Two big grading stories this month, one good and one a warning for anyone buying slabs.
The PSA backlog keeps shrinking
PSA's backlog was down to 7.2 million cards as of October 20, 2026. That's down from 8.2 million on October 6 and from a peak of about 12.4 million on July 28.
The catch for budget submitters: PSA's Value tiers are still paused. Value, Value Bulk, Value Plus and Value Max have been closed since June 2, and PSA says Value will reopen when the backlog reaches about 5 million. It hasn't given a date, and it says it will reopen services in phases while prioritizing shorter turnaround times.
Right now, the cheapest open tier is Standard at $59.99 per card, with a $1,000 maximum insured value and an estimated 90–100 business-day turnaround. For comparison, Value used to cost $32.99 and Value Bulk $24.99.
Nearly $1 million in PSA slabs stolen
On October 13, thieves took two pallets from a FedEx truck near PSA's headquarters in Santa Ana, California, and disturbed a third. Santa Ana police estimated the value at $963,000.
- The pallets held about 100 packages each, and around 50 more were taken from the third pallet.
- The stolen graded cards include sports cards and Pokémon, plus reportedly a rare Magic: The Gathering Smaug card from the Hobbit set.
- PSA's parent company, Collectors, deactivated the certificates on the stolen cards, warned marketplace partners and says it will pay affected customers fair market value.
What this means for you
Always check the cert. Before you buy a PSA slab, especially a high-dollar one, look up the certification number on PSA's website. Stolen cards now have deactivated certs, so a quick lookup protects you.
Low-value submissions? Until Value reopens, $59.99 a card makes bulk grading hard to justify. Some collectors are holding their cards for now or trying other graders.
Graded cards at Cards2Go
Not sure whether a card is worth grading? Bring it to any Cards2Go for a free appraisal. We buy raw and graded cards at our Freehold, Paramus and Langhorne stores.
