Thieves have stolen close to $1 million of PSA-graded Pokémon and sport cards off a FedEx truck in Santa Ana, California, according to CBS News Los Angeles.
This theft was reported by PSA on October 13, 2026. Thieves removed two pallets from the FedEx truck, containing the cards, and “disrupted” a third pallet. The total estimated value of the theft was $963,000, according to a statement from the Santa Ana Police Department.
Collectors Holdings, Inc. released a statement about the theft:
“We are aware of a theft involving a third-party shipping vehicle carrying PSA-graded items. We are working closely with law enforcement and the carrier as the investigation continues.
We have deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items. Our customer service team has contacted affected customers directly and is arranging compensation based on fair market value.
We understand the impact this has on collectors involved, many of whom see these cards as far more than a financial asset. Our team is focused on supporting them. We take this incident seriously, and we will continue working with law enforcement to hold those responsible accountable.”
This incident has sparked an elevated level of concern on social media amongst the TCG and sports card collector communities, as collectors who were victims of the theft starting posting what they had lost, which included serialized TCG cards and even claims of someone losing a rare Smaug card from Magic: The Gathering – The Hobbit as a result of the incident (see “‘Magic: The Gathering – The Hobbit’“). One of the collectors affected by the theft, a YouTuber known as SKY-B cards, spoke out about it. They lost a 104-card submission with an insured value of over $100,000 worth of cards after paying thousands in grading fees (see below).
This is yet another black eye for PSA, a company that has been having a rough time since they announced a shutdown of their Value Tier (see “PSA Will Temporarily Shut Down Value“). They also inspired some collector outrage over on-site grading return times from The National Sports Collectors Convention. Additionally, they were hit with a class action lawsuit (see “Lawsuit“), which alleged RICO violations.
PSA seemed like it was turning a corner after it expanded its grading services to Lids locations (see “PSA GO at Lids Locations“) and opened up a new facility in Europe (see “Opens PSA Europe Facility“). However, this incident might put PSA right back into the proverbial “Penalty Box” with its customers. Based on social media posts, it seemed to really scare their customer base (right before Halloween, nonetheless) by highlighting some of the logistical problems involved with sending six and five-figure cards through the mail. Also, some of the posts called for PSA to drop FedEx as their carrier of choice.
Source: ICV2
