May 2026 Grading Volume Shows Why Pre-Screening Matters Befo
Market Insights
May 2026 Grading Volume Shows Why Pre-Screening Matters Before You Submit
GemRate's May 2026 grading recap shows that grading demand is still running near the 3 million card-per-month level, even after a month-over-month dip
Jamie Budesky·Founder, CardGrade·Published Jun 4, 2026·6 min read
What the May 2026 Grading Volume Data Actually Shows
GemRate's latest grading recap is not just a hobby activity report. It is a reminder that card grading has become a high-volume decision market, where every collector is competing against a flood of other submissions, population growth, and constantly shifting company capacity.
The GemRate blog says overall grading activity in May 2026 dipped below the 3 million card mark, landing at 2.95 million cards. That was down about 145,000 cards from April, or roughly 5% month over month, but still up 20% year over year. On a per-business-day basis, GemRate says activity was actually up 5% compared with April, because May had fewer business days.
That distinction matters. A headline dip can make it sound like grading demand cooled off. The per-day view says something different: collectors are still submitting at a massive pace. If you are deciding whether a card is worth grading, the environment has not suddenly become quiet or forgiving. It is still crowded.
May 2026 Grading Volume by Company
GemRate's company-level numbers make that clear. PSA graded 2.07 million cards in May, down 7% from April but up 25% year over year. CGC graded 641,000 cards, down 7% month over month and up 12% year over year. Beckett graded 145,000 cards, up 49% from April and up 145% year over year, which GemRate notes was a record high. TAG graded 52,000 cards, up 8% month over month and 40% year over year. SGC graded 48,000 cards, down 4% from April and down 67% year over year.
Grading Company
May 2026 Volume
Month-over-Month
Year-over-Year
PSA
2.07 million
−7%
+25%
CGC
641,000
−7%
+12%
Beckett (BGS)
145,000
+49% (record)
+145%
TAG
52,000
+8%
+40%
SGC
48,000
−4%
−67%
Total
~2.95 million
−5%
+20%
What High Volume Means for Your Submission Decision
For a submitter, those numbers are less about company bragging rights and more about submission discipline. Millions of new slabs entering the market each month means raw-to-graded upside is harder to win by guessing. You are not just asking, "Can this card gem?" You are asking whether this specific copy can stand out after grading fees, shipping, turnaround time, and population growth.
Why Pre-Screening Matters More When Volume Is High
That is where pre-screening becomes practical instead of optional. Before you send a card to PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, TAG, or another grading company, you want to catch the flaws that usually separate a profitable submission from a disappointing one: centering, corner whitening, edge chipping, surface scratches, print lines, wax marks, dimples, and back-side issues that are easy to miss when you only look at the front.
If a card is likely to land as a 10, grading can still create a meaningful value jump. If the same card is more likely to land as an 8 or 9, the math can change quickly. That is especially true in categories where modern print runs are large and population reports keep expanding. GemRate's recap reinforces the scale of that expansion: even in a "down" month, the industry still processed nearly 3 million cards.
Reading the Per-Business-Day Numbers
Collectors should also pay attention to the gap between total volume and per-business-day volume. May had 20 business days, compared with 22 in April and 21 in May 2025. GemRate says that on a per-business-day basis, PSA was up 3% from April, CGC was up 2%, Beckett was up 64%, TAG was up 19%, and SGC was up 5%. In other words, the daily pace at most major graders was stronger, not weaker.
That means the submission queue is still very active. It also means a raw card buyer should be careful when using old assumptions about grading scarcity. If a set, player, or card type is being graded heavily, yesterday's low population can become tomorrow's crowded population report. The smarter move is to evaluate the individual copy first, then decide whether the card deserves a grading fee.
For CardGrade users, this is the exact use case for an AI pre-screen. CardGrade is not a replacement for PSA, Beckett, CGC, TAG, or SGC. It is a filter before you pay them. The goal is to identify whether your card has a realistic grade ceiling, whether the visible condition problems are likely to hold it back, and whether it belongs in the submit pile or the raw-sale pile.
If you are new to that workflow, start with a simple rule: do not submit a modern card just because it is popular. Submit it because the condition supports the grade you need. A hot player, scarce insert, or strong market can make a card worth reviewing, but condition still decides whether grading adds value.
Choosing the Right Grading Company for Your Cards
The May 2026 data also shows why different graders may serve different collector strategies. PSA is still moving the most volume by far. CGC remains a major force. Beckett's May jump is notable because it suggests renewed volume, at least for that month. TAG's growth points to continuing interest in technology-driven grading. SGC's year-over-year decline shows that share can move quickly. None of that tells you where your individual card will grade best, but it does tell you that the grading landscape is active enough to reward research.
Pre-Screening Resources and Next Steps
Before submitting, compare your card against common grade-breakers. Our guide to PSA 9 vs PSA 10 decisions explains why tiny issues can matter so much at the top of the scale. Our card grading backlog guide gives more context on why submission volume affects the collector experience. And if you want a broader market view, read Card Grading Industry 2026.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line from GemRate's May recap: grading is still huge, even when the monthly total slips. That makes selectivity more important, not less. A careful pre-screen cannot guarantee the final label, but it can help you stop paying grading fees on cards that were never realistic gem candidates.
Try a quick scan with CardGrade's free AI card grading tool before your next submission. Use it to sort the maybes from the real candidates, then spend your grading budget where the condition case is strongest.
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Jamie Budesky is the founder of CardGrade and the engineer behind its AI vision grading pipeline. An Army veteran and IT specialist (DoD, since 2017), he writes about card grading, AI/ML grading technology, and collecting strategy — grounded in CardGrade's own grading data.
