I was told by a friend that when you send a coin in for grading at PCGS or other grading services that they charge more for a coin that grades high. So if I send a coin in for grading and pay an upfront fee of $30 and it grades a MS 67 or above that grading could cost up to $70. My question is why? I am paying for the grading no matter what it is. How can they justify the additional costs when you are paying for the best grade possible with your upfront fee. That's a RIP off. Shouldn't have to pay extra for a coin just because it grades higher.
I believe that grading fees are based on the "declared value", which is a range (from $x to $x) that you select when submitting. That may be what he is referring to, as a higher graded coin may/will have a higher value than a lower graded coin. PCGS's pricing info is on their submission form https://www.pcgs.com/submissionform/usaform.pdf?v=2018
PCGS almost never does that. @Garlicus is right that it is based off the declared value. NGC is known to upcharge the fee when the value jumps but PCGS in my experience only does it when the values just aren't even close. Such as you knew you had a coin worth 5 figures and tried to send it in the economy level type thing. Some people will under declare to get things into the economy level, but if something happens in the mail or whatever than they have limited their payout to no more than the declared value
