Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) delivered some encouraging news for sports card collectors on Tuesday, October 20, announcing that its grading backlog has dropped by another 1 million cards.
The update comes as the company faces questions about a massive trading card theft involving nearly $1 million in graded collectibles stolen from a FedEx truck outside its California facility.
According to PSA’s latest Backlog Tracker, the company now has 7.2 million units awaiting grading, down from 8.2 million on October 6.
That represents a reduction of more than 12% in just two weeks, bringing PSA significantly closer to reopening its cheaper grading services.
PSA Grading Backlog Falls by 1 Million Cards in Two Weeks
PSA has made substantial progress since its grading backlog peaked at approximately 12.4 million units on July 28.
The company’s backlog has since dropped to 11.85 million on August 11, 10.9 million on August 25, 9.9 million on September 8, 9 million on September 22 and 8.2 million on October 6.
Now, the backlog stands at 7.2 million.
That’s a reduction of 5.2 million cards, or nearly 42%, in less than three months.
In its October 20 update, PSA credited its improved operations for the latest decline.
“Increased scale and efficiency continue to drive progress,” PSA said. “As we work through the backlog, existing orders will be prioritized ahead of new submissions.”
The company also outlined how it intends to bring additional grading services back online.
“We plan to continue reopening services in phases and prioritizing shorter turnaround times, with pricing designed to balance demand against available grading capacity.”
The statement is particularly relevant for collectors waiting to submit lower-value cards, as PSA’s cheapest grading services remain unavailable.
When Will PSA Value Grading Reopen?
PSA has not announced an official reopening date for Value, Value Bulk, Value Plus or Value Max grading.
Those services have been paused since June 2, when the company moved to control rapidly increasing submission volume.
At the time, PSA identified a backlog of approximately 5 million cards as a key operational target for restoring its cheaper grading options.
With the latest update, PSA is now just 2.2 million cards away from that target.
For perspective, the company has reduced its backlog by 1.8 million units over the past four weeks alone.
If PSA maintains that pace, it could approach the 5 million-card threshold before the end of November. However, that is a projection based on recent progress, not a reopening timetable announced by PSA.
The company has also made clear that service reopenings will be phased and dependent on available grading capacity.
For now, the cheapest broadly available grading option remains Standard, which launched in September at $59.99 per card.
Before the pause, Value submissions cost $32.99 per card, while Value Bulk was priced at $24.99.
Those differences are significant for collectors with large submissions. Grading 20 cards at the current Standard price costs $1,199.80 before shipping and other fees. At the previous Value Bulk rate, those same cards would have cost $499.80.
That’s a $700 difference, although PSA has not guaranteed that its previous Value pricing will return unchanged.
For collectors without an urgent reason to grade, Tuesday’s update strengthens the financial case for waiting.
PSA Backlog Update Comes Amid Nearly $1 Million Card Theft
The positive grading update arrives during a difficult stretch for PSA, which is also responding to the theft of hundreds of packages containing valuable sports and Pokémon cards.
As Heavy previously reported, the Santa Ana Police Department confirmed that thieves targeted a FedEx truck near PSA’s California headquarters on October 13.
Two pallets containing approximately 100 packages each were stolen, while another estimated 50 packages were removed from a third pallet.
PSA initially estimated the value of the two stolen pallets at $963,000, although the total loss could rise as additional missing packages are identified.
The cards had already been graded and were being transported back to their owners.
In a statement provided to Heavy on October 19, PSA confirmed that it was working with law enforcement and its shipping partner to investigate the theft.
“We have deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items,” the company said.
PSA also said it was contacting affected customers and arranging compensation based on fair market value.
The company has not indicated that the theft is connected to its grading backlog or the timing of future service reopenings.
Still, the two developments underscore separate challenges facing the grading giant: processing millions of cards efficiently while maintaining collectors’ confidence in the security of their submissions.
PSA’s October 20 numbers show significant progress on the first challenge. The investigation into the second is ongoing.
PSA Makes Major Grading Announcement Amid $1 Million Trading Card Theft