PSA Backlog Falls to 10.9 Million in August 25 Update
PSA’s Aug 25 Backlog Tracker shows ~10.9M units, down from 11.85M on Aug 11. Value tiers stay paused vs the ~5M reopen target; Regular remains $79.99.
By Jamie Budesky · Editor, Card Grading News ·
On August 25, 2026, PSA Backlog Tracker published its latest biweekly update: “Our active global backlog is down to approximately 10.9 million units.” PSA attributes the move to steady daily output across all five grading hubs, including its newly operational Plano, Texas facility. This dated tracker post is the primary source for every backlog figure in this article.
Card Grading News last covered the tracker at our August 11 backlog report (11.85 million on August 11). Today’s piece is a dated UPDATE — a new post, not an edit — because the August 25 number is new primary data. Hobby corroboration from Baseball America’s Aug 25 write-up matches the same 10.9 million figure and the same company quote.
What changed from August 11 to August 25?
PSA’s own update log on the tracker page is the chronology. The arithmetic below is simple subtraction from those published company figures — not an independent count.
PSA update date | Active backlog (company-reported) | Change vs prior tracker |
|---|---|---|
July 28, 2026 | 12.4 million | Up from 11 million (July 14) |
August 11, 2026 | 11.85 million | Down ~0.55 million from July 28 |
August 25, 2026 | ~10.9 million | Down ~0.95 million from August 11 |
Two consecutive declines after the July 28 spike matter more than any single headline. From the July 28 peak of 12.4 million to August 25’s ~10.9 million, PSA’s published series shows roughly 1.5 million units cleared across two biweekly windows. That is still company-reported operational data, not an audited inventory.
How far is PSA from reopening Value tiers?
PSA has repeatedly said the Value-tier pause is tied to an operational milestone — bringing the active backlog down to about 5 million units — not a calendar promise. The June 2, 2026 tracker entry on the same page still frames the pause that way and referenced an earlier 5–6 month projection after the post-announcement influx.
Against the August 25 figure of ~10.9 million, PSA still needs to clear roughly 5.9 million more units to reach that stated target — about 54% of the current published backlog. That math does not equal a reopen date. Throughput can stall, spike, or accelerate; only the next tracker posts are evidence.
For the longer arc of why Value closed and what the pause changed for submitters, see PSA Value pause explainers and Beckett joining the cheap-tier squeeze.
What the live submit page shows today
Fetched August 27, 2026, the PSA trading-card grading services page still lists Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max as Currently Unavailable under the Value-services pause banner. Active direct tiers on that page include:
Service (US trading cards) | Fee / card | Max insured value | Estimated turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
Regular | $79.99 | $1,500 | 70–80 business days |
Express | $149.00 | $2,500 | 20–30 business days |
Super Express | $349.00 | $5,000 | 10–15 business days |
Walk-Through | $599.00 | $10,000 | 7–10 business days |
Premium 1 | $999.00 | $25,000 or less | 5–7 business days |
PSA prints the familiar disclaimer on that page: estimated turnaround times are estimates only and not guaranteed, and a service level’s clock begins when the order is entered into PSA’s grading system (the page also restates arrival/scan language in the process section). We covered the Regular estimate jump separately in PSA Regular at 70–80 business days.
Decision rules if you are waiting on Value or sitting on Regular
Treat 10.9 million as a progress marker, not a reopen green light. Until PSA’s tracker prints a figure at or under ~5 million — or PSA changes the reopen rule in writing — assume Value Bulk / Value / Value Plus / Value Max stay closed for new direct U.S. submissions.
Re-check the tracker on PSA’s domain before you plan around a rumor date. Biweekly updates are the company’s own cadence. Third-party roundups (including older guide snapshots) can lag the live page.
Price Regular at the full published stack, not the sticker alone. $79.99 is the grading fee on the August 27 submit page; shipping, insurance choices, and any upcharges sit on top. For fee math separate from this news update, see PSA cost breakdown on CardGrade.io and CardGrade.io’s PSA grading guide — commercial guides from our advertiser CardGrade.io, which may still show older tracker snapshots until they refresh.
If Regular’s 70–80 business-day estimate is too long for the card’s purpose, do not “hope” Value returns next month. Either step up a paid tier on PSA’s live menu, use another grader’s open tier (see CGC Bulk at 150 working days), wait, or skip grading. Capacity is industry-wide — see also TAG’s limited August 27 drop and why pre-screening matters in a capacity crunch.
Verify the slab you already own; do not confuse backlog news with authenticity shortcuts. Cert lookup and physical slab checks still matter — how to spot a fake PSA slab. And if you do mail cards, package for theft risk — how to ship a grading submission safely.
What Plano and “five hubs” actually mean in this update
The August 25 tracker text credits “steady daily output across all five grading hubs — including our newly operational hub in Plano, Texas.” PSA’s own Plano facility article (PSA’s Plano hub announcement) is the company context for that hub. The tracker does not publish a per-hub unit breakdown in the August 25 entry, so we do not invent one.
Bottom line
PSA’s August 25, 2026 Backlog Tracker says the active global backlog is approximately 10.9 million units — about 950,000 below the August 11 print of 11.85 million, and about 1.5 million below the July 28 print of 12.4 million. Value tiers remain paused on the live services page, with reopen still framed around a ~5 million operational target. Progress is real on PSA’s own series; the reopen gate is still a long way from the latest number.
FAQ
What is PSA’s backlog as of August 25, 2026?
PSA’s Backlog Tracker update dated August 25, 2026 reports an active global backlog of approximately 10.9 million units.
How much did the PSA backlog drop since August 11?
PSA reported 11.85 million on August 11 and approximately 10.9 million on August 25 — a company-reported decline of roughly 950,000 units between those two tracker posts.
Are PSA Value grading tiers open again?
No. On the trading-card services page checked August 27, 2026, Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max still show as currently unavailable.
When will PSA reopen Value tiers?
PSA has not published a guaranteed calendar date. The tracker ties reopening to reducing the active backlog to about 5 million units. At ~10.9 million, that milestone has not been met on the published series.
What is the cheapest PSA tier available right now?
On the August 27, 2026 services page, Regular at $79.99 per card (max insured value $1,500; estimated 70–80 business days) is the lowest listed active direct trading-card tier while Value services remain paused.
Sources
• PSA Backlog Tracker — August 25, 2026 update (primary; fetched this run)
• PSA trading-card grading services page — pricing and Value pause status (fetched August 27, 2026)
• PSA’s Plano hub announcement — Plano hub context linked from the tracker
• Baseball America’s Aug 25 write-up — dated hobby corroboration of the 10.9 million figure
• Prior CGN coverage: our August 11 backlog report; PSA Regular at 70–80 business days; PSA Value pause explainers