When One Company Grades (most of the Cards: Antitrust Comes to Collectibles

For collectors, third-party grading is the difference between a card and an asset. A numbered grade in a sealed holder sets price, liquidity, and trust. That is why the consolidation of the grading industry now drawing antitrust scrutiny matters well beyond the hobby.

Collectors Holdings, which owns PSA, acquired competitor SGC in February 2024 and Beckett Grading Services in December 2025. According to a proposed class action, those deals left the combined company controlling roughly 80 percent of card grading. In Rasmussen v. Collectors Holdings, Inc., No. 8:26-cv-00897 (C.D. Cal., filed April 14, 2026), an Arizona collector alleges the acquisitions violated Clayton Act § 7, which reaches acquisitions that may substantially lessen competition, and seeks damages and a forced divestiture of SGC and Beckett. A member of Congress separately urged the FTC to investigate. The allegations are unproven, and the defendants have moved to dismiss and to compel arbitration, with a hearing set for later this year.

Whatever the outcome, three points matter for anyone who buys, sells, or holds graded collectibles.

First, grading is now a concentrated market, and concentration reaches you directly. The complaint’s own theory, that consolidation drove higher fees and slower turnaround, describes real costs. Turnaround is not a convenience issue: a card graded in January can be worth materially more than the same card returned in February, because grading windows track a volatile market.

Second, the arbitration clause in a submission agreement may control your remedies. Collectors’ push to compel arbitration in Rasmussen is a reminder that the terms you click through when you submit a card can send any future dispute out of court and out of a class. Read them before you submit, not after a problem.

Third, antitrust enforcement is a slow instrument. A forced divestiture is a high bar and, even if ordered, takes years. Do not plan around a market restructuring that may never come. Diversify grading vendors where alternatives exist, document your submissions, and treat turnaround estimates as marketing, not promises.

For dealers and higher-volume consignors, the questions run deeper. When one company owns the grader, the vault, the price guide, and the marketplace, exclusive arrangements and conflicts of interest deserve a careful contract review rather than default acceptance of standard terms.

The card in the holder has not changed. The market around the holder has. Understanding who controls that market, and what you agreed to when you submitted, is now part of collecting intelligently.

Legal note: This article provides general information and is not legal advice.