workmanship, you must notify us within 30 days of delivery.
15.2 Remedy
If we agree that a supplied physical component is materially defective, we may, at our option:
(a) repair it;
(b) replace it;
(c) reholder or relabel the item; or
(d) refund the relevant part of the price.
15.3 Exclusions
This clause does not apply where the alleged issue arises from:
(a) ordinary wear and tear;
(b) cosmetic preferences or minor non-material imperfections;
(c) impact damage, mishandling, or improper storage after delivery;
(d) tampering, opening, cracking, modification, or attempted repair by anyone other than us; or
(e) any condition already disclosed or reasonably inherent in the product.
16. Price and payment
16.1 Pricing
Prices are those shown at checkout, quoted to you, or otherwise communicated by us. All prices are subject to correction of obvious error.
16.2 Repricing for error or inaccurate submission
If there is an obvious pricing error, or if your declared value, service tier, card category, or submission details are inaccurate, we may reprice the order and ask for the correct amount before completing the Services.
16.3 Payment timing
Unless we agree otherwise, payment is due at the time stated by us in the ordering process. We may refuse to begin or complete work, or refuse return shipment, until cleared funds are received.
16.4 Chargebacks and payment disputes
If you initiate a chargeback, payment dispute, or reversal without valid legal basis, we may suspend all ongoing work, retain items under our lien, recover resulting costs, and refuse future business.
16.5 No set-off for business customers
If you are a business customer, you must pay all sums due in full without set-off, counterclaim, deduction, or withholding except as required by law.
17. Intellectual property and use of images
17.1 Our intellectual property
All intellectual property rights in our grading methodologies, standards, labels, population systems, registry information, holders, branding, website content, software, text, graphics, and processes belong to us or our licensors.
17.2 Restrictions
You must not reproduce, copy, reverse engineer, scrape, republish, commercially exploit, or otherwise use our intellectual property without our prior written consent.
17.3 Your licence to us
You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to photograph, scan, image, describe, list, and reproduce submitted items and completed slabs for order processing, fraud prevention, archive, training, quality control, population reporting, registry features, marketing, and social media, provided we do not intentionally misrepresent ownership.
18. Data protection and privacy
We process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
For details of how we collect, use, store, and share personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.
19. Our responsibility for loss or damage – consumers
19.1 Foreseeable loss only
If you are a consumer, we are responsible only for loss or damage that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill.
19.2 Liability cap for submitted items
Subject to Clause 19.3, our total liability to you in respect of any submitted item or items shall not exceed the lower of:
(a) the declared value of the affected item or items; and
(b) the amount we recover, or would have been entitled to recover acting reasonably, under any applicable insurance or carrier arrangement relating to the relevant event,
less any applicable excess, deduction, exclusion, or uninsured amount.
19.3 Liabilities we do not exclude
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
19.4 Excluded losses
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for:
(a) dissatisfaction with a grade, subgrade, authentication decision, crossover outcome, label wording, or encapsulation result;
(b) loss of market value, resale opportunity, speculative value, collector demand, future sale price, or investment return;
(c) any difference between our opinion and the opinion of you or any third party;
(d) any loss arising solely because an item receives a lower or different grade than expected; or
(e) any indirect or consequential loss.
19.5 Consumer/private use
We provide the Services for private use unless you are acting in the course of business. If you use the Services for commercial or resale purposes, Clause 20 may apply instead.
20. Our responsibility for loss or damage – business customers
20.1 Liabilities not excluded
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for:
(a) death or personal injury caused by negligence;
(b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
(c) any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
20.2 Excluded losses
Subject to Clause 20.1, we shall not be liable for:
(a) loss of profit;
(b) loss of sales, revenue, business, or opportunity;
(c) loss of contracts or expected transactions;
(d) loss of anticipated savings;
(e) loss of goodwill or reputation;
(f) loss caused by market movement or diminished resale value;
(g) loss arising from a grading outcome, crossover outcome, authentication outcome, or label wording with which you disagree;
(h) loss of or damage to data; or
(i) any indirect, special, or consequential loss.
20.3 Liability cap
Subject to Clause 20.1, our total liability arising out of or in connection with the Services, whether in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall not exceed the lower of:
(a) the total fees paid for the relevant submission; and
(b) the declared value of the affected item or items.
20.4 Insurance and carrier recoveries
Where a matter may also be considered under any insurance maintained by us or under any carrier process, you must provide reasonable cooperation and evidence. We do not guarantee that any insurer or carrier will accept or pay any claim, and our liability to you is not increased by the existence of any such policy or arrangement.
20.5 Opinion-based services
You acknowledge that grading, authentication, crossover, labelling, and related outputs are opinion-based services carried out under our own standards and processes. We do not provide investment advice, valuation advice, or professional advice, and we are not liable for claims framed merely as disagreement with our opinion, methodology, or outcome, save to the extent caused by our proven failure to exercise reasonable care and skill.
21. Social Media & Marketing Consent
By submitting cards to Imperium Grading, customers consent to Imperium Grading photographing, filming, and using submitted cards for promotional, marketing, and social media purposes. This may include use across social media platforms, livestreams, the Imperium Grading website, advertisements, and other promotional content. No personal customer information will be shared without prior consent.
22. Third-party tools, carriers and platforms
We may make use of third-party payment processors, couriers, software providers, marketplaces, registries, storage tools, fraud tools, and other platforms. Those services are outside our direct control and may be subject to the third party’s own terms and policies.
We are not responsible for third-party websites, tools, or platforms except to the extent required by law.
23. Other important terms
23.1 Transfer by us
We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another person or organisation. We will notify you if we do so where legally required.
23.2 Transfer by you
You may transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms only with our prior written consent.
23.3 No third-party rights
Except as expressly stated otherwise, no person other than you and us has any right to enforce any term of this contract.
23.4 Severance
Each provision of these Terms operates separately. If any court or competent authority decides that any provision is unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
23.5 Waiver
If we delay enforcing any right under these Terms, that delay does not mean that we waive that right.
23.6 Governing law for consumers
If you are a consumer, these Terms are governed by English law, except that you may also rely on any mandatory laws of the country in the United Kingdom in which you live. You may bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales or, if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in the courts of your home nation.
23.7 Governing law and jurisdiction for business customers
If you are a business customer, these Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them, their subject matter, or their formation, including non-contractual disputes or claims, shall be governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction.