PSA Adds New Standard Grading Tier at $59.99 Starting Sept. 14
PSA is giving collectors a cheaper grading option again. Beginning September 14, the company will open a new Standard service level at $59.99 per card, the first tier below $79.99 since Value submissions were paused in June.
That is welcome news for budget-minded submitters, but PSA was clear about one thing: Standard is not the return of Value. Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max all remain closed while the company works through a still-massive backlog.
What PSA Standard Includes
Here is the new tier at a glance:
- Price: $59.99 per card
- Estimated turnaround: 90 to 100 business days
- Maximum insured value: $1,000
- Availability: September 14, 2026
PSA called Standard a "first step" toward bringing service levels back thoughtfully, with an eye on customer experience, price, and speed after the earlier pause. The company also said it remains committed to reactivating Value tiers as capacity improves.
Important for anyone still waiting on older orders: Standard submissions will be processed after existing Value and bulk orders. If you have cards stuck in those paused queues from earlier this year, those should finish before PSA starts working the new Standard tier in earnest.
How Standard Compares to Priority
PSA is also renaming its previous Regular service as Priority. That tier stays at $79.99 with an estimated 70-to-80-business-day turnaround and a higher maximum insured value of $1,500.
The math is straightforward. On a 10-card order, Standard saves $200 in grading fees versus Priority before shipping and extras. In exchange, you are looking at roughly another 20 business days and a lower insurance ceiling.
For cards comfortably under $1,000 that are not tied to a sale, show, or product cycle, Standard can make sense. If timing matters more than the $20 difference, Priority is still the cleaner play.
Express Jumps to $199 as PSA Renames Top Tiers
The announcement also reshapes the faster end of the menu. Express rises from $149 to $199 effective September 9, a $50 increase aimed at protecting its estimated 20-to-30-business-day turnaround as demand outpaces specialized grading capacity. Express keeps a $2,500 maximum insured value.
Walk-Through is being renamed Premier and remains $599 with a 7-to-10-business-day estimate and a $10,000 insurance cap.
Put together, PSA's currently open ladder stretches further in both directions: a new $59.99 entry point for patient collectors, and a steeper bill for anyone who needs cards back quickly.
Value Is Still Paused, and the Backlog Is Still Huge
Collectors should not confuse Standard with the old bargain tiers. PSA suspended Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max on June 2 after a roughly 20% submission spike added about 1.6 million cards to the active queue.
Before that shutdown, February pricing had Value Bulk at $24.99, Value at $32.99, Value Plus at $49.99, and Value Max at $64.99. Standard restores a sub-$80 option, but it is still well above those earlier Value prices.
The timing tracks with PSA's backlog update. On September 8, the company reported its active queue had fallen to 9.9 million cards, down from 10.9 million on August 25 and a late-July peak of 12.4 million. PSA said that if production pace held, it could evaluate reopening a service tier in September. One day later, Standard arrived.
What Collectors Should Do Next
If you have been waiting for anything cheaper than Priority, Standard is the first real opening since June. Use it for mid-tier cards where the grade matters and the calendar does not. Keep higher-value or time-sensitive cards in Priority or above so you do not outgrow the $1,000 insurance limit or miss a selling window.
Also plan around the queue order. Existing Value and bulk submissions sit ahead of new Standard orders, so early September 14 submissions may still feel slow even if the published estimate is 90 to 100 business days.
For many collectors, Standard is a bridge, not a full reset. PSA is slowly reopening capacity after one of the largest grading backlogs the modern hobby has seen. The $59.99 tier helps, Express at $199 will sting for speed buyers, and the real Value return is still the milestone most submitters are waiting for.
Sources: PSA, Heavy, Baseball America