PSA Value Is Back at $39.99 (Value Bulk Still Paused)

PSA reopened Value on October 29, 2026, at $39.99 a card, up from $32.99 before the June pause. Here are the new PSA grading prices and turnaround times, the break-even math for sellers, and where Value Bulk stands.

GradingOct 30, 20268 min read

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TL;DR

PSA reopened its Value service level on October 29, 2026. It now costs $39.99 per card in the U.S., up $7 (about 21%) from $32.99 before the June pause, with the same $500 maximum insured value and an estimated 90 to 100 business days. Standard and Priority estimates each dropped by 20 business days. Value Bulk is still paused, with no date or price. At $39.99 plus shipping, grade a card only if the graded price beats the raw price by more than about $50 at the grade you realistically expect.

PSA reopened its Value service level on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 8 a.m. PT, at a higher price. Value now costs $39.99 per card in the U.S., up from $32.99 before the pause. That's $7 more, an increase of about 21%. The $500 maximum insured value hasn't changed, and the estimated turnaround is 90 to 100 business days (PSA announcement; archived PSA pricing page, May 27, 2026). PSA paused all four Value tiers on June 2, when its backlog was close to 10 million units (PSA pause announcement).

This is Value's third price increase in about 13 months. It went from $24.99 to $27.99 in late September 2025, then to $32.99 on February 10, 2026 (PSA, February 2026; archived pricing pages from September 24, 2025 and September 29, 2025). That's $15 more, or 60%, than in mid-September 2025.

Two other things changed. Standard and Priority estimates each dropped by 20 business days for orders submitted from October 28 at 8 a.m. PT (PSA announcement). And Value Bulk, the cheaper Collectors Club-only tier, "remains paused" (PSA submission updates).

Where Value is open

Value is open in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. In Japan the estimate is 120 business days. New Value orders start behind the existing backlog. Opening Value doesn't change estimates for orders already at PSA (PSA announcement). The changes apply only to cards and only to new submissions (PSA submission updates).

Current PSA grading prices and PSA turnaround times (U.S.)

From PSA's pricing page as of October 30, 2026. The previous Value price and turnaround come from the last archived pricing page before the pause (May 27, 2026):

Tier	Price per card	Max insured value	Est. turnaround (business days)
Value	$39.99 (was $32.99, +21%)	$500 (unchanged)	90-100 (was 100-120 before the pause)
Standard	$59.99	$1,000	70-80 (was 90-100)
Priority	$79.99	$1,500	50-60 (was 70-80)
Express	$199	$2,500	20-30
Super Express	$349	$5,000	10-15
Premier	$599	$10,000	7-10
Value Bulk	Paused

For cards worth more than $10,000, PSA lists Premium tiers starting at $999 a card. Value Plus and Value Max, the other two tiers PSA paused in June, aren't on its current price list.

Turnaround times are estimates, not guarantees. PSA's pricing page says the clock starts once your order is at PSA and entered into its grading system, not when you ship it. For Value, 90 to 100 business days is roughly 18 to 20 weeks.

Before the pause, Value Bulk was $24.99 a card for Collectors Club members, with a 50-card minimum per era (archived pricing page). PSA hasn't said what it will cost when it returns.

When Value Bulk returns

PSA hasn't given a date or a price. It says it plans "to continue reopening grading at lower prices, including Value Bulk" (PSA announcement). In May it set a target of 5 million units in the backlog before reopening everything. The backlog was 7.2 million on October 20, down from 8.2 million on October 6 (Backlog Tracker).

PSA ties reopening to backlog milestones, not dates, so the tracker is the signal to watch. Any Value Bulk price you see online now is a guess.

When Value makes sense for sellers

The $500 cap. Value only covers cards up to $500. PSA's Assisted Submission recommends a tier based on a card's estimated graded value. If a strong grade could push a card past $500, look at a higher tier. Standard covers cards up to $1,000 for $20 more a card.

Turnaround versus waiting. Value is $20 cheaper than Standard and 20 business days slower on the estimate. That's four more weeks of price risk. Waiting for Value Bulk is a bet on an unknown price and date. If a card already works at $39.99, waiting only adds time.

The break-even math

Grading pays when the expected graded sale beats the raw sale, after selling fees, by more than the total grading cost.

Cost per card = $39.99 + (shipping to PSA ÷ cards in order) + (return shipping and insurance ÷ cards in order)
Expected graded value = (odds of a 10 × PSA 10 price) + (odds of a 9 × PSA 9 price) + (odds of lower × that price)
Grade it if (expected graded value − raw value) × (1 − selling fee rate) > cost per card, and the card doesn't lose money at the grade you realistically expect

Here's a worked example with hypothetical numbers. A 20-card order costs $40 to ship in and $40 to ship back, so shipping adds $4 a card and the total is about $44 per card. Raw value is $25. A PSA 10 sells for $140, a PSA 9 for $45, and anything lower for $25. The selling fee is 13%.

