January '25 Grading Recap
Published February 2nd, 2025
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Overall grading activity was ⬆ 15% in January compared to December and ⬆ 14% YoY.
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Grading activity increased to 1.85 million cards graded in January, up ~235k compared to December.
- PSA graded 1.30m cards - ⬆ 7% vs December, ⬆ 7% YoY.
- CGC graded 306k cards - ⬆ 38% vs December, ⬆ 66% YoY. A record high.
- SGC graded 170k cards - ⬆ 30% vs December, ⬆ 8% YoY.
- Beckett graded 64k cards - ⬆ 69% vs December, ⬆ 9% YoY.
- Overall grading activity was ⬆ 15% in January compared to December and ⬆ 14% YoY.
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Grading activity increased to 1.85 million cards graded in January, up ~235k compared to December.
- PSA graded 1.30m cards - ⬆ 7% vs December, ⬆ 7% YoY.
- CGC graded 306k cards - ⬆ 38% vs December, ⬆ 66% YoY. A record high.
- SGC graded 170k cards - ⬆ 30% vs December, ⬆ 8% YoY.
- Beckett graded 64k cards - ⬆ 69% vs December, ⬆ 9% YoY.
January Grading Summary
January Grading Summary - Sports
January Grading Summary - TCG+
Items Graded - by Month
Items Graded - by Month - Excluding PSA
Category Comparison
TCG Cards Graded at PSA
Items Graded by Era
Gem Rate Breakdown by Era
January 2025 PSA Grading Recap
- PSA graded 1,309,209 items during January; total output increased by 7% vs December and was up 7% year-over-year.
- PSA graded 1,309,209 items during January; total output increased by 7% vs December and was up 7% year-over-year.
Category Summary
Football had the largest impact in January
- TCG was 44% of cards graded in January (vs 46% in December and 41% in November).
Set Summary - Sports & Other
2023 Select football claimed the top spot
Set Summary - TCG+
Grading activity surges for the new Japanese Terastal Fest Pokemon
Player Summary - Sports & Other
Wembanyama, Ohtani, and Jordan are the big 3 in January
Subject Summary - TCG
Pikachu leaps Charizard for the top spot
Card Summary - Sports & Other
Ohtani's Topps Now continues to dominate
Card Summary - TCG
Terastal Fest Umbreon is the top card in January
What's Next for PSA?
- PSA produced strong results in January while also announcing a noteworthy backlog. Over-communicating is a good start, and PSA now has a backlog playbook to follow.
- That said, this backlog appears to be phased — it sounds like it hasn’t had much impact on the grading room yet but very likely could as the receiving queue clears. With TCG grading activity building strong momentum early in 2025, this backlog could see additional pressure soon and will be worth watching.
January 2025 SGC Grading Recap
- SGC graded 131,434 items during January; total output increased by 2% vs December and was up 7% year-over-year.
- SGC graded 131,434 items during January; total output increased by 2% vs December and was up 7% year-over-year.
Category Summary
Nearly all categories were up in January
Set Summary
2024 Topps Chrome Update holds onto the top spot
Player (& Subject) Summary
Skenes finally jumps Ohtani
Card Summary
Caitlin Clark shoots to the top
What's Next for SGC?
- SGC started the year strong and launched two meaningful specials in January. While February has two fewer business days, it will be interesting to see if these specials (+ slower turnaround times at PSA) can push SGC above its previous record high of ~180k cards.
Other Graders - CGC
Category Summary
Set Summary
Card Summary
What's Next for CGC?
- CGC crossed the 300k cards graded milestone for the first time in January. While the recent Pokemon recall may create some noise, the company has been gaining momentum in both its TCG and sports card operations. Given recent trends and new Pokemon releases, continued momentum from CGC in February would not be surprising.
Other Charts - Beckett
Category Summary
Card Summary - Sports
Card Summary - TCG
What's Next for Beckett?
- Beckett is back! At least in January. After a sluggish close to 2024, Beckett posted its first 60K+ month since August. The company has been more visible and aggressive with specials since the Collectivus announcement, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see more of that activity in the near future, given its solid January results.