The PSA app is an official app from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) designed to help sports card collectors manage, verify, and track their PSA-graded cards. It’s basically a digital toolbox for PSA collectors, and it’s super useful if you buy, sell, or submit cards regularly.

🔧 What Can You Do With the PSA App?

1. Verify PSA Slabs

  • Scan the QR code on any PSA slab (graded card holder) and instantly pull up:
    • The card’s authenticity.
    • The grade.
    • Population report (how many exist at that grade).
    • Sales history (for some cards).
  • This is a quick way to spot fakes or check if someone is trying to scam you by swapping a card into a fake slab.

2. Track Your Collection

  • You can build a digital inventory of your PSA-graded cards.
  • Add cards by scanning the QR or typing the cert number.
  • Helps you track total value, grades, and more.

3. Submit Cards for Grading

  • If you’re sending cards to PSA, you can start the submission process right in the app.
  • This helps you create the order, track your package, and see grading progress (Received → Grading → Assembly → Shipped).

4. Check Pop Reports & Prices

  • Direct access to PSA’s Population Reports so you can see:
    • How many of a certain card exists at each grade level.
    • How rare or common your card is.
  • Some cards also have price estimates based on recent sales, so you can get a sense of market value.

5. Set Registry

  • If you’re working on completing certain PSA Set Registries (like building a full graded 1986 Fleer Basketball set), you can manage your progress right in the app.
  • This is huge for collectors who love the chase of set building.

📲 Where to Get It?

  • Available for iOS (Apple) and Android.
  • Just search for "PSA - Card Grading" in the App Store or Google Play.

✅ Why It’s Useful

  • Instant slab verification protects against fakes.
  • Population reports help you understand rarity.
  • Submissions and collection management keep your hobby life organized.
  • Direct link to PSA means no middlemen confusion.

 

 

PSA is an absolute grading machine — and their grading volume is insane. While the exact monthly and yearly numbers fluctuate, here’s a solid estimate based on the latest data:

📊 PSA Grading Volume (2024 Estimates)

Monthly Grading Volume

  • PSA grades approximately 900,000 to 1,200,000 cards per month.
  • This includes sports cards, Pokémon cards, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and other TCGs — but sports cards still make up a huge portion of that total (likely 60-70%).

Yearly Grading Volume

  • That puts PSA’s annual grading volume at around:
    • 10 to 12 million cards per year.
  • In peak years like 2021, they were grading closer to 15 million cards (during the post-pandemic card explosion).

🏀 Sports Cards vs. TCG (Trading Card Games)

  • Sports cards (baseball, basketball, football, soccer) are the backbone of PSA’s business.
  • However, Pokémon has grown massively — some months, Pokémon cards actually outpace sports cards in submissions.
  • That said, PSA still likely grades at least 5 to 7 million sports cards per year.

🔥 Why It’s Important

  • This sheer volume is why PSA had to expand their facilities, hire hundreds of graders, and open offices in Japan and the UK.
  • Even with all that, turnaround times can still swing wildly if the hobby experiences a new grading boom (like if Victor Wembanyama wins MVP, or Topps Chrome Baseball drops a legendary rookie class).

📈 Fun Fact: The Record Year

  • In 2021, PSA graded nearly 2 million cards in some months as they worked through their pandemic backlog.
  • That year they ended up grading over 15 million cards total, a number that’s unlikely to be matched unless there’s another industry boom.

 

 

 

PSA grading costs vary depending on the service level (speed), the declared value of the card, and whether you’re a PSA Collector’s Club member. Here’s a breakdown of the 2025 PSA pricing (or close to it, since prices can shift slightly):

💰 PSA Grading Costs (2025 Estimates)

For PSA Collector’s Club Members (cheapest option)

Service Level Turnaround Time Max Declared Value Cost per Card
Value Bulk (20+ cards) ~65 business days $199 $15 per card
Value ~65 business days $499 $25 per card
Value Plus ~20 business days $499 $40 per card
Regular ~10 business days $1,499 $75 per card
Express ~5 business days $2,499 $150 per card
Super Express ~3 business days $4,999 $300 per card
Walk-Through ~1-2 business days No max $600+ per card

🚀 Why is Grading Important?

1️⃣ Authentication (Real vs. Fake)

  • PSA confirms the card is real and not altered.
  • In a hobby full of fakes, reprints, trimmed cards, and counterfeits, this is critical — especially for iconic cards like 1986 Fleer Jordan or Tom Brady rookies.

2️⃣ Condition Matters — A Lot

  • Grade = Value.
  • A PSA 10 (Gem Mint) is often worth 5x, 10x, or even more compared to a raw (ungraded) version of the same card.
  • Example: A raw 1986 Fleer Jordan might sell for $8,000 — but a PSA 10 sells for $150,000+.

3️⃣ Market Trust

  • PSA is the most respected grading company (though SGC has made serious moves recently for vintage).
  • If you want to sell your card to a serious collector, auction house, or investor, having a PSA slab boosts confidence in the sale.

4️⃣ Population Reports Drive Rarity

  • When PSA grades your card, it gets added to the Pop Report.
  • Pop Reports show how many exist in each grade — and low population PSA 10s are often prized by collectors because they signal scarcity.
  • Example: If only 4 PSA 10 copies of a rare rookie exist, that card could be a huge grail.

5️⃣ Protection & Presentation

  • PSA slabs are tamper-proof, UV-protected, and easy to store.
  • For long-term collectors, it’s about preserving value.

🔥 Key Takeaway

If you have a valuable rookie card, vintage grail, or modern card with big upside, getting it graded by PSA can unlock more value, protect your investment, and make it easier to sell down the road.

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