With 40% odds of a 10, 40% of a 9 and 20% lower, expected graded value is $79. The $54 spread is about $47 after fees, which clears $44 by $3. At the old $32.99 price, the same card would have cost about $37 and cleared by about $10. The $7 increase takes away most of the margin. But this card loses about $27 at a PSA 9, so it fails the second test. Its profit depends on getting a 10, which makes it a gamble. With 20% odds of a 10, 55% of a 9 and 25% lower, expected value is about $59, and you lose about $14 a card.

At $39.99 plus shipping, a card generally needs a spread of more than $50 at the grade you realistically expect. If it only works at a 10, it's a gamble.

Prepping a Value order

Before you pack, cut anything that loses money at a PSA 9. Check centering, corners, edges and surface under bright light. Our PSA grade estimator walks through each check. Move anything likely to grade above $500 to a higher tier. Record what you're sending and what you paid for each card.

Then pack the way PSA's shipping guide asks:

Put each card in a clear penny sleeve, then in a semi-rigid holder (3 5/16" x 4 7/8"). No toploaders, tape, pull tabs or sticky notes.
Stack the cards in submission-form order, item #1 on top.
Put the stack between cardboard dividers and secure it with 2-3 rubber bands. Wrap it and put it in a new box.
Put the printed form inside. Attach the tracking label from your confirmation page with the barcode visible, and ship to the PSA address for your carrier.

Our PSA submission checklist covers the full prep.

How to submit

Start on PSA's Start Submission page. Assisted Submission is a guided three-step flow. Classic Submission has seven steps (PSA guide):

Select the item type.
Pick the service level (Value).
Enter the item details.
Review the order.
Choose a destination: home, the PSA Vault, or list on eBay.
Choose a payment method.
Ship the box to PSA, or hand-deliver it at a local submission event.

Where CardZen fits

CardZen doesn't track orders while they're at PSA. For that, use our grading submission tracker template. CardZen covers the steps before and after:

Before you ship. Scan cards with CardSense and link them to their purchase, so each one is in inventory with what you paid.
When slabs return. Scan the slab. CardSense reads the grader, grade and cert number. The card page shows recent eBay sold prices for graded copies of the card, and you set the price. When you list it on eBay from CardZen, the grader, grade and cert number go with it.
After the sale. CardZen pulls in the eBay sale and its fees and shows the sale's profit once the card's cost is recorded. You can log PSA fees as a Grading expense in business expenses.

If grading is part of a card business, how to start a sports card business covers deciding what to grade and what to sell raw, and how to ship sports cards on eBay covers getting the slab to the buyer.

The trial is free for 15 CardSense scans or 14 days, whichever comes first, with no credit card required. Starter is $17 a month for 1,000 scans, and Pro is $30 a month for 2,500 (pricing).

What collectors are saying

The early reactions we found on X and YouTube were about price and wait time. NEO Cards & Comics asked whether the new tier is value in name only. One collector on X expects it to take "6+ months to get your cards back."

If you're weighing other graders, our PSA alternatives guide covers what to compare. Their prices change often, so check each grader's site.

Our take

$39.99 is a reasonable deal for cards well under $500 with a spread of more than $50 at a realistic grade. It's a poor one for base cards that only pay off at a 10. As one seller put it, at "$40 the margins erode quickly." Treat 90 to 100 business days as the best case. If a stack only works at a lower fee, keep it home and watch the backlog tracker for Value Bulk.

Sources

We checked these sources on October 30, 2026:

Frequently asked questions

How much does PSA Value cost now?

$39.99 per card in the U.S., with a $500 maximum insured value and an estimated turnaround of 90 to 100 business days. Before the June 2026 pause, Value was $32.99 a card.

When did PSA Value reopen?

Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 8 a.m. PT, in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. New Value orders are processed after the orders already at PSA.

Is PSA Value Bulk available?

No. Value Bulk is still paused. PSA says it plans to reopen it but hasn't given a date or a price. Before the pause it was $24.99 a card for Collectors Club members, with a 50-card minimum per era.

What are PSA's turnaround times now?

PSA estimates 90 to 100 business days for Value, 70 to 80 for Standard, 50 to 60 for Priority, 20 to 30 for Express, 10 to 15 for Super Express, and 7 to 10 for Premier. These are estimates, not guarantees, and the clock starts once PSA enters your order, not when you ship it.

Is PSA Value worth it at $39.99?

It can be for cards worth well under $500 whose graded price beats the raw price by more than about $50 at the grade you realistically expect. If a card only makes money at a PSA 10, grading it at $39.99 is a gamble.

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