PSA Grading Tiers 2026: Value Pause & Backlog Update
PSA Value tiers remain paused. See current open prices, the July 28 backlog at 12.4 million, the reopening target, and what to check before submitting.
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PSA Value tiers remain paused. See current open prices, the July 28 backlog at 12.4 million, the reopening target, and what to check before submitting.
PSA's four lower-priced Value services—Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max—remain paused for new US trading-card submissions. On the live PSA trading-card service page checked August 8, 2026, Regular at $79.99 per card is the lowest currently orderable direct tier. PSA lists a $1,500 maximum insured value and an estimated 40–50 business days for Regular.
PSA has not announced a guaranteed reopening date. Its Backlog Tracker says reopening is tied to reducing the active backlog to 5 million units. The latest visible update, dated July 28, 2026, reports 12.4 million units, up from 11 million on July 14.
That makes this a status page, not a countdown. Check PSA's live menu and tracker before building a submission around a paused price or an assumed reopening month.
| Status checked August 8, 2026 | PSA service | Published price | Published timing | Value limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Regular | $79.99/card | 40–50 business days | $1,500 maximum insured value |
| Open | Express | $149/card | 20–30 business days | $2,500 maximum insured value |
| Open | Super Express | $349/card | 10–15 business days | $5,000 maximum insured value |
| Open | Walk-Through | $599/card | 7–10 business days | $10,000 maximum insured value |
| Open | Premium 1 | $999/card | 5–7 business days | $25,000 maximum insured value |
Published turnaround times are estimates, not door-to-door guarantees. PSA says its service clock begins after an order enters the grading system. Carrier transit, intake, return shipping, and an order-specific hold can add time outside the listed service window.
For all current price bands and the costs beyond the advertised fee, use the PSA grading cost guide.
PSA announced the pause on May 28 and stopped accepting new submissions for the four Value tiers on June 2. The prices below were published for those services before the shutdown. They remain useful for understanding the search terms and the fee difference, but they are not currently orderable offers.
| Paused service | Last published per-card price | Important context |
|---|---|---|
| Value Bulk | $24.99 | Collectors Club service; PSA had raised the minimum to 50 cards before the pause |
| Value | $32.99 | Closed to new submissions |
| Value Plus | $49.99 | Closed to new submissions |
| Value Max | $64.99 | Closed to new submissions |
PSA said active submissions would continue to be processed under the submitted turnaround times. If PSA already has your cards, use the order details in your account and PSA's support channels rather than treating the current public menu as a replacement promise for an existing submission.
First-party sources: PSA's May 28 service update, May 14 grading-experience update, and February 2026 pricing update.
PSA's own tracker shows that the backlog has not moved in a straight line:
| PSA update | Company-reported active backlog | What PSA said |
|---|---|---|
| June 2, 2026 | Approaching 10 million | Value pause began; PSA projected 5–6 months to reach its 5-million target after another influx |
| June 30, 2026 | About 12 million | PSA described the backlog as trending down |
| July 14, 2026 | 11 million | PSA said output was accelerating |
| July 28, 2026 | 12.4 million | PSA attributed the increase to higher-tier demand, eligible post-shutdown arrivals, and convention season |
These figures are PSA-reported operational data, not independently audited measurements. The July increase also shows why a single earlier projection should not be presented as a firm reopening date.
PSA says the tracker is updated biweekly. If the page displays a newer dated entry than July 28, use the newer number and wording instead of this snapshot.
The honest answer is: PSA has not guaranteed a date.
PSA ties reopening to an operational milestone of 5 million backlog units, not a fixed day. Its June 2 update projected that reaching the target could take 5–6 months, but its July 28 tracker reported 12.4 million units. That means it is unsafe to turn the earlier projection into a promised reopening month.
Before waiting or submitting at a higher tier:
The separate 2026 grading-backlog guide compares the live capacity picture across PSA, TAG, and CGC.
The grading line item for ten cards at current Regular pricing is:
10 × $79.99 = $799.90
At the last published Value price, the same count would have been:
10 × $32.99 = $329.90
The difference is $470 before shipping, insurance, supplies, optional services, selling fees, or taxes. This is an illustrative fee comparison, not a claim that either batch will be profitable.
Use the grading ROI calculator to list the assumptions explicitly. A useful card-level test is:
Expected after-fee graded proceeds − expected raw proceeds > complete grading and selling cost
Use a range of plausible outcomes instead of assuming every card earns a 10. Recent completed sales for the exact card, variation, grade, and marketplace are more useful than broad rules about a PSA premium.
An active PSA tier may make sense when:
Waiting for Value may make sense when:
The how to get cards graded guide covers the full workflow, while the PSA grade predictor and centering tool can help organize a visible-condition review before the final decision.
An image-based pre-screen can help review visible centering, corner, edge, and surface signals in clear front and back photos. That can make a submission list more deliberate.
It cannot:
Inspect the physical card under good light and use PSA for the final authentication and grading decision. CardGrade is an independent pre-screening service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by PSA.
PSA Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max remain paused. Regular at $79.99 is the lowest active direct US tier, and PSA's latest visible tracker reported a 12.4-million-unit backlog on July 28. Reopening is tied to a 5-million-unit target, not a guaranteed date.
Check the live sources, compare the correct active tier, and make the decision card by card. Do not plan a shipment around a paused price, an old turnaround figure, or an assumed reopening month.
Yes. PSA’s US trading-card service menu checked August 8, 2026 still says Value services are temporarily paused. The affected tiers are Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max. Check PSA’s live service page before creating an order because availability can change.
PSA currently lists Regular, Express, Super Express, Walk-Through, and Premium value bands as orderable direct trading-card services. Regular is the lowest active direct tier at $79.99 per card with a $1,500 maximum insured value and a 40–50-business-day estimate.
Before the pause, PSA listed Value Bulk at $24.99, Value at $32.99, Value Plus at $49.99, and Value Max at $64.99 per card. Those figures are useful historical context, not currently orderable offers. Value Bulk also carried Collectors Club and minimum-card requirements.
PSA’s latest visible Backlog Tracker update is dated July 28, 2026 and reports an active backlog of 12.4 million units, up from 11 million on July 14. These are PSA-reported operational figures, not an independently audited count.
PSA has not published a guaranteed reopening date. It ties reopening to reducing the backlog to 5 million units. In its June 2 tracker update, PSA projected that reaching that target could take 5–6 months, but the latest July 28 backlog was still 12.4 million, so collectors should follow the live tracker rather than assume a calendar date.
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Current TAG backlog progress, reopening estimates, PSA tier availability, and CGC turnaround times—checked against first-party sources in August 2026.
A June 2026 snapshot of PSA, SGC, Beckett, CGC, and TAG pricing, capacity, turnaround, and what collectors should verify before submitting.
Yes. With all four Value services paused, PSA Regular is the lowest currently orderable direct US trading-card tier at $79.99 per card. Shipping, insurance, supplies, optional services, and any intermediary costs are separate from that grading line item.
Decide card by card. Compare the current active tier’s complete cost with recent completed sales for the exact card at plausible grades. Waiting may make sense when the lower fee is essential to the economics; submitting now may make sense when an active tier fits the card, insured-value limit, timing, and evidence-based resale plan.
No. An image-based pre-screen can help review visible centering, corner, edge, and surface signals in the supplied photos. It cannot authenticate a card, identify every physical flaw, issue an official grade, guarantee PSA’s result, or replace an in-hand examination.
We analyzed thousands of cards through AI grading to uncover real card grading patterns for 2026. The data challenges common assumptions about gem rates, grading ROI, and which cards are actually worth submitting.