Production Services Associates

What Production Services Associates does

Production Services Associates (PSA), founded in 1992 and headquartered in Romeoville, Illinois, is a subsidiary of Collectors Holdings, Inc. and operates as a global authentication and grading service for collectibles, principally trading cards. Its core offering is third-party authentication and condition grading combined with proprietary encapsulation in tamper-evident holders; the company has processed more than 80 million collectibles to date, generating the largest population dataset in the category. PSA layers onto grading a set of digital and physical services: a self-serve website plus a mobile app (4.9 rating, 17,000+ reviews) that uses smart photo recognition to build submissions; the PSA Vault, a subscription storage and insurance service operated as the official vault of eBay with direct-to-eBay listing; the Collectors Club membership program; PSA Verified Repacks for dealer/resealed inventory; and research tools (Cert Verification, Population Report, Auction Prices, Price Guide, Card Facts, Card Ladder, Set Registry).

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: per-item authentication and grading fees (one-time payments), Vault and Collectors Club subscription/recurring fees, and transaction-based consignment revenue when graded items are sold via eBay. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, and demand has been strong enough that PSA has temporarily paused its Value-tier grading service to manage backlog. The go-to-market is product-led and self-serve for individual hobbyists (the primary customer segment), complemented by an authorized dealer channel, drop-off events and shows for bulk/business customers, and an earned-media footprint spanning ESPN, The New York Times, The Verge, Bleacher Report and The Washington Post. The company employs 251–500 people and has historical funding from Norwest Equity Partners (2006).

Name

Production Services Associates

Legal name

PSA Collectibles Authentication and Grading Service

Website

https://psa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Production Services Associates (PSA) authenticates and grades collectibles—primarily trading cards—using proprietary encapsulation, serving individual hobbyists and dealers globally. It operates PSA Vault (with eBay), a graded-card mobile app, and research tools, and is a subsidiary of Collectors Holdings, Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collectibles Authentication and Grading Services

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Collectibles Grading & Authentication Services (CRAMAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Graded Cards & Third-Party Authentication Retail (CRALAGAD)

Keywords

• Trading card grading
• Collectibles authentication
• Card encapsulation
• Collectibles vault storage
• Trading card valuation

Headquarters

HQ city

Romeoville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Authentication & Grading Services: PSA charges fees for authenticating and grading collectibles, with services paused temporarily for Value tier due to extraordinary demand. The company processes submissions through its platform and returns graded items in proprietary holders.
2. Vault & Storage Services: PSA offers vault services for secure storage and insurance of collectibles, including vault shipping options for members.
3. eBay Consignment & Sales: PSA enables users to sell graded items on eBay with consignment rates, generating transaction fees from sales facilitated through the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PSA provides third-party authentication, grading, and proprietary encapsulation of collectibles—primarily trading cards—returning items in tamper-resistant holders with assigned condition grades. Surrounding the core grading service are the PSA Vault (insured secure storage in partnership with eBay), the PSA Mobile App with smart photo recognition for submission building, PSA Verified Repacks verification, the Collectors Club membership program, and research tools covering cert verification, population reports, auction prices, and price guides.

Product overview

PSA (Production Services Associates) operates as a collectibles authentication and grading company offering a unified service platform. The core offering is the PSA Collectibles Authentication and Grading Service, which provides professional authentication, grading, and proprietary encapsulation for collectibles. The ecosystem includes the PSA Vault (official vault partner of eBay for secure storage), the PSA Mobile App (with smart photo recognition for submissions), PSA Verified Repacks (repack verification), and the Collectors Club membership program. Research and analytics are supported through tools like the Set Registry, Cert Verification, Population Reports, Auction Prices, Price Guide, Card Facts, and Card Ladder integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PSA Vault: Secure vault service for storing collectibles, officially partnered with eBay

Products and services

• PSA Collectibles Authentication and Grading Service Professional third-party authentication, condition grading, and proprietary encapsulation of collectibles—primarily trading cards—returning items in tamper-resistant holders with assigned grades for collectors, dealers, and resellers.
• PSA Vault Insured secure storage service for graded collectibles, officially integrated with eBay so vault members can list and sell stored items directly through eBay listings.
• PSA Mobile App Mobile app for iOS and Android that uses smart photo recognition to photograph, identify, and catalog cards for submission building, enabling collectors to initiate grading submissions directly from a phone.
• PSA Verified Repacks Authentication and verification service for repacked or resealed collectible products, confirming the authenticity and condition of items packaged for resale by dealers and breakers.
• Collectors Club Subscription-based membership program for regular PSA customers that provides priority service, exclusive benefits, and member-only features for collectors.
• PSA Set Registry Online registry and tracking platform that lets collectors organize their PSA-graded collections, build sets, and compare progress against other registered portfolios.
• PSA Research Tools Suite of analytical research tools covering certificate verification, population reporting, auction price realized data, pricing guides, card facts, and Card Ladder for collectors, dealers, and analysts.

Quantifiable outcome

• PSA-certified items outsell non-certified items in most sales and auctions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Collectors Holdings Inc.coreOthersCollectors Holdings Inc. is the parent company of PSA, operating the collectibles authentication and grading business. © 2026 Collectors Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
• eBayflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSA is the official vault partner of eBay, enabling vault members to list their PSA-graded collectibles directly on eBay. The partnership includes secure storage and insurance through the PSA Vault, with seamless eBay integration for selling.
• Lee Steinfeld (Leonhart)minorOthersContent creator and influencer Leonhart endorses PSA services, providing testimonials about protecting and preserving cherished collectibles.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Beckett Grading Services (BGS): BGS is the most direct competitor to PSA, offering professional authentication and grading of trading cards with sub-brands (BGS, BCCG). Targets the same hobbyist and dealer base with overlapping service tiers.
• Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC): SGC is a fast-growing direct competitor in sports card grading, known for faster turnaround and competitive pricing — directly competing with PSA for dealer and high-volume submissions.
• Certified Guaranty Company (CGC): CGC, part of Collectors Holdings (PSA's parent), grades trading cards and comics using a parallel encapsulation and grading framework — same parent infrastructure and overlapping customer base as PSA.

Emerging players

• ISA Grading: ISA is an emerging grading service offering sports card authentication at competitive price points, targeting hobbyists seeking faster/cheaper alternatives to PSA's premium tiers.
• MNT Grading: MNT Grading is an emerging player in card grading focused on premium turnaround and high-end submissions, competing for the same collector and dealer pool PSA serves.

Others

• Card Ladder: Card Ladder is a sports card market-data and analytics platform already integrated with PSA's research tools, serving the same collector/investor audience with pricing and trend intelligence.
• PWCC Marketplace: PWCC is one of the largest sports card auction and secondary-market platforms, closely tied to PSA-graded inventory and serving overlapping high-end collectors and dealers.
• Goldin Auctions: Goldin is a leading sports collectibles auction house that lists predominantly PSA-graded cards, sharing the same high-end collector customer base as PSA.
• Heritage Auctions: Heritage Auctions is a broad collectibles auction house that handles PSA-graded sports memorabilia and cards, competing indirectly for the same premium collectible transactions.

Broad incumbents

• eBay: eBay is PSA's flagship distribution partner and the dominant secondary marketplace for graded cards; while not a direct grader, eBay's authentication and vault programs are increasingly adjacent to PSA's core offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/production-services-associates-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Production Services Associates