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PSA reopens Value service level, close to catching up on card-grading backlog
Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) is close to catching up on its massive card-grading backlog and announced Thursday it is reopening its Value service level.
During historic growth in the sports collectibles industry in 2020-21, PSA experienced unprecedented demand for its card-grading services, with more than 500,000 cards submitted a week in early 2021. The onslaught of submissions led to a backlog of more than 12 million cards and prompted PSA to suspend its Value, Regular and Express service levels. The Regular and Express levels had previously been restored.
PSA, the hobby's leading card-grading company, responded to the growing demand by expanding its card-grading staff and facilities and implementing new technology to help improve the process. It is now close to completing the backlog with a final subset of cards being graded and expected to be shipped back to customers in the coming months. All existing backlog orders will be serviced and shipped to customers before new Value orders are processed.
“We know that customers have been looking forward to this day for a long time so we thank them all for their patience,” PSA President Kevin Lenane said. “We never could have anticipated the flood of submissions that we saw last year and our entire team has been focused on getting back to where we are today.”
PSA and its parent company, Collectors Holdings Inc., has grown to more than 1,200 total team members and expanded its operations with a new 130,000-square-foot facility in New Jersey during the backlog. It continues the integration of Genamint Inc., a software company it acquired in 2021, to help improve and scale the process for card submissions.
“Investing in technology and other enhancements to expand our ability to meet customer demand has been our biggest focus at PSA,” said Nat Turner, CEO of Collectors. “I’m a collector myself so I deeply understand and appreciate how important the customer experience is for hobbyists. This is just one step on our journey to continue leading the hobby for generations to come.”
PSA’s Value service, which was specifically designed for modern cards issued since 1996, reopened on Thursday following the previous return of Express, Regular and Economy service levels. It is also opening Economy service submissions for all customers with no Collectors Club membership required.
For more details on PSA’s card grading service levels, visit www.PSAcard.com/services. To become a PSA Collectors Club member, visit www.PSAcard.com/join.
