Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) customers are reporting substantial losses after a FedEx vehicle transporting graded trading cards was burglarized following its departure from the company’s Southern California facility.
One collector claims to have lost more than $100,000 worth of cards in the theft, while others say their valuable submissions never made it home.
The incident has prompted PSA to deactivate certification numbers associated with the stolen collectibles and alert resale platforms, according to an email shared publicly by an affected customer.
The exact number of stolen cards and the total financial damage have not been established publicly.
PSA Customer Says More Than $100,000 in Cards Were Stolen
On October 17, trading card collector SKY-B shared an alarming update on X, claiming that a 104-card submission valued at more than $100,000 had been stolen.
The collector also posted screenshots of an email attributed to PSA explaining the incident.
“After leaving our PSA facility in Southern California, a FedEx vehicle transporting PSA orders was burglarized, and items were stolen,” the message stated.
According to the communication, PSA deactivated the certification numbers associated with the stolen items and notified auction partners and selling platforms. The company also said it was coordinating with FedEx and law enforcement in efforts to investigate the theft and recover the missing collectibles.
The reported losses extend beyond a single customer.
In a separate Reddit post, another collector reported that their PSA 9 copy of the Smaug the Magnificent Gleaming Gold card from Magic: The Gathering had been stolen.
Other collectors participating in the discussion claimed that Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon cards were also affected. Those individual reports have not been independently verified.
As of October 18, the precise location and date of the burglary, the total number of affected shipments and the estimated value of the entire theft remain unclear.
Will PSA Reimburse Customers for Stolen Cards?
For collectors awaiting expensive grading submissions, the most consequential question may be what happens to the money invested in those cards.
The email shared by SKY-B indicated PSA would compensate affected customers based on the fair market value of their stolen collectibles, subject to the Maximum Insured Value associated with each item.
That distinction is significant.
According to PSA’s published coverage policy, the maximum insured value establishes a ceiling on compensation. The actual payout is limited to the lesser of the item’s fair market value or its applicable coverage limit.
For example, a card determined to be worth $5,000 but covered only up to $2,500 would generally be subject to the lower limit under those terms.
PSA’s policy also states that coverage generally extends from the time the company confirms receipt of a collectible until it reaches its next destination, including its return to the customer.
However, the individual compensation amounts for customers affected by this burglary have not yet been disclosed.
SKY-B raised concerns about how PSA would determine fair market values for the missing cards. The communication shared by the collector said further details would be provided the following week.
Stolen PSA Certification Numbers Create Another Problem
The reported deactivation of PSA certification numbers introduces another complication for the stolen merchandise.
PSA certification numbers ordinarily allow collectors and prospective buyers to look up a graded item’s identifying information through the company’s verification system.
Flagging stolen cards can make them easier to identify if they resurface in their original holders, particularly when grading labels or unique identifiers are visible in online listings.
But deactivating a certificate does not physically prevent someone from removing the card from its protective holder and attempting to sell it without the original PSA label.
That distinction makes the effort to recover the stolen collectibles considerably more complicated, especially when dealing with cards that lack individually identifiable serial numbers.
The burglary also raises questions about the security of shipments carrying high-value collectibles between grading facilities and their owners.
PSA’s published shipping policies list FedEx, UPS and armored transportation providers among the options used for domestic shipments.
For now, collectors affected by the burglary are awaiting more information about their missing cards and the compensation they may receive.
PSA Grading Customers Hit by Massive Card Theft After FedEx Truck Burglary