Too many Pokémon fans are trying to get their cards graded

Raw Pokémon cards can be worth a lot of money, but selling them for top dollar requires an official card evaluation. Business is booming for the main player in this space, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). Things might even be going a little too well for PSA, based on the sheer number of cards people are sending in to be graded. Demand has grown so much that PSA can’t keep up with it — and at this point, the service is giving up on trying.

On Thursday, PSA announced that it would cease its “value” tier services, which are used by collectors to grade more run-of-the-mill Pokémon cards. Why would someone pay money to grade an ordinary card? Well, cards considered to be in good condition can still fetch decent money. You might, for example, send in your favorite Pikachu card to be graded for sentimental reasons — and bask in the knowledge that it doubled in value by doing so. Doing something like this won’t get you thousands or millions of dollars, as a rare card might. But it’s a fun thing to do, and people pay for the privilege.

Yet the fervor around Pokémon cards has created an unsustainable ecosystem. Last year alone, The Pokémon Company printed 10 billion cards. Thanks to resellers, it’s still surprisingly difficult to buy those Pokémon cards without paying an exorbitant surcharge.

PSA says that in May 2026, it saw a 20% spike in cards sent to be graded. Despite a $200 million investment in the infrastructure needed to evaluate these cards, the service has still found itself completely overwhelmed. PSA estimates that it is currently sitting on a backlog of nearly 10 million cards that still need to be assessed. It’s not unusual for collectors to wait nearly a year to get their submissions back.

“While our daily grading output is at an all-time high, with capacity up 5x since 2021, continuing to accept submissions at this breakneck pace would put more pressure on our operations and compromise the turnaround times of existing orders,” PSA said in a blog post.

Not only is PSA stopping grading services for value cards, it’s also cautioning customers about slower turnaround times for submissions without expedited services. The grading company says it will still finish evaluating value cards that are already in the pipeline. Customers who previously enrolled in its subscription services will continue to have access to value grading, however.

“Our target is to bring the backlog down to 5 million units, with our current projections anticipating it will take up to four months to achieve this goal,” PSA said. To hold itself accountable, the service has made a public backlog tracker.

Now, if customers want a card graded, they’ll have to pay a minimum of $79.99 per card. The lower end of PSA’s express service costs $149.99. PSA’s highest tier costs $599.99, which gets customers a grading explanation, a fitted sleeve, and a week-long turnaround time.

“By temporarily halting the influx of our most in-demand service levels, we are giving our newly upgraded facilities, advanced machine-learning logistics tech, and new team members the necessary breathing room to operate at peak efficiency,” PSA said.