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I recently became a PSA Collector’s Club member, and I’m glad I made the decision to join. There are more details below, but the grading specials alone make joining worth it. In fact, there is a current special running right now on modern sports cards—$14.99/card with a 10-card minimum (the cost to grade a card is usually $25).
So, let’s break things down, and do my best to help you figure out if the PSA Collector’s Club makes sense, and if so, for who.
What is PSA Collector’s Club?
The PSA Collector’s Club is a membership anyone can purchase in order to gain access to PSA’s lowest grading prices while receiving other perks. These other perks currently include $120 in card credit that can be spent with Loupe and monthly issues of PSA magazine.
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What are the Grading Benefits?
The cost of the PSA Collector’s Clubs is $99 annually, and the cost of grading for members starts at $15 per card (with a 65-day turnaround time). This is in comparison to the lowest non-member pricing of $25/card at the value level (with a turnaround time of 65 days as well.
So, if you don’t mind waiting 65 days and grade a lot of cards at this level (or want to start grading more), you’ll save $10 per card.
Is the PSA Collector’s Club Worth it?
The PSA Collector’s Club is worth it if you grade ten or more cards per year. Meaning, the cost to grade 10 cards with or without the membership is roughly the same, so when you factor in the additional membership perks – like the Loupe card credit – you could say the Collector’s Club is worth it.
To frame a simple example, let’s say you grade 10 cards per year.
With a Collector’s Club = $99 Membership
Cost to Grade 10 Cards = $15 x 10 = $150
Total Cost = $249
Without a Collector’s Club = $0 Membership
Cost to Grade 10 Cards = $25 x 10 = $250
Total Cost = $250
As you can see, at 10 cards graded per year, you’re paying roughly the same amount both with and without the membership. So if you include the additional perks into your decision, it’s technically worth it.
Where you get the most bang for your buck though is if you grade significantly more than 10 cards per year. Let’s look at the same example except with 50 cards graded per year.
With a Collector’s Club = $99 Membership
Cost to Grade 50 Cards = $15 x 50 = $750
Total Cost = $849
Without a Collector’s Club = $0 Membership
Cost to Grade 10 Cards = $25 x 50 = $1250
Total Cost = $1250
At 50 cards, you’re saving around $400 with the PSA Collector’s Club compared to what you would pay if you didn’t have the membership.
