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A Massachusetts collectibles shop had between $110,000 and $130,000 worth of individual first edition and boxed Pokémon cards stolen in a single overnight break-in. Among the cards taken: a BGS 8.5 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard, PSA 9 Gold Star Charizard, BGS 9 Gold Star Charizard, and PSA 9 Shadowless Charizard. The store was closed for over a week. As of the report, no arrests had been made. Cards that had been graded and certified — supposed to be the safest form of a card — were the primary target precisely because their value is so easy to verify.

A collector submitted cards worth $4,500 to PSA using FedEx. The package never arrived. PSA could not locate it. The collector was left with no cards, no grades, and no clear path to compensation. This is not an isolated incident — FedEx theft of high-value card shipments to PSA is a documented, recurring problem that collectors discuss openly in hobby forums. FedEx's standard declared value coverage is a fraction of most collections' actual worth.

A collector shipped 13 cards to PSA via FedEx for grading. The package was stolen before it reached PSA. FedEx's response: $100 compensation. The collector had photos of every card taken before shipping — proof of condition and value — but FedEx's liability was capped at their declared value limit. The cards were worth significantly more. This is the systemic risk every collector takes every single time they mail a card anywhere.

In 2021, PSA's backlog grew to between 12.5 and 13 million cards. Collectors were waiting more than a year to get their cards back. PSA suspended multiple service tiers entirely. Cards sat in a California warehouse while the market moved — some collectors missed significant price spikes on cards they owned but couldn't sell because PSA had them. In 2025, PSA again halted Value service submissions due to a new 10 million card backlog. The problem is structural and recurring — not a one-time event.

A collector submitted cards for dual-grade authentication — grading both the card and the autograph. After 90 days and $500+, PSA graded the autograph only and authenticated (but didn't grade) the cards. PSA shipped them back before the error could be corrected. The collector had to wait for the package to be returned, then ship everything back to PSA at their own cost. Three months of waiting. $500 spent. No grades. "Sadly since 2021 this type of ineptitude is common" — the collector's own words in the forum post.

A collector ordered ME01 Pokémon Mega Evolution Booster Boxes from a third-party distributor. What arrived via USPS was the outer case — completely emptied. A USPS employee had identified what the package contained, opened it, removed every pack inside, repackaged it to look untouched, and sent it on its way. The collector confirmed with the seller that other buyers who ordered the same item received theirs intact — making it clear the theft happened specifically to this shipment in transit. "This absolutely blows my mind that someone would risk a felony over some cards. How can this be avoided? Are we just SOL here on out?" — the collector's own words. The answer to that question is: don't mail your cards at all.

A collector posted a 2002 Pokémon Legend Mankey Reverse Foil listed "In the PSA Vault" for $1,500 with a PSA 10 grade — the highest grade possible. The problem: the edges of the card are visibly rough and worn, clearly visible in the photo. A PSA 10 is supposed to represent a virtually perfect card. The post went viral with 6,020 likes, 343 comments, and 1,424 saves — because every collector recognised what they were looking at. The caption said it all: "Is it worth grading your cards if this is the standard now for Pokémon card grading? Or have we been taught wrong?" The community's answer in the comments: they've lost trust. This is not a one-off — it's a pattern. Human graders are inconsistent, and when the stakes are a $1,500 card, inconsistency is fraud.