A U.S. Congressman Has Raised Monopoly Concerns About PSA

For years, collectors have voiced concerns about the growing power of PSA in the hobby. Recently, those concerns reached Washington, D.C.

Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY) formally asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Collectors Holdings, the parent company of PSA, over potential antitrust and monopoly behavior in the card grading industry.

Why does this matter? Because Collectors doesn’t just own PSA.

They also acquired SGC, and announced plans to acquire Beckett — three of the most recognizable grading brands in the hobby. According to Ryan, this consolidation could give Collectors control of well over 80% of the grading market.

What the Letter Warns About

In his letter to the FTC, Congressman Ryan raised several serious concerns:

• Elimination of Competition
  By purchasing rival grading companies instead of competing with them, Collectors may be removing meaningful alternatives for collectors.

• Barriers for New Graders
  With one company controlling most of the market, new grading companies face massive obstacles just to survive — let alone compete.

• Vertical Integration Risks
  Collectors doesn’t just grade cards. It also owns pricing tools, marketplaces, and data platforms. Ryan warned this creates conflicts of interest, where one company influences grading, pricing, and sales.

• Impact on Collectors & Small Businesses
  Fewer competitors can mean higher prices, longer wait times, less accountability, and fewer choices for collectors and local card shops.

Why This Is a Big Deal for the Hobby

This isn’t just online hobby drama anymore.

A sitting member of Congress believes the grading industry’s consolidation is serious enough to warrant federal scrutiny. That alone validates many long-standing concerns collectors have raised about grading dominance, market influence, and lack of transparency.

Importantly, the letter doesn’t accuse PSA of wrongdoing — but it does ask regulators to determine whether the company’s growth has crossed the line from market leader to market controller.

What Happens Next?

The FTC is not required to act, but the request puts official pressure on regulators to examine the grading industry more closely.

Regardless of the outcome, this marks a turning point:

the hobby’s biggest power structure is now being questioned at the federal level.

For collectors, this is about more than slabs and labels — it’s about choice, fairness, and trust in the systems that define card value.

Collectors Edge Kobe and Alex English insert 🎄

The sports and trading card hobby just hit a seismic moment.

This week, PSA’s parent company — Collectors — announced it has acquired one of the hobby’s legacy grading services, Beckett Grading Services (BGS). That follows last year’s acquisition of Sportscard Guaranty (SGC). Along with PSA itself — already the dominant grader by volume — that means one corporate umbrella now controls three of the top grading services in the hobby.

Industry trackers estimate that PSA, SGC, and now BGS combine for roughly 79% of card grading share — with only CGC standing outside the Collectors family at major scale.

For many collectors, this feels less like “choice” and more like a grading monopoly in the making.

Why This Matters to You

Card grading isn’t just a service — it’s one of the biggest influences on card value. A PSA 10 can sell for many times what the same card graded elsewhere would fetch. That pricing power isn’t just perception — it’s been reflected across the market for years.

Now imagine one company having — or controlling — the grading world’s narrative:

• Deciding service fees (they’ve already been rising).

• Setting turnaround times.

• Driving which slabs are “most desirable”.

• Potentially sidelining competition under the guise of “brand independence”.

Even if Beckett and SGC keep their names and separate grading processes, their future as true competitors is suddenly uncertain — especially if pricing or service “choices” steer collectors back toward PSA slabs anyway.

A Wake-Up Call to the Community

Critics of PSA have long griped about:

• slow turnaround times

• nickel-and-dime fees

• artificial scarcity on service tiers

Now, with the grading landscape consolidating, those complaints carry more weight. But even PSA loyalists should ask: Is this good for the hobby long term? Do we want one organization calling the shots on the cards we all trade, value, and collect?

How We Can Push Back

If you’re uneasy about one company controlling the grading market, here are a few ways the hobby can fight back:

1. Support Alternative Graders: Sending more cards to companies like CGC, TAG, HGA, RCG, or others helps keep competition alive — and gives collectors choice.

2. Demand Transparency: Encouraging independent audit of grading practices and pricing can help ensure fairness across all graders.

3. Hobby-wide Standards: Collectors, dealers, and platforms could work toward agreed-upon grading benchmarks so slabs from different providers are more comparable.

4. Speak Up: Share your experiences with grading services. Community feedback matters — and the bigger voices get, the more these companies listen.

Your Thoughts?

Is this consolidation inevitable? Is it a monopoly, or just natural industry evolution?

Drop a comment — especially if you disagree — because this debate needs to be had by the whole hobby.

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