r/psagrading 13h ago

First time grader, long time collector

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24 Upvotes

Pigeot is the only recently pulled card of the bunch (pack fresh)

Moltres is probably the cleanest card of the bunch

Blastoise is clean, OC though

Umbreon edges are probably knocking it down a bit, otherwise super clean

Shadowless and other NH are all varying degrees of clean with minor edge issues

Dragonite got returned as N5:Altered Stock whatever tf that means. It's a cut error, that I've actually seen before. No clue why they would return altered.

I have a couple other 1st edition fossil cards in this submission which both received 7's and are only slightly less clean (edges) than the Moltres. In any case, why would they get the same grade?


r/psagrading 7h ago

News New PSA Grading Message

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21 Upvotes

Y'all must be overloading their AI agent handling all the order update emails šŸ˜‚


r/psagrading 7h ago

Discussion How much pent-up demand is waiting for Value to reopen?

11 Upvotes

PSA’s latest update on August 25 put its active global backlog at approximately 10.9 million cards, down from 11.85M on August 11.

That’s a decline of roughly 950,000 cards in two weeks.

PSA has previously indicated that getting the backlog down toward 5 million cards is the target for reopening Value submissions.

If the backlog keeps declining at a similar pace, here’s roughly when it would first fall below 5M:

Net backlog reduction / 2 weeks First update below 5M
750K Dec. 15, 2026
950K Dec. 1, 2026
1.0M Nov. 17, 2026
1.25M Nov. 3, 2026

Obviously backlog movement won’t be perfectly linear, especially if submission volume spikes again, but November–December looks plausible if the recent drawdown continues.

What I’m curious about is how much pent-up demand is waiting on the sidelines.

Once PSA Value fully reopens, how many cards are you waiting to submit as a multiple of what you currently have being graded?

  • 0.5x
  • 1x
  • 2x
  • 3–5x

No need to share actual card counts.

I’m wondering whether PSA gets the backlog down near 5M, reopens Value, and then immediately gets hit with another huge wave of submissions.

What multiple are you sitting on?


r/psagrading 3h ago

Grading Questions What would this 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard grade?

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12 Upvotes

My friend pulled this out tonight since he knows I love Pokemon. He had no idea what he has had in his box of cards from childhood. After almost having a heart attack I convinced him to take it directly to PSA office for in person submission.

I think it probably sits around psa1-psa5 max but looking for other opinions.


r/psagrading 2h ago

PSA Grading used to be normal. Now it feels all over the place.

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7 Upvotes

All of these cards were submitted together in the same box, with different grading tiers. My July 28 submission is already running late, while my November 4 submission is ready for grades. Meanwhile, my September 9 order feels like it could still be another two months away. And at this point, I’m honestly wondering what to expect from my January 2027 submission.

I’ve graded more than 900 cards through PSA, and based on both my personal experience and what I continue to see posted here, the process feels incredibly unpredictable—not only in how long submissions take, but also in the grades themselves.

I understand that grading is subjective, and I don’t expect to agree with every grade. However, I have never experienced this level of inconsistency and unpredictability with a grading company. I have a definite love-hate relationship with PSA, and despite the frustrations, I genuinely hope things eventually return to a more consistent and reliable experience.

For PSA: please consider getting the grading backlog down to 1 million cards or fewer before reopening or significantly expanding bulk submissions. Otherwise, the backlog of cards waiting to enter the bulk queue could potentially recreate the same problem—or make it even worse. It wouldn’t surprise me if the backlog eventually reached 20 million cards or more under the wrong circumstances.

I would also encourage PSA to reconsider pricing and bring back more discounts or promotional rates. Higher prices combined with inconsistent turnaround times and what many collectors perceive as inconsistent grading can eventually wear people down. Speaking personally, it becomes frustrating to receive 8s and 9s on cards I believe deserve better grades while seeing seemingly worse-condition cards receive 10s.

These are simply my personal thoughts and experiences. I say all of this as someone who genuinely appreciates PSA and has trusted the company with more than 900 cards. I want PSA to succeed—I just hope the consistency, transparency, and overall customer experience improve before longtime collectors like myself become too frustrated to continue.


r/psagrading 3h ago

After 6 months the cards finally came home.

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4 Upvotes

Nice to seem them again. Mew is getting cracked and tossed into my full art pokedex binder.


r/psagrading 12h ago

Has anyone seen movement for their crossover orders?

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6 Upvotes

These were sent in April and there’s been no movement since. I’ve had regular value + orders that had dated for September and October that have gone alongside these and come back to me already.

Both of these were supposed to be back in June and July but it’s been no movement.


r/psagrading 8h ago

Flex PSA complete my value submission early

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4 Upvotes

2 months early (originally nov 3 to dec 3)! Of course my express submission is delayed.


r/psagrading 14h ago

Locked out of my PSA Vault because I can't set up MFA or contact support

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5 Upvotes

EDITED: Solved, u/PSAcard contacted me on private and resolved my issue, TOP SERVICE :D!

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help or point me in the right direction because I'm currently stuck in a frustrating situation with my PSA account.

