In the dynamic realm of sports card collecting, collectors frequently send their prized cardboard treasures for grading—a process that can significantly amplify a card’s value. Yet, as the demand for grading services balloons, the go-to industry giant, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), appears to be adopting a strategy straight out of Oliver Twist’s playbook: asking for a little bit more. More time, more money, that is—for those anticipating their cards’ return from PSA’s vaults will now have to twiddle their thumbs a bit longer and dig a little deeper into their wallets.
The establishment announced a fresh batch of changes that would make most flip through their planning diaries in dismay. All card submissions as of April 7 will now face extended waiting periods. PSA’s Value, Value Bulk, and Trading Card Game (TCG) Bulk tiers—and its glistening Value + Bulk Dual Service—now dawdle in anticipation for 65 to 75 business days before reaching a final, poignant judgment. Or, for those counting weekends and public holidays, possibly your great-grandchildren’s birthdays.
And as if wrangling with elongated waits weren’t enough, PSA is also nudging up the price of its TCG Bulk service. Effective starting April 8, cards will cost collectors $18.99 apiece—an amount seemingly paltry but gathered all together, can pack a hefty punch to the wallet. This $2 increase isn’t just a leisurely stroll up; it follows an earlier adjustment from January, which means that in the span of just four months, the collective sound emanating through the hobby forums has gone from murmurs to full-throttle grumblings.
Predictably, longer gratifications come at a cost, and those costlier waits have collectors scratching their chins on whether the wait is worth the verdict. The current climate stems from what PSA terms “continued high demand”—which is indisputable as we all reach out longingly through the chasms of increasingly longer processing times. Those who have fastidiously clicked ‘submit’ back in the frosty days of January and February still find themselves thumbing impatiently through their calendar, their usual excitement about future postmarks morphed into a strange alchemy of frustration and patience.
In this peculiar oppression of waiting, some collectors and hobbyists are eying greener pastures with rival companies. Yet even reputable competitors like SGC are being dragged through the burgeoning bottleneck, with backlogs stretching long and strong. It’s an industry-wide pressure cooker, and the ever-thickening grading queue seems to be putting even the sturdiest staffers on the backfoot.
The frustration isn’t merely borne of dilatory expectations. Earlier in the year, PSA decreed an elaborate tightening of its grading criteria, putting centering—among other factors—steadily in its crosshairs. The quest for the elusive Gem Mint 10 rating could now have inspired the same dread and exultation as Indiana Jones must’ve felt scaling his ancient treasures. The perilous journey to a perfect score feels very much like a cautionary tale now more than ever, with many once-excited aspirants plummeting to a ubiquitous 9.
As a result, those in the card-collecting kingdom who once flocked eagerly to squeeze every last inch of speculative value from their cards may pause. A reinvident strategy may emerge, leading to fewer submissions as collectors dodge the compound hassle of a potentially drawn-out delay, beside a costly, less-than-fulfilling grade.
Even with these chicane shifts, PSA remains firmly on its grading throne. Its modeled influence largely becalms skittishness within the market. Yes, longer waits and stricter standards may ripple through hobby circles like a circulating specter, yet they hardly diminish the gravitational pull of PSA’s grading supremacy.
For those looking to submit in the future, caution—tinged with staunch optimism—might well be the sole strategy. Choose your cards wisely, as if they were lottery tickets aligned neatly in a cosmic symphony, each chosen one an apostrophe in your collecting saga. The hobby pulses, still vibrant and commanding attention, so too do the radars of collectors on guard for that blissful email alert: “Your PSA-graded cards are on their way.”
