Collectors

What Collectors does

Collectors Holdings, Inc. is a Santa Ana, California-based privately held company that operates a multi-brand platform for authentication, grading, and ancillary services in the collectibles market. Its flagship brand PSA (Professional Sports Authenticators) is the dominant trading card grader with 72% market share and 19.26 million cards graded in 2025; the company also owns PCGS for numismatic certification, plus acquired brands Beckett (trading cards, media, price guides, acquired December 2025) and SGC (vintage/pre-war cards, acquired February 2024). Together these brands account for approximately 80% of card grading volume, leaving CGC as the sole major independent competitor.

The company's technology stack combines AI-integrated grading workflows with blockchain-based certification labels for physical cards, climate-controlled PSA Vault storage, automated anti-fraud imaging shared across brands, and Card Ladder as a proprietary real-time analytics platform. Distribution combines direct online submission portals with the eBay vault integration, a GameStop trade-in partnership (1 million graded cards by May 2025), an authorized dealer network for European expansion, and Collectors Financial Services offering asset-backed lending from $200,000 to $10,000,000 against vaulted holdings.

Collectors generates revenue primarily through per-card transaction fees (tiered from $24.99 Value Bulk to premium Express services), marketplace commissions via the eBay and Goldin integrations, recurring vault subscriptions, and bespoke lending spreads. Headcount exceeds 2,000 globally across facilities in California, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, and a new Frankfurt center opening July 2026. The company was taken private in February 2021 by an investor group led by CEO Nat Turner at a then-public valuation, raised $100M in March 2022 at a $4.3B post-money valuation, and currently reports annual revenues exceeding $600M.

Name

Collectors

Legal name

Collectors Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://www.collectors.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Collectors is a private multi-brand platform that authenticates and grades trading cards, coins, and collectibles through PSA, PCGS, Beckett, and SGC, serving individual collectors, dealers, and institutions with grading, vault storage, marketplace integration, and asset-backed lending.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collectibles Authentication and Grading Services

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120), Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Collectibles Grading & Authentication Services (CRAMAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Collectibles Marketplace & Auction Platforms (CRAMAOAI), Coins, Currency & Bullion Collectibles Retail (Numismatics) (CRALAGAF), Graded Cards & Third-Party Authentication Retail (CRALAGAD)

Keywords

• Trading card grading
• Collectibles authentication
• Coin grading services
• Card vault storage
• Collectibles-backed lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Ana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Trading Card Grading Fees: Authentication and grading fees for trading cards across PSA, SGC, and Beckett brands. PSA alone graded over 19 million cards in 2025, representing the largest revenue stream. Tiered pricing from Value Bulk ($24.99/card) to premium services with varying turnaround times.
2. Marketplace Commissions: Commission revenue from Goldin Auctions marketplace operations and eBay integration for vault and trading card transactions. The company generates commissions on high-value collectible sales through its marketplace platform.
3. PSA Vault Services: Secure storage and vault services for collectibles with integrated marketplace capabilities. Climate-controlled storage with transaction processing through eBay and other platforms.
4. Financial Services / Lending: Asset-backed lending solutions for collectors leveraging their holdings. Loans from $200,000 to $10,000,000 for collectors, investors, and institutions seeking alternative financing against collectible assets.
5. Numismatic Grading (PCGS): Coin and banknote authentication and grading through PCGS, the premier authority in numismatic certification for coins and paper currency.
6. Analytics Platform (Card Ladder): Card Ladder provides real-time collectibles market insights, historical data, and enterprise solutions, generating revenue through premium analytics subscriptions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Collectors provides third-party authentication, grading, and secure vault storage services for high-value collectibles through its flagship brands PSA (trading cards), PCGS (coins), Beckett and SGC (vintage and sports cards). The company also operates Card Ladder, a market analytics platform, and Collectors Financial Services, which offers asset-backed lending from $200,000 to $10,000,000 against collectible holdings deposited in PSA Vault. Combined, Collectors processes tens of millions of cards annually and operates the dominant grading infrastructure in the global collectibles market.

Product overview

Collectors operates a multi-brand platform architecture for collectibles authentication, grading, and marketplace services. The core offering consists of PSA (the market leader in trading card grading), PCGS (coin certification), and Beckett/SGC (acquired brands for vintage and sports cards), all connected through shared infrastructure including the PSA Vault storage service, Card Ladder analytics platform, and Financial Services lending. The company generates revenue through grading fees and marketplace commissions, serving North American, European, and Asian markets from hubs in California, New Jersey, Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PSA: Global leader in authentication and grading for trading cards, autographs, memorabilia, and other collectible categories.
• PSA Vault
• PCGS
• Beckett
• SGC
• Card Ladder
• Collectors Financial Services

