If you’ve tried to submit cards to one of the big grading companies recently, you’ve probably noticed: the cheap tiers keep disappearing. That’s not a rumour – it’s their own published backlog numbers. Here’s where things actually stand, correct as of 29 September 2026, with sources so you can check it yourself rather than take our word for it.
PSA – Value tiers paused since June
PSA’s four cheapest tiers (Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, Value Max) have been paused since 2 June 2026, after submissions spiked and the backlog approached 10 million cards. As of PSA’s own tracker, the backlog sits around 9 million, and PSA has said it’s tying any reopening to hitting 5 million – not a fixed date. The cheapest tier actually open right now is Standard, at $59.99 (~£45), with a published 90–100 business day turnaround.
Source: PSA’s own service-level update, PSA’s public backlog tracker.
TAG – Basic, Standard and Express all paused
Update 2 October 2026: this has changed since the post was first published on 29 September. TAG’s own tracker now reports 96% backlog recovery and says it has reopened more tiers, though it warns individual tiers may be limited or paused again as volume changes. Check TAG’s tracker for its current status.
TAG’s three regular tiers (Basic $22, Standard $39, Express $59) are paused for normal submissions. What’s actually orderable right now is Priority ($149, 5-day turnaround) and Walkthrough ($299, 2–3 days) – plus the occasional short “limited drop” for a specific card type. TAG reports its backlog down to 63% of a prior peak, with full catch-up targeted for October.
Source: TAG’s backlog tracker.
Beckett (BGS) – paused, reopened, paused again
This one’s moved fast enough that it’s worth being extra careful with: Beckett paused Base and Standard submissions on 5 August, reopened them on 15 September as planned – then paused both again roughly eleven days later. As things stand today, Base and Standard are closed with a waitlist; Express (£79.95, ~15 business days) has stayed open throughout.
Source: Sports Collectors Daily’s coverage of the reopening and second pause. Given how quickly this has already flipped twice, check Beckett’s own site before assuming this is still accurate by the time you read it.
For balance: who isn’t paused
CGC, SGC and AGS all currently have their standard submission tiers open, as far as we can find. CGC’s Standard is $55 (~20 business days published); SGC’s entry tier is $15 (~40–50 business days published, though real-world reports suggest it’s often longer); AGS (UK-based) runs £12–£25 depending on tier, 3–20 business days. None of these are backlogged the way PSA, TAG or Beckett currently are.
Where CALIBRE stands
We haven’t paused anything. Standard grading is £25 a card, flat, with a 7-day turnaround from the day your card arrives – and we can keep to it because we deliberately cap how many cards we take on at a time, rather than accepting more than we can actually measure that week.
Want a UK grade you can check, back within 7 days of arrival? Standard grading is £25 a card →
To be fair to everyone named here
Pausing intake to catch up on a backlog is a reasonable response to more demand than you can handle – it’s not a scandal, and we’re not claiming it is. We just happen to have room right now, and given how often we get asked “why is everyone backlogged,” it seemed more useful to actually answer it with real numbers than to just say “grade with us instead.”