What Changed on June 2
On June 2, 2026, PSA suspended four of its most popular submission tiers — Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max — with immediate effect. These tiers were the default choice for most collectors grading cards in the sub-$500 range due to their lower per-card fees and reasonable turnaround estimates.
The suspension is not a permanent closure. PSA stated the pause is designed to reduce their current backlog from approximately 10 million cards down to 5 million, which they estimate will take around 4 months.
PSA was not alone. TAG Grading had already been cutting tiers over the preceding weeks, and by early June had closed everything below Priority ($149/card) and Walkthrough ($299/card). CGC has been extending turnaround times and ACE raised prices sharply.
How the Backlog Hit 10 Million
In January 2026, PSA was receiving approximately 3 million cards per month — already a heavy load. By the time the pause was announced, that figure had grown to an estimated 4 million+ cards per month, while their grading capacity had not scaled proportionally.
A few factors accelerated the pile-up:
- Slab packs and Whatnot streams — Livestream sellers packaging graded cards into mystery boxes created bulk demand for slabs from people who would have otherwise sold raw. This pulled in a category of seller that didn't exist at scale in the last boom.
- Scalpers building inventory ahead of price increases — With PSA (through its parent company) having acquired SGC and Beckett, some collectors submitted aggressively before anticipated pricing changes.
- The antitrust effect — With PSA controlling roughly 80% of the graded card market, fewer collectors had a credible alternative, concentrating volume.
- The June 2 deadline rush — Once word spread that Value tiers were closing, collectors rushed to submit online and lock in existing pricing before the cutoff, creating a final surge.
The domino effect on smaller companies is straightforward: when PSA closes lower tiers, collectors redirect volume to CGC and TAG. Both were already near capacity, so even a fraction of PSA's overflow is months of extra backlog for a smaller company.
Company-by-Company Status (June 2026)
| Company | Status | What's still open | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | Value tiers suspended | Regular, Express, Super Express, Walk-Through | Regular: 40–50 days. Express+: faster but expensive. |
| TAG | Most tiers closed | Priority ($149/card), Walk-Through ($299/card) | Express was 2+ months before closing. Priority estimated faster. |
| CGC | Open, but slowing | All tiers still accepting | Economy submissions now 120+ days for some users (was 40 days in January). London office still faster for UK collectors. |
| BGS (Beckett) | Open | All tiers | Standard timelines — check their current estimates before submitting. |
| ACE | Open, raised prices | All tiers | Faster than CGC economy for some users, but price increase has narrowed the value gap. |
| SGC | Open | All tiers | Now owned by PSA's parent company. Less recognition than PSA/BGS for Pokemon. |
How to Adjust Your Strategy
Recalculate your EV before upgrading to PSA Regular
The instinct when Value closes is to upgrade to PSA Regular. Resist this without running the numbers first. PSA Regular's per-card fee is significantly higher than Value. For mid-tier One Piece or Pokemon cards where your grading ROI was already thin, that fee increase may eliminate your margin entirely.
The rule of thumb: only upgrade if the graded card value justifies the new cost structure. If it doesn't, you have three options: hold, sell raw, or switch company.
CGC is currently the best alternative for most cards
CGC is still accepting all tiers and their grading premiums for Pokemon and One Piece have been growing. For cards in the S$80–S$300 raw range, CGC often delivers comparable resale outcomes to PSA at lower submission cost — and their turnaround, while longer than before, is still available when PSA Value is not.
BGS is worth reconsidering for high-value cards
If you have vintage cards, expensive modern hits, or cards where the BGS subgrade system adds value (Charizard, key promos), BGS is fully open and accepting submissions. BGS 10 Black Labels still command premiums that no other company can match. The tradeoff is stricter grading — BGS gem rates are lower than PSA for the same raw card.
Holding is the right call for bulk Value-tier cards
If you were planning a Value Bulk submission of $5–$30 cards, wait. The math at PSA Regular doesn't work for those cards, and CGC economy (while open) has a 120+ day queue. Unless you have an immediate selling window, holding for 4 months costs you nothing but time.
For One Piece specifically
The One Piece grading play at Value tier was particularly popular because of the 5–10× price multiples on PSA 10 versions of key cards. At PSA Regular fees, the break-even raw card value rises meaningfully. Re-run your numbers. Cards that were borderline profitable at Value may not be worth submitting at Regular.
What This Means for Singapore Collectors
Singapore collectors typically submit through local middlemen (Oxley Grading, Newtro, Concept City) who batch cards and ship to PSA. Here's what changes:
- Middlemen can no longer batch at Value tier pricing — expect updated service menus and pricing from local middlemen. Contact them directly before assuming their usual fee structure still applies.
- CGC becomes more attractive — CGC accepts direct international submissions and some local middlemen handle CGC as well. For Singapore collectors who were routing everything to PSA by default, now is a good time to check CGC's current rates.
- The June 2 online lock-in worked for some — collectors who submitted orders online before June 2 locked in Value tier pricing. If you did this, you can drop off cards shortly and they should be processed at the locked-in rate.
- Turnaround estimates will extend further — even PSA Regular turnaround of 40–50 days assumes no further backlog growth. Realistic timelines for Singapore submissions (including middleman batching and international shipping) are longer — plan for 3–5 months end to end.
For a full breakdown of Singapore-specific costs across all companies in SGD, see our grading costs Singapore guide. For the company comparison including middlemen, see the Singapore grading hub.
When Will Value Come Back?
PSA's stated target is to halve the backlog from 10 million to 5 million cards before reopening Value tiers. They estimate this takes roughly 4 months from June 2 — putting the earliest likely return around October 2026.
A few reasons to treat that as an optimistic estimate:
- CGC and TAG closing tiers redirects collectors to PSA Regular and Express, which adds new volume even while Value is paused.
- When Value does reopen, there will likely be a surge of held submissions — the backlog could spike again quickly.
- In the last boom, similar pauses ran longer than the stated target. Nat Turner (PSA CEO) has acknowledged they should have shut down sooner last time and are applying that lesson now — which means they may wait until the backlog is well under control before reopening.
The most useful thing to do now is audit your collection for cards worth grading, decide which company makes sense at current fee levels, and be ready to move quickly when Value reopens — not caught waiting with cards that could have been submitted earlier at a different company.
Status as of June 2, 2026. Grading company tiers and turnaround times change frequently — verify directly with each company or your local middleman before submitting.