PSA prices have decreased in 2022, with the latest update being a $18/card special for July to celebrate the National Convention. This comes shortly after the June announcement that the Value service level of $30/card has returned. In both cases, it’s important to note that these prices are only available for Collector’s Club members.
The ride from 2019 to now has been weird and bumpy for a number of reasons, but focusing on sports cards specifically, it’s been quite the rollercoaster. As it looks like grading prices are returning to levels many enjoyed pre-pandemic, let’s take a look at the details and guidelines.
July National Special
First, with the $18 special just recently announced to celebrate “The National” card convention, it’s a limited time special that is only good through the end of July 2022. As mentioned above, this is also only available to Collector’s Club members, and at a 20 card minimum. The declared value limit of each card must be less than $199, and in terms of turnaround time, you’re looking at an estimated 150 days.
Here is a tweet that summarizes the info, and here is the link to join the PSA Collector’s Club.
If you don’t know about PSA Collector’s Club, the cost to join is $99 for the year, so obviously while there are exclusive grading levels at reduced prices, you have to factor in the upfront cost of joining the Collector’s Club in order to receive those prices. This member’s only grading access is the main draw, but members also get a 1-year subscription to PSA magazine.
Value Service Level
Similarly, the $30 Value Service level is also only available to Collector’s Club members, however, it’s an ongoing offering. In this case, cards must have a declared value of $499 or less, and the estimated turnaround time is 120 days.
One question many collectors have is why now, especially with a backlog of cards that have yet to be graded. PSA addresses this about the completed through dates:
“You may be wondering why we reopened the Value service level in the first place when we still had nearly three million cards in our backlog. There are multiple steps in the authentication and grading process. Early stages like unboxing, order entry and research. Mid-stages such as grading and assembly. And late stages like verification, quality assurance and imaging. For new Value submissions, we anticipate this being a 120-day process. The remaining backlog is nearly entirely in the mid and late stages of the process so the early stages are available for receiving and researching orders. New Value level submissions will begin entering the late stages of the grading process right around the time that the last backlog orders are being shipped. Therefore, new Value orders won’t jump in front of backlogged Value orders. They are simply beginning their grading journey while the backlogged orders complete theirs. This is the best and most efficient way to get your new Value orders completed.”
Last, if you’re not sure what declared value is, it’s simply the estimated value the card will have after grading.