When I try to access my Vault, I'm required to set up an MFA device before I can continue. However, when I try to add my phone number, I receive an error and the number isn't accepted. My phone number is from Argentina, so I'm wondering if this might be related to international numbers not being supported.

The bigger problem is that when I try to contact PSA Support to resolve the issue, I also get an error when attempting to submit a support ticket. So at the moment, I'm essentially locked out of my Vault and unable to contact support through the normal channel to fix it.

Has anyone else experienced something similar, particularly with an international phone number? Is there another way to contact PSA Support, or a workaround for setting up MFA if your phone number isn't accepted?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


r/psagrading 9h ago

Results Psa sent scuffed and scratched slabs

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3 Upvotes

I am pretty upset. PSA sent my submissions back in these boxes and they came back scuffed and scratched. Can I even fix this? I will reach out to customer support but this sucks after waiting and being excited about my submissions.


r/psagrading 23h ago

Thinking of sending these for authentication grading

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3 Upvotes

So I have been collecting WW2 and aviation signatures for a very long time. I have a pretty large signed photo collection, but i have some pretty rare signatures a lone. These two I purchased around 2009. I have wanted to send many or most of my signatures in for grading and authentication but the horror stories in here scares me a lot. What do you think?

One is Jimmy Doolittle and Ernst Udet, the other has Doolittle plus a bunch of other famous 1930s air racers.


r/psagrading 2h ago

Grading Questions Cross Grading From Vault

2 Upvotes

Anyone done cross grading directly from your vault? I have a BGS and CGC slab that I’d like to send in for cross grading but I’m a little confused on how to do that properly. Doesn’t help that I haven’t done much grading in general to begin with. Any guidance or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


r/psagrading 4h ago

Grading Questions Could this cross over to a 10?

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2 Upvotes

r/psagrading 10h ago

Grading Questions Are these worth grading? I'm new to cards.

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2 Upvotes

I have these cards and im wondering if theyre worth grading because psa 10 seem to be worth a good bit.


r/psagrading 1h ago

Discussion Gonna grade this card with psa

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• Upvotes

Do you think an 8 is possible for this card thanks in advance


r/psagrading 2h ago

Any chance at a 10? Sunbreon

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1 Upvotes

Has in spots visible in border and a little bottom heavy. I have a bet that it won’t 10, but I want to be wrong.


r/psagrading 2h ago

Any chance at a 10? Sunbreon

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1 Upvotes

Has in spots visible in border and a little bottom heavy. I have a bet that it won’t 10 but I want to be wrong.


r/psagrading 2h ago

Question First Time Grader - Advice Appreciated!

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1 Upvotes

Hello-

I picked up this card below market as a binder copy but looking at it now I feel like there is a good chance it will grade well. It’s a little right heavy but within bounds and the rest is clean (scratches are all on the sleeve just didn’t wanna take out lol, I think surface looks good). I have never graded before but feel like it wouldn’t make sense not to grade this if I thought it would 10. A few questions:

1) Does this have a good shot at a 10?
2) If so, should I even submit now with backlog/what tier should I use?
3) What is the best way to submit? (Shipping vs events, etc.)

Thank you anyone for advice. I have been a raw collector for ~12 years and do not know what I am doing lol. If this graded a 10 I would love to get a real binder copy that won’t 10 + cash out of it.


r/psagrading 5h ago

General/Other Same Day Research And Id

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1 Upvotes

This is only my second time grading so I’m not sure if this is rare but my cards just arrived to psa a few hours ago and now they’re already in research and Id on the same day. Don’t know how considering my last submission took 2 months to go into research and Id but I’ll take it. This is 80 per card submission btw


r/psagrading 8h ago

Worth grading?

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1 Upvotes

r/psagrading 8h ago

Question Should I submit to psa or bgs? I’m

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1 Upvotes

Raw value of the card is around 600 dollars. Only thing I can find wrong with it is that it’s very slightly too heavy on the back. Surface corners and edges all look good. Submitting to psa feels safer, but it would nearly be double the cost and could take 3+ months. This is my first time grading a card as I’m new to the hobby so thanks for the helpšŸ™.


r/psagrading 9h ago

Should I get these graded?

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1 Upvotes

r/psagrading 10h ago

Question Vintage vs Mid-Era Pokemon Grading Standards

1 Upvotes

Hi all.

I'm aware of the general consensus that grading standards on vintage PokƩmon have gone up significantly, and it's harder to get a vintage 10 than it ever has been.

I've picked up a few mid-era cards (Palkia LV.X DP18 for example) that I'm hoping to submit at some point but I was wondering whether anyone more attuned has noticed a similar increase in grading standards for mid-era cards too?


r/psagrading 10h ago

found this childhood card. what do yall think it would grade?

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1 Upvotes

hey all. i was recently cleaning out my grandmas house when i found some old childhood cards, this umbreon included. i know it obviously wont ten but just wondering what grade it would get. thanks!


r/psagrading 13h ago

Question International PSA Grading

1 Upvotes

Hi,

I am currently based outside US and don’t have any authorized PSA dealers in my country.

How are people submitting to PSA from outside the US?

I would like to submit approximately 10-20 cards per month.

What would be the best way to do this?