TAG BACKLOG TRACKER
At its highest point, our active backlog represented approximately 420% of our then-current monthly processing capacity. As of this update, that figure has been reduced to approximately 237%.
Put another way, the current backlog load is now approximately 57% of peak levels, which represents a 43% reduction from the highest point. That is meaningful progress, even though a substantial amount of work still remains.
Looking ahead, our expanding capacity should allow us to process more cards month over month. Because hiring and training take time to fully ramp, this progress may not always look perfectly linear from week to week, but the overall trajectory is what matters. Based on where things stand today, we currently anticipate clearing the backlog by End of September.
Updates will be added here as meaningful backlog, capacity, and turnaround progress is available.
Our current backlog load is approximately 237% of monthly processing capacity, down from a peak of approximately 420%. This means the backlog has been reduced by approximately 43% from peak levels, while continued hiring, training, equipment expansion, and process improvements remain underway.
Operational expansion continued across grading, verification, quality assurance, receiving, customer support, and shipping. While progress is being made, order volume remains elevated and many orders are still taking longer than the original estimated turnaround windows.
TAG paused Express submissions due to continued demand and capacity constraints. At this point, Basic, Standard, and Express were no longer open for new submissions, leaving only limited Priority and Walkthrough availability.
TAG paused Basic and Standard submissions as the first step in slowing incoming volume while the team focused on orders already in-house. TAG also shared that unprecedented submission growth was affecting turnaround times and that major investments were being made to expand capacity.
We want to provide a clear and honest update on current turnaround times.
On May 1, we shared that TAG was experiencing unprecedented submission growth, that turnaround times were being affected, and that we were making major investments into our operations to expand capacity.
Since then, we have continued hiring, training new staff, ordering and building additional equipment, and expanding the systems needed to process more cards at the standard TAG requires.
Even with those efforts underway, the reality is that we are still working through a significant backlog.
We understand how frustrating this is. Many customers submitted cards expecting a certain estimated turnaround window, and many orders are now taking longer than expected. That is especially stressful when valuable cards are involved, and we do not take that lightly.
The turnaround times listed on our site are estimates, not guarantees. They can vary based on submission volume, operational capacity, service tier, and the complexity of individual orders.
That said, we recognize that current delays have exceeded what many customers expected when they submitted. We are not going to dismiss that frustration or pretend it is not happening.
The current backlog will not be cleared overnight. Realistically, it will take a few months of continued expansion before we are fully caught up and operating at the level of consistency we expect from ourselves.
We are working through the backlog across all service levels, prioritizing orders based on both service tier and estimated due-out date. Customers who have experienced the longest delays remain a central focus, and our near-term operational priority is to make meaningful progress across all service types, particularly on orders with estimated due-out dates through early June.
Express is expected to be the first service level to become fully caught up. Across the remaining service levels, we are continuing to reduce the age of the backlog as capacity expands and more orders move through each stage of the process.
Because orders progress through our grading process at different speeds, some orders with later estimated due-out dates may be completed ahead of older orders. Any order that is ready to advance will continue moving through the process, while we balance service-tier priorities with our broader focus on customers who have experienced the longest delays.
Customers can review their estimated due-out date to better understand where their order falls within the backlog. Orders with dates in early June or earlier are currently receiving significant operational focus, although timing will continue to vary based on service tier and each order’s progress through the grading process.
TAG is actively making the largest operational investments in our company’s history.
We are hiring across grading, verification, quality assurance, receiving, customer support, and shipping.
Hiring alone is not enough. Every new team member has to be trained properly, because accuracy and consistency cannot be rushed.
We are continuing to invest in additional equipment, technology, and grading infrastructure to increase throughput without compromising quality.
Our goal is not just to process more cards. Our goal is to process more cards while maintaining the precision, consistency, and transparency that TAG was built on.
We understand the pressure to move faster. We feel it every day.
But grading requires precision. Every card still needs to go through the proper process. Every order still needs to be handled carefully. Every slab that leaves our facility still needs to meet the standards customers expect from TAG.
We will not solve a backlog by cutting corners.
That means the process of catching up takes time. It requires more trained people, more equipment, better systems, and continued operational discipline.
Our customer support team is also dealing with a very high volume of inquiries.
We are not ignoring customers. We are working through messages as quickly as possible, but duplicate tickets, repeated DMs, and posting in multiple channels can slow down the process and make it harder for the team to prioritize issues properly.
If you need help with an order, please contact us through the proper support channel and include your order number. That gives our team the best chance to locate your order and respond accurately.
For order-specific questions, support is the correct path. Social media comments, Reddit threads, and DMs are not reliable places for us to resolve individual order issues.
Yes. Orders move through different stages of the grading process, and some stages can take longer than others depending on the cards in the order, the work required, and department-level volume. An order may appear unchanged for a period of time even while it is still moving through the process internally.
Not every order moves through production at the exact same pace. Card identification complexity, order size, misidentification fixes, quality assurance review, imaging issues, and other order-specific factors can cause one order to take longer than another. Service tier priority remains consistent with the service purchased, but individual order complexity can still affect timing.
The best way to help us process your order as efficiently as possible is to make sure your order information is complete and to contact TAG Support through the proper support channel only when there is a specific issue that requires review.
Because TAG is currently working through a backlog, an order having no visible status update for a prolonged period of time does not necessarily mean the order is lost, inactive, or requires a new support ticket. Orders may remain in the same visible status while they are waiting for or moving through internal stages of the grading process.
If you do contact support, please include your order number and a clear description of the issue. Duplicate tickets, repeated DMs, and posting across multiple channels can slow down response times and make it harder for our team to prioritize order-specific issues.
Our team is actively processing the backlog as diligently as possible, and we appreciate your patience while we work through it.
We are continuing to work through the backlog in service-priority order while expanding capacity as quickly as possible.
As our newly expanded capacity continues to come online, we anticipate being able to grade more cards month over month. Because onboarding and training new team members to TAG’s standard takes time, this increase may not always appear as a steady, linear improvement from week to week. The measure that matters is the overall trajectory, which continues to move in the right direction.
Based on our current progress and projections, we anticipate clearing the existing backlog by the end of September. Shortly before we are fully caught up, we anticipate re-opening submissions on a limited basis through periodic drops, so that new volume is reintroduced gradually and does not compromise the turnaround times we are working to restore. As with any projection, these timelines are estimates rather than guarantees, and we will keep you updated as they firm up.
As we make meaningful progress, we will continue to communicate updates and evaluate which submission options we can responsibly support at each stage of the recovery.
We know trust is earned, especially during difficult periods like this. We are grateful for every customer who has trusted TAG with their cards, and we understand the responsibility that comes with that.
We are building the company for the long term. That means expanding carefully, training properly, investing aggressively, and being honest about where things stand.
Thank you for your patience and for being part of TAG.
We know the current situation is frustrating. We also know that patience has to be earned through progress, communication, and follow-through.
