Is PSA's Grading Slowdown Actually Good for the Hobby? — Collector Investor Podcast — Video of the Day
Is PSA’s grading slowdown good for the hobby? That is the headline question in today’s selection from Collector Investor Podcast, which also previews National Sports Collectors Convention strategy and checks in on the Dallas Card Show.
The useful first step is defining “slowdown.” PSA is not grading fewer cards. GemRate’s June recap estimates that PSA graded a record 2.50 million cards during the month, up 21% from May and 74% year over year. What has slowed is collectors’ access to the least expensive submission lanes and the movement of an enormous queue.
Record Output, Bigger Backlog
PSA temporarily paused its Value tiers on June 2 after a 20% submission spike pushed its backlog toward 10 million items. The company’s official backlog tracker then showed roughly 12 million items on June 30 and 11 million on July 14. PSA said July output was projected to exceed June’s record pace.
Those numbers can coexist. A grading operation can process more cards than ever and still fall behind if incoming submissions grow faster. Temporarily restricting intake may be sensible capacity management, but it does not make the collector’s wait shorter overnight.
Who Benefits?
In the narrow operational sense, the pause can be healthy. It gives PSA room to work the queue, reduces the risk of accepting unlimited low-tier volume, and makes the backlog visible through regular public updates. If the queue continues to decline while quality holds, collectors should eventually get more predictable service.
But there is a cost. Value service is the entry point that makes grading viable for many lower-priced cards. When it disappears, collectors must wait, pay for a more expensive tier, use a group submitter, choose another grader, or leave the card raw. That burden falls hardest on set builders and ordinary collectors—not on owners of cards valuable enough to justify premium service.
Our verdict: the slowdown is potentially good medicine for PSA’s operations, but it is not automatically good for the hobby. The test is measurable: backlog direction, turnaround reliability, grading quality, and the reopening of affordable tiers. Record output alone does not settle the question.
That tension makes this episode timely viewing before the National, where grading choices and submission plans will be part of thousands of collector conversations.
Channel: Collector Investor Podcast. Video title and channel identity were verified through YouTube’s oEmbed metadata on July 23, 2026. PSA backlog figures come from PSA; grading-volume estimates come from GemRate.