Products and services

• PSA (Professional Sports Authenticators) Third-party authentication and grading service for trading cards, autographs, memorabilia, and other collectibles, primarily serving individual collectors, dealers, and enterprise partners including GameStop. PSA offers tiered services from Value Bulk ($24.99/card) through premium tiers with varying turnaround times.
• PSA Vault Secure, climate-controlled storage solution for high-value graded collectibles, fully integrated with eBay and other marketplaces for transaction processing and inventory management. Used by individual collectors and institutional clients for custody, liquidity, and marketplace exposure.
• PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) Authentication, grading, and certification services for coins and banknotes, serving numismatic collectors, dealers, and institutional holders. Operates as an independent brand within Collectors under President Stephanie Sabin.
• Beckett Authentication, grading, price guides, and publications for trading cards, retained as an independent brand under Collectors. Serves hobbyist and dealer customers with its own submission portal, customer experience, and grading standards.
• SGC (Sports Guaranty Corporation) Authentication and grading services specializing in vintage and pre-war trading cards, retained as an independent brand with separate submission portal and grading standards.
• Card Ladder Real-time collectibles market analytics platform providing historical pricing data, population reports, and enterprise market intelligence for collectors, dealers, and institutional investors.
• Collectors Financial Services Asset-backed lending services that allow high-net-worth collectors, investors, and institutions to leverage graded collectibles held in PSA Vault for acquisition financing, pre-sale financing, or refinancing, with loans from $200,000 to $10,000,000.
• PSA Comic Book and Magazine Grading Authentication and grading service for comic books and magazines, using the industry-standard decimal grading system and PSA-encapsulated slabs, serving comic collectors, dealers, and investors.
• Graded Grails Repack Certification PSA-certified repack service for sports cards and memorabilia in which PSA certifies the complete checklist, included cards, and box assembly process, providing buyers with verified contents and provenance.

Quantifiable outcome

• PSA graded over 19 million cards in 2025 (up from 17 million in 2024), representing 26% year-over-year increase
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Certified Trading Card AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partnership to promote responsible collecting, transparency, education, and sustainability in the trading card community through the Healthy Hobby Initiative.
• FTC (Federal Trade Commission)minorOthers · 19 December 2025Congressman Pat Ryan wrote to FTC demanding antitrust investigation into Collectors Holdings' alleged monopolistic practices through acquisitions of PSA, SGC, and Beckett consolidating over 80% of grading volume.
• CardsHQminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2025Launched Graded Grails, the first PSA-certified repack service for sports cards and memorabilia, aimed at eliminating widespread scams where sellers manipulate repack contents. PSA certifies complete checklists, included cards, and box assembly processes.
• GameStopcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025Partnership offering up to $1,500 for graded trading card trade-ins at GameStop locations, with PSA providing grading services. The partnership reached 1 million graded cards milestone in May 2025 and is a key channel for consumer access to PSA grading.
• eBaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2024Strategic partnership integrating PSA's vault services with eBay's platform for streamlined trading card buying, grading, storage, and selling. The partnership includes selling eBay's vault to PSA and acquiring Goldin auction house, with combined trading card vault product launching for enhanced user experience with real-time transaction data and inventory management.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Certified Guaranty Company (CGC): CGC is the principal independent competitor in trading card and comic book grading, offering direct head-to-head competition to PSA across sports cards, TCG, and comics. With pricing starting at $17 and 30-day turnaround, CGC is positioned as the affordable-speed alternative to PSA following Collectors' consolidation of SGC and Beckett.
• Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC): NGC is a leading third-party coin grading service that competes directly with Collectors' PCGS subsidiary. Both serve the numismatic authentication market with similar grading scales, slab formats, and population reporting, making NGC the closest pure-play comparable to PCGS.
• Heritage Auctions: Heritage Auctions is the largest collectibles auction house in the U.S., operating across coins, trading cards, comics, and memorabilia. It competes with Collectors' marketplace ambitions (formerly via Goldin) and shares overlap with PCGS-graded inventory being auctioned through Heritage's platform.
• ANACS: ANACS is one of the established coin grading services competing with PCGS and NGC. It offers authentication and grading for U.S. and world coins, providing collectors an alternative third-party grading option in the numismatics vertical that Collectors serves through PCGS.

Emerging players

• Certified Sportscard Guaranty (CSG): CSG is an emerging trading card grading service positioned as an alternative to PSA and SGC. Although smaller in scale, CSG competes in the same sports card authentication category and represents one of the few remaining independent grading options for collectors priced out of PSA.
• PWCC Marketplace: PWCC is one of the largest sports card trading marketplaces and auction platforms, providing an alternative to eBay and Collectors' marketplace capabilities. It serves as both a distribution channel and a competitor for transaction commissions on graded card sales.
• Houdini Sports Group: Houdini is a smaller emerging sports card grading and authentication service attempting to compete in a market now dominated by Collectors. It represents the long-tail of independent alternatives that benefit from antitrust scrutiny of Collectors' market position.

Others

• eBay: eBay is both a strategic partner (PSA Vault integration, Goldin acquisition) and a broader marketplace competitor. The vault-to-vault partnership created deep distribution ties, but eBay remains the dominant secondary marketplace for raw and graded collectibles and competes for transaction commissions.
• Goldin Auctions: Goldin is a leading high-value sports card and memorabilia auction house that was previously integrated into Collectors' ecosystem and was sold to eBay in 2024 as part of the broader vault transaction. It represents an adjacent peer in collectibles auction with overlapping seller and consignor bases.
• Card Ladder (data): Card Ladder is a collectibles market analytics and price-tracking platform (wholly owned by Collectors) that competes with independent data services like Sports Card Investor (130point) for collector and investor market intelligence subscriptions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A6 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Collectors