Nearly $1 million in freshly graded cards vanished from a FedEx truck before they ever left PSA's doorstep. If you've ever held your breath waiting on a grading return, this one should get your attention.
What happened
On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, thieves hit a FedEx truck in the 1600 block of E. St. Andrew Place in Santa Ana, California, outside PSA's headquarters. Santa Ana police said two pallets of trading cards were stolen and a third was disturbed. The haul included sports cards, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! slabs headed back to customers (CBS Los Angeles).
PSA told customers that "a FedEx vehicle transporting PSA orders was burglarized." As of this writing, no arrests have been reported and nothing has been recovered.
The potential loss
Police put the estimated value at $963,000, and warned the final number won't be known until every remaining box is scanned. Here's what has surfaced so far:
• One collector, $100,000+: YouTuber SKY-B Cards said his 104-card order, including case hits and one-of-ones, was taken. He'd paid about $8,000 in grading fees and declared $156,000 in insured value (Otia).
• 383 serialized cards: Boston Card Hunter compiled a list of serialized cards allegedly in the shipment, including a 1995 Upper Deck 23K Gold Michael Jordan.
• Unverified dealer losses: One major PSA dealer reportedly estimated about $500,000 in declared value among its customers alone.
PSA has deactivated the cert numbers, alerted marketplaces and says it will pay fair market value, capped at each item's declared insured value (Yahoo News). That still leaves gaps. Anyone who under-declared gets less than market value, and a thief can crack a slab and sell the raw card with no cert to trace. Many of these cards are one-of-ones, and you can't replace those at any price.
Shipping is the hobby's weak link
Grading companies have built serious security inside their own walls. The risk shows up once a card leaves the building. Every return order rides in the same trucks as everyday packages, and a pallet of slabs parked outside a well-known grader's headquarters is an easy target.
This theft also hit cards that had been hand-delivered to PSA at the National in July. Collectors did everything right on the way in, and still lost them on the way out.
Our proposal: regional pickup hubs
We think the major graders (PSA, BGS, SGC and TAG) should open secure pickup locations near big cities. Customers could drop off submissions and pick up finished orders in person, cutting the carrier out of the riskiest leg of the trip.
What this would do:
• Fewer handoffs: Cards move between the grader's facilities in controlled, armored or bonded transport, not mixed into general parcel routes.
• A real chain of custody: The customer signs for the card at a counter, not a doorstep.
• Less exposure on high-value orders: Collectors sending six- and seven-figure cards could skip residential delivery entirely.
• Rebuilt trust: People who've stopped sending their best cards may start again.
Yes, this costs money. Leases, staff and security in several cities aren't cheap, and some of that cost would land on submission fees. We think many collectors would pay a premium tier for local pickup, especially on cards worth more than the grading fee many times over. Shipping would stay available for everyone who prefers it.
The bottom line
The Santa Ana theft is a wake-up call. Until graders offer safer options, protect yourself: declare full market value when you submit, document every card before you send it, and check cert numbers before buying any high-end slab. Grading companies have the scale to fix the last mile. Local pickup hubs would be a strong place to start.
Sources
• CBS Los Angeles: $1 million in sports and Pokémon cards stolen from FedEx truck
• Otia: PSA deactivates stolen slabs after FedEx truck theft
• Yahoo News: PSA grading customers hit by massive card theft