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The Sports Card Dad posted "PSA Value Bulk ON THE HORIZON" on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. The thumbnail puts it in four words, "PSA VALUE BULK UPDATE," and the video's description asks the question every collector with a stack of cheap cards has been asking since June: "Will PSA Value Bulk grading option be back soon?"

PSA has not given a date. It has given a number, and it publishes its progress toward that number every two weeks. That makes the question easier to check than most.

The Number PSA Set

PSA paused its Value tiers, Value Bulk among them, on June 2, 2026, after what it called a 20% spike in submissions pushed its backlog toward 10 million cards. In the same update it set the finish line. "Our current projections anticipate it will take 5-6 months to reach our target of bringing the backlog down to 5 million units," PSA wrote, and it described the pause as "tied strictly to operational milestones, not arbitrary dates." This blog first reported that 5 million target in CASE #0193 in July.

Here is what PSA's Backlog Tracker has reported since late August:

  • Aug. 25: about 10.9 million
  • Sept. 8: 9.9 million
  • Sept. 22: about 9 million
  • Oct. 6: 8.2 million
  • Oct. 20: 7.2 million

That leaves 2.2 million cards between the latest figure and the target.

Analysis: Each of the last four updates has come in between 0.8 million and 1 million lower than the one before. If that pace holds, the backlog would reach 5 million in roughly four and a half to five and a half weeks, and the first update to show it below the target would be the one due Dec. 1. That also falls inside PSA's own June estimate of five to six months, which pointed at November or early December. PSA has not said reaching 5 million brings Value Bulk back on a particular day, and a submission surge has pushed the number up before: the July 28 update rose to 12.4 million from 11 million.

What the Oct. 20 Update Added

PSA's newest entry ends with two sentences about what comes next. "As we work through the backlog, existing orders will be prioritized ahead of new submissions," it reads, repeating a promise the tracker first made on Sept. 22. And: "We plan to continue reopening services in phases and prioritizing shorter turnaround times, with pricing designed to balance demand against available grading capacity."

The last reopening shows what that can look like. On Sept. 14 PSA opened a new tier, Standard, at $59.99 a card. It was not a returning Value tier, and PSA said at the time that Standard orders would be processed after existing Value and Bulk orders (CASE #0317). Heavy reported PSA's February pricing as Value Bulk at $24.99.

Analysis: "Pricing designed to balance demand against available grading capacity" is the first time the tracker has tied reopening to price. PSA has not said what any reopened tier will cost. But a company that paused its cheapest tiers because submissions overwhelmed it, and now says pricing will be set against capacity, has given no sign that Value Bulk returns at its February price. Collectors planning a bulk submission should budget for that possibility.

The Channel

The Sports Card Dad posts almost daily. Its 15 most recent videos run from Oct. 7 to Oct. 22, with titles on card-market heat, card shows, vintage collecting and Ohtani price corrections. PSA is a recurring subject: "PSA is ON A ROLL." on Oct. 7, and "PSA Graded Cards Stolen in FedEx Truck Robbery + MORE" on Oct. 21. The video's description says the channel is currently sponsored by PSA, among other companies, and it carries a PSA submission promo code.

Verdict: The Sports Card Dad asks whether PSA Value Bulk is coming back soon. PSA's own tracker shows the backlog at 7.2 million against a 5 million target, falling by roughly a million every two weeks. At that pace the target is about five weeks away. PSA's latest update adds that reopened services will be priced against capacity. Watch the video for the channel's read on the timing.

Watch directly on YouTube

Channel: The Sports Card Dad