PSA
CGC
PCA
CCC
SFG
CollectAura
PSA: Professional Sports Authenticator US
PSA is the strict school. The Card Saver 1 (the official semi-rigid) is mandatory, or the card comes back ungraded. Off to Tustin, California.
Full kit starts at -
PSA submission sheet assistant · search your card, we pre-fill the sheet with the right set codes, the right number and the declared value.
Prepare a PSA submission →
Your recommended kit
2026 tariffs
Identity
- Founded : July 1991 by David Hall (also founder of PCGS)
- Parent company : Collectors Holdings, Inc. (formerly Collectors Universe)
- Headquarters : 1610 E St Andrew Pl, Santa Ana, California
- International offices : PSA Japan (Tokyo, late 2018), Hong Kong, no direct EU client office
- Cards graded : ~26 M in 2025 (GemRate), global market leader
- Feb 2026 hike : Value Bulk +$3, Regular +$5, sparked the #NoPSAMay community boycott
Slab & label
- Outer dimensions : ~86 × 137 × 6 mm (~20 g)
- Label fields : Year, Set, Card number, Card name, Variation, Grade (red bottom-right), Cert # (8 digits), Barcode/QR
- Security : Redesigned slab since May 2024 (“Meet The New Standard”): ultrasonic seal, micro-print, hologram, tamper-evident
- Cert lookup : psacard.com/cert (free, no login)
Grading scale
- Scale : 1 → 10 with half-grades since 2008 (1.5, 2.5, …, 9.5)
- PSA 10 (Gem Mint) : Virtually perfect, front centering 55/45 to 60/40, back 75/25
- PSA 9 (Mint) : One minor flaw allowed, centering 60/40 to 65/35
- Sub-grades : None: PSA assigns a single overall grade (unlike BGS which prints 4 sub-grades)
- Authentic Altered : Genuine card flagged for trim/recolor, ungraded
- Official reference : psacard.com/gradingstandards
Access from France
Since 2026 PSA no longer accepts direct individual submissions from the EU. French collectors must route their cards through a PSA-authorized reseller.
| Intermediary | URL | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PokéLoutre | pokeloutre.fr | €30 all-in (≤ €300) | Official PSA reseller. Cutoff on the 15th of each month. |
| Fuji-Store | fuji-store.fr | Online quote | Authorized intermediary + physical drop-off shop. |
| Playground Arena | - | ~ €30-50 | Group submissions. |
| Booster Breakerz | - | ~ €30-40 | Group sub via Whatnot. |
Realistic total cost from France for a card ≤ €300 : ~ €40-45 (grading + postage + insurance). End-to-end cycle ~ 4-5 months.
Reputation
- Resale multipliers (Pokémon): Charizard GX Rainbow raw ~€40 → PSA 10 €150-250 (×4-6). Base Set Charizard 1st Ed.: raw ~$3,000 → PSA 10 > $400,000 (×100+).
- December 2025, Buyback scandal: allegations of internal regrade (PSA 9 → PSA 10) for resale, triggering dealer boycotts.
- February 2026, Tariff hike contested through #NoPSAMay; Value Bulk and Regular tiers up, turnaround extended by 5 business days.
- Public population report: psacard.com/pop, the global reference for rarity estimation.
- Considered the gold standard for international resale (eBay US, Cardmarket EN).
See also
See all our kits
Pick a use case, we calibrate the right kit for you:
Affiliate disclosure. CollectKit earns a commission on purchases made through our affiliate links (Amazon, eBay Partner Network). This does not change the price for you.