Beckett Shuts Down Base, Standard Card Grading Again Just Days After Reopening

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 21: A man sells vintage baseball cards prior to the start of the last game at Yankee Stadium between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees on September 21, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankee Stadium held it's inaugural game on April 18, 1923 against the Boston Red Sox and tonight's match will be the final game to be played at the historic stadium. During it's 85 years as ''The Home of Champions,'' the stadium has also been known as ''The House that Ruth Built'' and ''The Cathedral.'' The stadium has been host to 33 World Series, three Papal visits and has been visited by legends such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Bera, Mickey Mantle and boxing great Muhummad Ali. In 2009 the Yankees will move across the street to a newly constructed stadium estimated to cost $1.3 billion. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Beckett Grading Services has once again stopped accepting new Base and Standard card-grading submissions, less than two weeks after reopening both services.

The company’s temporary website now says that only Express submissions remain available as Beckett works through existing orders and attempts to keep turnaround times under control.

“To help us focus on existing orders and maintain estimated turnaround times, we’ve temporarily paused Base and Standard card grading submissions,” Beckett says on its website.

The move is particularly notable because Beckett had only reopened Base and Standard on September 15 following a previous six-week pause.

That reopening lasted less than two weeks.

Beckett Base, Standard Grading Paused Again

Collectors attempting to start a new Beckett submission are now being directed toward the company’s Express service.

According to Beckett’s FAQ, Base and Standard are “temporarily paused” while the company focuses on existing orders and its estimated turnaround times.

“Service availability will continue to adjust based on our ability to consistently meet estimated turnaround times,” Beckett says.

There is currently no announced date for Base or Standard submissions to return.

Instead, Beckett is directing collectors to a waitlist that will notify them when those grading tiers become available again.

The company describes the system as a “dynamic approach to service availability.”

Beckett says it continuously monitors both demand and turnaround times for each service level. If it forecasts that it can no longer meet its estimated turnaround time, it can stop taking new submissions and reopen the tier once capacity catches up.

That policy is now being tested almost immediately after the company’s latest reopening.

Beckett Had Just Reopened Base and Standard

Beckett originally suspended Base and Standard submissions on August 5 amid a substantial increase in grading demand.

At the time, the company reported a 102% year-over-year increase in total cards submitted and a 159% increase in TCG cards graded. Beckett said it planned to use the shutdown to process existing submissions, hire additional employees, expand operating hours and implement software and workstation improvements.

Beckett targeted September 15 for the return of the two services and hit that date.

“When we paused submissions, we committed to focusing on existing orders, expanding capacity, and reopening on September 15,” the company said when the services returned.

Base, Standard and Express were all accepting submissions through Beckett’s temporary submission system following that reopening.

Now Base and Standard are unavailable again.

The change comes roughly 11 days after the September 15 reopening.

Beckett Express Grading Still Available

Collectors can still submit cards to Beckett, but the lower-cost grading lanes are no longer available for new orders.

Beckett says Express is currently available through its temporary submission form, though the company cautions that even that availability could change based on demand and its grading backlog.

When Base and Standard reopened September 15, Beckett listed Base at $17.95 per card with an estimated 75-business-day turnaround, Standard at $34.95 with an estimated 45-business-day turnaround and Express at $79.95 with an estimated 15-business-day turnaround.

That means collectors who want to initiate a Beckett submission right now face a dramatically higher entry price than they did less than two weeks ago.

The company’s broader digital issues also remain unresolved.

Beckett.com and the Beckett mobile app remain temporarily offline while the company completes what it has described as digital infrastructure improvements.

For collectors, the latest shutdown offers an unusually quick example of what Beckett’s new submission system may look like going forward.

Base and Standard are no longer necessarily services collectors can assume will always be available.

They can open, and, as Beckett has now demonstrated, close again shortly afterward.