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PSA paused its Value tiers, TAG closed its core submission tiers, and CGC turnaround stretched past 120 working days. Inside the May 2026 card grading backlog — and how to pre-screen with AI before you wait months in line.
In short: In late May 2026 the card grading industry hit a wall all at once. PSA paused its four cheapest Value tiers effective June 2, TAG closed its Express, Basic, and Standard tiers, and CGC's turnaround stretched to roughly 65–120 working days. With every affordable lane paused or backed up months, the smartest move is to pre-screen with AI and submit only the cards actually worth the wait.
This was the week the grading backlog stopped being a PSA problem and became an industry problem.
Within days of each other, the three graders most hobbyists rely on each signaled the same thing: too many cards, not enough capacity. According to PSA's own service-level update, its active queue reached roughly 10 million cards — and Sports Collectors Daily reported the company is pausing services to dig out. Then TAG and CGC followed with capacity moves of their own.
Here is where each grader stands as of late May 2026.
PSA is pausing its four Value tiers (Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max) effective June 2, 2026, while keeping Regular and above open. The cheapest way to submit is now Regular at $79.99 per card. PSA says it now grades around 90,000 cards a day (up from ~15,000 in 2021), is hiring roughly 1,000 more staff in 2026, and launched a monthly Backlog Tracker with a goal of cutting the queue to 5 million. Full detail: PSA pauses Value tiers in 2026.
TAG announced that its Express tier is now closed at capacity, following its Basic and Standard tiers, which filled earlier in the month. Only its faster, higher-cost Priority and Walkthrough slots remain open for collectors who need to send immediately. TAG says it is scaling staff and throughput to work down the backlog and reopen the closed tiers.
CGC is still accepting submissions, but its turnaround times tell the story. As of its May 28, 2026 update, Bulk runs about 120 working days and Economy about 65 working days — roughly 5.5 and 3 calendar months. Standard sits near 30 working days, while Express and Walkthrough stay fast at a premium. CGC notes plainly that these times are estimates, not guarantees, and that orders cannot be changed or cancelled once in transit. See our CGC grading cost and turnaround guide for the full tier breakdown.
Three forces collided in 2026.
There's a structural angle as well: Collectors Holdings now owns PSA and SGC and has a pending agreement to acquire Beckett (BGS) — which would put roughly 80% of the trading-card grading market by volume under one roof. Fewer independent graders means fewer relief valves when demand spikes.
The practical fallout is the same no matter which grader you prefer:
In that environment, submitting a card that comes back a PSA 8 or 9 isn't just a wasted fee — it's a wasted quarter.
When every human grader is paused or months out, the one thing you can still do instantly is find out what your card will actually grade.
CardGrade.io analyzes a card across 16 zones — centering, corners, edges, and surface on both sides — and returns a predicted PSA, BGS, and CGC grade in about 60 seconds, benchmarked at 92.8% accuracy against real PSA grades. It doesn't replace a slab. It tells you which cards deserve one.
The filter that matters more than ever during a backlog:
At $4.99/month for 10 grades, pre-screening a 10-card lot costs less than a single premium submission. It's the same discipline we cover in pre-screening cards before you submit — only now the cost of guessing wrong is measured in months, not just dollars.
Not sure which grader fits your card? Start with our PSA vs BGS vs CGC comparison and the is card grading worth it ROI guide.
The 2026 grading backlog isn't a blip — it's what happens when record demand meets a consolidating industry. Cheap, fast grading isn't coming back overnight. The collectors who come out ahead won't be the ones who submit the most cards; they'll be the ones who submit the right cards, and use instant AI grading to know the difference before they commit money and months to a queue.
Pre-screen your cards in 60 seconds →
Sources: PSA service-level update, May 2026; PSA pricing & turnaround updates; Sports Collectors Daily; CGC and TAG turnaround/service announcements (late May 2026). Turnaround times and tier availability are changing quickly — confirm current status with each grader before submitting.
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CardGrade.io Editorial
The CardGrade.io editorial team writes about card grading, AI technology, and collecting strategy. Our guides are researched against official PSA, BGS, and CGC standards.
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