At FTC Grading LLC, we operate under a strict, data-minimalist consumer philosophy. We firmly believe that your personal data belongs to you. This Privacy Policy outlines our transparent digital data protocols, specifying the restricted collection parameters, storage frameworks, and narrow processing actions used to execute your grading orders.
1. RESTRICTED INFORMATION COLLECTION & PURPOSE
FTC Grading LLC does not track your behavior across external networks, build advertising profiles, or harvest data for third-party marketing brokers. We collect personal identifiable information strictly and exclusively for logistics, order authentication verification, and outbound shipping fulfillment. Depending on your submission channel, we collect only the following baseline fields:
Full Legal Name: To accurately index, inventory, and cross-reference your collectible submissions as they transition through our digital pipeline.
Return Shipping and Physical Address: To generate commercial freight tracking, print shipping labels, return your completed slabs, or verify physical records for local storefront counter pick-ups.
Email Address: To transmit your official digital documentation packets (including your Main Submission Form, Extra Card Tables, and Packaging Guides), supply direct order state notifications, and pass automated tracking data.
Phone Number: Retained strictly as a secondary emergency communication link to reach you if an issue arises regarding your evaluation parameters or parcel delivery status.
Customer Signature: Captured physically or digitally on intake documentation to execute binding identity validation and formal terms verification.
2. DATA STORAGE, SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE, & SECURITY
We apply robust physical and digital security protocols to ensure your data is kept confidential and sealed away from unauthorized network access:
Digital Email Database Protection: Digital records generated from our online intake form flow directly into a secured, heavily encrypted email database network designed to prevent data leakage and malicious intrusions.
Mail-In Submissions: Physical paperwork printed and sent inside transit boxes by online Customers remains organized and matched directly with corresponding physical card lots inside locked, monitored storage bays.
Local Storefront Drop-Offs: Physical paper submission forms completed directly at our counter are transferred immediately to restricted-access commercial filing systems. These paper copies are stored securely in physical vaults restricted to authorized managers.
Financial Architecture Insulation: FTC Grading LLC maintains an isolated transactional model. All payment data processing is handled off-site by our certified third-party payment processing networks (Stripe and PayPal). Our internal staff, local servers, and email databases never see, process, or hold your full credit card credentials, bank routing codes, or private billing keys.
Storefront Smart Surveillance: To protect employee safety, client visitors, and high-value physical inventories, our commercial workspace utilizes smart property security systems. These devices actively log motion descriptions, maintain continuous activity triggers, and capture automated video snapshots at entry points and secure grading lab boundaries. All recording logs are saved to an isolated cloud environment with automatic cycling deletion schedules.
3. THIRD-PARTY LOGISTICS PARTNERS
We do not lease, trade, or sell consumer contact data. We only share specific, necessary data arrays with trusted third parties to execute physical transit fulfillment and asset insurance placement:
Pirate Ship (pirateship.com): Passing name and return address datasets to process commercial postage, generate tracking references, and clear parcel label structures.
InsureShield: Passing item name descriptions and raw values to bind asset transit insurance coverage for the outbound shipping loop.
Hostinger: Utilizing secure, firewalled server infrastructure for domain handling and hosting framework support.
Legal Compliance: We will disclose personal records only when legally compelled by a formal subpoena or judicial mandate, or to protect the safety and property rights of FTC Grading LLC and our clients.
4. YOUR ACCESS AND ERASURE RIGHTS
You retain absolute authority over your records. Following the successful delivery of your graded slabs, the formal closure of all carrier transit windows, and the expiration of policy claim eligibility, you may request the manual deletion of your contact records from our active email databases. For data access requests, please message our support team via ftcgrading.com.
Privacy Policy
Immutability Policy
FTC Grading does not charge upcharges based on card value.
If your submission includes more cards than what was mentioned in your submission request, we'll confirm any additional grading fees before proceeding.
In the event of a verified internal issue, we work in good faith to review and resolve matters with collectors.
Collector First Policy
To protect the integrity of grading and maintain trust within the community, FTC Grading follows a strict Immutability Policy:
ZERO INTERNAL CONFLICT: Founder-owned cards will not be graded. This eliminates potential conflicts of interest and ensures an unbiased system that cannot be influenced internally.
MARKET NEUTRALITY: We do not purchase our own slabs back for resale through any type of buy-back program, while we offer a consignment program (seen below) to assist our collectors, our role is strictly that of a service provider.
Our mission is to preserve the true culture of the hobby and grading. To restore the integrity of grading through a standard the community can actually respect and accept.
CONSIGNMENT TRANSPARENCY
FTC provides a customer-initiated consignment service for FTC-graded slabs for a flat 15% service fee. To ensure absolute impartiality, we do not purchase slabs for resale or maintain house-owned graded inventory. At FTC, integrity and neutrality always supersede financial gain.
CUSTOMER-DRIVEN: Participation is strictly optional and initiated by the collector.
TOTAL CONTROL: The customer determines all sale prices and terms.
FULL DISCLOSURE: All consigned items are clearly labeled as customer-owned.
This service exists solely to facilitate collector liquidity while maintaining a rigorous separation between our marketplace and our grading process. Our commitment to objective authentication remains independent of market value or external influence.