Clay Cards

Clay Cards is a card grading and submission business at 1400 Allentown Rd in Lima, Ohio, built around getting collectors' cards professionally graded through PSA. It suits sports card collectors who want a middleman to handle the paperwork, and Pokémon and other trading card game players can submit cards too. It is a grading service first, not a shelf-browsing shop, and the weekly schedule has no organized-play nights.

Grading services

The store, run as ClayCards, LLC, submits cards to PSA for grading and authentication. A customer builds a submission online, ships the cards in, and gets email updates as PSA works through the order. Graded cards come back through the store. Pokémon and other trading card game cards are accepted alongside sports cards, and SGC grading is available as an order option as well.

Submissions can be priced with or without a pre-evaluation. With evaluation, the store looks over each card against a minimum grade the customer chooses. A card the store does not expect to reach that grade is left out of the PSA submission, is not charged, and comes back ungraded with the rest of the order. Evaluated cards also get a surface wipe with a microfiber cloth. There is no minimum or maximum card count per submission.

The Value Bulk service is currently closed at PSA, and its return is projected for early 2027.

How submissions are handled

Cards go out to PSA within 5 business days of arriving, for submissions without evaluation. Invoices are paid by credit or debit card. An unpaid invoice gets a new invoice with 10 percent added after 10 days and 25 percent added after 20 days, and after 30 days the cards are forfeited and sold. PSA can add an upcharge on cards with high declared values; that fee is PSA's call and the store does not control it.

Other order options include reholdering at $25, PSA/DNA autograph authentication at $25, and card savers at $0.50 each. Return shipping runs from USPS First Class at $6 for one to four cards up to FedEx 2 Day Express options, and local pickup is available. Return shipping insurance can be added up to $20,000. Customers can also ask the store to make an offer on graded cards when they come back.

Hours and getting there

The store sits at 1400 Allentown Rd in Lima, Ohio. Mondays and Tuesdays are closed.

History

The business started in 2016, born of the owner's renewed interest in the hobby and a gap in help for people wanting their collectibles graded. The first submission was two people and just over 100 cards. The store has since sent more than 100,000 cards to PSA.

The local scene

Several other card and collectible shops sit close by in Lima. Pit Stop Hobby Shop is about 0.1 miles away, Jumbo's Sports Collectibles about 0.9 miles, Alter Ego Comics about 1.4 miles, and Lima Sports Collectibles about 1.8 miles. For a show, the Darke County Card Show is about 50 miles away, with its next date on November 15, 2026.