Frequently Asked Questions

First and foremost, we encourage you to follow @PSAcard on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to ensure you never miss an event announcement. Be sure to turn on notifications for @PSAcard account posts as well.

In certain instances, but not all, an email will be sent to all customers who qualify for participation in the event. Please make sure the email address associated with your account is current. If you do not have a PSA account, you can create a free account here.

During the countdown period, all waiting attendees will be pooled together and entered into a lottery after the countdown. This is why it is important to be present during the countdown period, as this will give you the best odds of receiving an allocation. If you miss the countdown period and enter the event after it is open, and there are still available allocations, you will be placed in the queue in the order you arrive. You must be in the waiting room during the countdown period to qualify for a chance at the allocation lottery.

In March of 2021, PSA received an unprecedented number of card submissions, creating an order processing backlog and longer-than-expected order processing time. As we have made progress in reducing the backlog, we now have the ability to reopen once-closed service levels. The queuing system ensures that submission volume does not out pace our capacity, as it did in March 2021.

At this time for lower service levels, we will continue with the allocations to limit incoming submissions due to the high market demand. We do not want daily submission volume to exceed daily grading capacity. You will need to wait in line to join the virtual waiting room to participate in the lower pricing allocation events.

We encourage you to use your allocation right away and submit your submission promptly. Allocations are limited and you cannot receive a new allocation until you use an awarded allocation. For this reason, it is a good idea to create and submit your cards promptly. All allocations are good for 15 days.

Every allocation event will have slightly different parameters. Some may have more allocations per customer, while others may have more customers with fewer allocations. Some may be open only to individual collectors while others may be open to dealers. There is not a set amount per event.

PSA is committed to keeping turnaround times for all new submissions, even those submitted at low price services, at under 90 days total.

We are currently conducting two submission allocation events per week. That could change in the future. You can ensure that you are alerted to submission events you qualify for by following @PSAcard on social media and by adding a current email that you check regularly to your PSA account.

We anticipate more lower-priced service levels, like Value, to begin to return by mid-2022.

Any active PSA Collectors Club member is eligible to seek allocations. From time-to-time, we may run allocation events based on other customer criteria that could limit which customers can participate in specific events.

The Economy allocation events are available to PSA Collectors Club members only. We have opened up a limited number of new Silver Collectors Club memberships for people who would like to participate in these allocation events. If you are interested in becoming a Collectors Club member, please visit our signup page for details and availability.

Once you have received an allocation, you can go to the PSA Online Submission Center and begin creating your submission. The awarded service level will be open to you only for the number of items in your allocation. You have 15 days to finalize your submission from the day you receive an allocation. After the 15th day, your allocation will be removed from your account. Once you finalize the submission, you have 30 days to mail it in.

In some instances, you may go through the queuing event and not receive an allocation. This could be due to more customers participating than available allocations or that the event timed out. Allocation events will be common, and you will have many opportunities to participate and receive an allocation.

The allocation you receive is to be used in one order. If you choose not to use the full allocation, any unused amount will be forfeited.

No, you must complete your submission of any previously won allocations before you can participate in future events. At the time of an event, we will check to see if you have an unused allocation and if so, you will be prevented from participating. In the case where you created a submission using part of your allocation and forfeited the unused amount, you will still be eligible to participate in future allocation events.

Yes, you may edit your order after the submission has been created. The edits can include using any remaining allocations within the valid time frame. You may not edit the form once the allocations have expired. If you try to edit the form once they have expired, the allocations will be lost.

No, participation in the allocation event is free, and if you win an allocation, you are not charged until the completion of the grading process. If you win an allocation and choose not to use it, you are not charged.

You can, but we advise caution when doing so. PSA’s communication is with the submitter. If someone else submits your cards on your behalf, we are only able to communicate with the person who submitted, not with you.

No, when you receive an allocation, it must be applied to one order. It cannot be split into multiple orders. Since Dual grading requires a different submission form, it would require a different allocation allotment. If you use your allocations towards Dual grading there is an additional $10 per card as Economy Dual grading is $60 per card.

If you receive an allocation, you must complete the submission form and a submission number will be generated. Once the submission number is created for your previous allocation, you can then participate in a future allocation event. There is no limit to how many times you can receive an allocation.

PSA remains committed to allocating over 80% of our grading resources to processing orders in the backlog. Given PSA’s installment of Submission Events, we can control inbound submissions so they do not slow the processing of the backlog of Value orders.

No, all existing PSA Collectors Club members, including Platinum, Gold and Silver members, are eligible to participate in PSA Submission Events. If you are unsure if you have a valid membership, please visit your account as it will state on the account homepage your membership status. You may also call customer service at 1-800-325-1121 or email at [email protected] to inquire.

No information is needed while waiting in the queue. Before entering the queue, please make sure that you are signed into your PSA account and that your Collectors Club membership is active.