Pokemon Card Grader PSA Finally Opening New Tier

You'll soon be able to grade your Pokemon Trading Card Game cards on PSA's Value tiers, as the company is ready to reopen some of them after an almost six-month absence.

Starting tomorrow, collectors will be able to submit their cards on the Value tier once again, and while it has seen a price increase, it's still significantly cheaper than the next available option.

PSA Is Reopening Its Value Tier, Starting Tomorrow

In June, collectible card grader PSA closed all four of its Value tiers: Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max. It had a backlog of over ten million cards, much of it from Pokemon's boom, and had no choice but to shut them down and play catch-up. It announced the closure on May 28, just days after increasing its turnaround times, and in the few days between the announcement and closure, two million more cards were submitted.

PSA made the pledge that once the backlog dropped to five million, it would begin to reopen its value tiers. Today, while the backlog is still at 7.2 million, it said it would reopen its Value service.

“Pausing service levels gave us an opportunity to evaluate and streamline the services we offer, while also steadily moving toward both faster options for those customers who need expedited service and, as of this week, Value service that will open grading to the many customers awaiting lower-priced options," said Ryan Hoge, president of PSA and Grading at Collectors. “We have added an incredible amount of capacity, but we still have work to do, both on existing orders and ensuring our estimated turnaround times are accurate. Feedback from collectors is heard and directly informs how we are reopening our value services.”

The service will reopen on October 29, 8 am PT in all of PSA's territories: USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan. When it closed, Value-tier services cost $32.99 per card. They will now cost $39.99. Cards submitted on this tier will only be insured for $500, so it's still worth submitting on the correct tier, especially given the recent spate of TCG heists.

It shared a new graphic of its currently available services.

While it's not the news every Pokemon TCG fan was hoping for, with many awaiting the cheapest Value Bulk tier, it's still good news. PSA is investing heavily in increasing its capacity, with its European branch opening recently, and hopefully, if its grading consistency improves, things will be looking up. My advice: just don't submit trash cards.

Franchise Pokemon Original Release Date October 20, 1996 Player Count 2 Age Recommendation 6+ Length per Game Variable Franchise Name Pokemon