PSA's fortnightly backlog update on Tuesday, October 20 put its active grading backlog at 7.2 million cards. That is down a million from the 8.2 million it reported on October 6, and 5.2 million, or about 42 percent, below the peak of 12.4 million on July 28.
The 5 million line
PSA's own backlog tracker ties reopening its cheaper Value services to bringing the active backlog down to 5 million units. At 7.2 million it is 2.2 million away. The last two updates each cleared about a million cards, so if that pace holds the target would arrive in four or five more fortnightly updates. That is our arithmetic, not a PSA forecast, and PSA has not given a reopening date. It credited "increased scale and efficiency" for the latest drop and said existing orders keep priority over new submissions.
What it costs to grade now
Before the pause in June, Value cost $32.99 a card and Value Bulk $24.99. The Standard tier that opened in September costs $59.99. PSA says it plans "to continue reopening services in phases and prioritizing shorter turnaround times, with pricing designed to balance demand against available grading capacity." Read together, that suggests the cheapest tiers will come back with limits or new prices rather than exactly as they were.
If you are holding raw cards
The math on a raw card depends on the gap between its raw price and its graded price, minus the grading fee and the months you wait. At $59.99 a card, plenty of modern cards that made sense to grade at $24.99 no longer do. If the card is a likely 9 rather than a likely 10, the case is weaker still. For cards where the top grade carries a big multiple, waiting a few more weeks for Value to return may cost less than paying Standard now. For anything you want to sell this year, a graded copy bought outright may be cheaper than the grading queue.
Sources: Heavy, October 20, 2026; PSA update as shared October 20, 2026.
Grade Expectations ran in The Pack Report, October 21, 2026: Raincoat Pikachu Gets Rained On. Published by Rip Station.