Grading company Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) has announced the reopening of its Value grading service for Pokémon TCG cards worldwide starting October 29. The service, which was previously paused, will now cost $39.99 per card in the United States, a $7 increase over its previous price of $32.99, representing a hike of over 21%.
This price adjustment means that for collectors submitting ten cards, the increased fee adds $70 before shipping costs. For lower-value cards, the grading fee could significantly reduce or even negate any potential increase in resale value. The Value tier accepts cards with a maximum insured value of $500, and PSA estimates a turnaround time of 90 to 100 business days for U.S. submissions, with Japanese customers facing an estimated 120 business days.
Service Updates and Backlog Concerns
In addition to the Value tier reopening, PSA has also implemented improvements to its Standard and Priority grading services, reducing their estimated turnaround times by 20 business days each. Standard submissions are now expected to take between 70 and 80 business days, while Priority orders should be completed in 50 to 60 business days. These revised estimates apply to submissions made from October 28 onwards.
However, a major factor influencing these timelines is PSA's substantial backlog, which currently stands at 7.2 million collectibles. While this represents a decrease of one million items since October 6, it remains 2.2 million above the company's target for fully reopening its services. PSA noted that submissions during April and May 2026 were 2.5 times higher than the previous year, significantly impacting its grading operations. Despite efforts to increase graded item output by nearly 50% in 2026, the company is still working through a large volume of overdue submissions.
PSA President Ryan Hoge acknowledged the collector feedback driving the reopening of the Value services, stating that the company has considerable work ahead to address the backlog.
Market Context for Graded Pokémon Cards
The reopening of PSA's Value tier comes at a time of extraordinary market activity for high-end graded Pokémon cards. Recent auctions have seen remarkable prices, including a PSA 10 Art Academy Pikachu that sold for $8.4 million and a PSA 10 Aquapolis Lugia that fetched $360,000.
While the majority of cards submitted to PSA will not command such astronomical figures, the returning Value tier is expected to appeal to collectors with more modest collections who prefer not to pay for faster grading services, even with the increased price. PSA has indicated that new Value tier submissions will be processed after existing orders, and a lower-priced Value Bulk service is slated for a future return.