PSA Suspending Grading Services Amid Submission Surge

ATLANTA — Collectors Universe and PSA announced Tuesday that multiple grading service levels have been suspended amid a massive surge in submissions.

Temporary suspensions to Value, Regular and Express service levels are effective immediately as the company attempts to work through a backlog of cards, PSA President Steve Sloan said in a press release.

“Given our growing backlog, it would be disingenuous for us to continue to accept submissions for cards that we will be unable to process in the foreseeable future,” Sloan said. “It’s an unpleasant conclusion, especially after the March 1 price increase, but it is necessary to properly serve the customers who have already submitted to PSA.”

Sloan added that the goal is for all service levels to return by July 1 and PSA plans to take a “tiered approach” while reintroducing them.

In a recent column, Collectors Universe President and COO Joe Orlando said PSA has been dealing with a “tsunami” of new submissions. Orlando wrote that PSA is currently accepting more submissions every five days than it used to receive every three months.

The suspension to multiple service levels also comes a day after Collectors Universe announced plans to expand its headquarters and operations facility by over 58,000 square feet.

“Despite doubling our facilities just a few months ago to over 125,000 square feet, the previously acquired space has already been heavily utilized,” President and COO Joe Orlando said in a statement on Monday. “This new space will ultimately help increase our throughput. The demand for our authentication and grading services has been unrelenting, which has led to longer turnaround times for our customers. We are committed to improving the customer experience, through investments in space, personnel and technology.”

Along with more facility space, PSA has hired an additional 250 employees since October 2020.