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If you have ever thought about switching graders, you may have assumed you were picking between competitors. For three of the four graders the market pays for, you are now picking between brands of one company.
Who owns whom
PSA is owned by Collectors. In February 2024 Collectors also acquired SGC. In December 2025 it agreed to buy Beckett, the parent of BGS, and the deal has since closed. Our scorecards list the owner of PSA, SGC and BGS as Collectors Holdings. Collectors also owns the price tracker Card Ladder and the coin grader PCGS.
CGC is owned by Blackstone, the investment firm. It is the only one of the four still independent of Collectors.
On share, Rep. Pat Ryan's December 2025 letter to the Federal Trade Commission warned that Collectors could control more than 80 percent of all grading volume once the Beckett deal was done. Industry estimates put the combined share at about 80 percent. Treat that as a ballpark, not a measurement. Various higher figures circulate; we haven't found support for them.
Illustration: Cardboard Journal.
What has been reported
- Rep. Pat Ryan asked the FTC to open an antitrust investigation into the roll-up, citing Section 5 of the FTC Act and asking whether Beckett's parent had been used to avoid merger scrutiny. We have not found a public FTC response.
- A private antitrust suit, Rasmussen v. Collectors Holdings, is pending in federal court. Its amended complaint alleges that SGC's cheapest tier rose from $15 to $18 and its monthly volume fell from roughly 150,000 cards to about 50,000 after the acquisition. Those are allegations in a filing. Collectors has moved to dismiss the case, and nothing has been decided. Hearing: 11 December.
- Reporting on SGC after the acquisition describes leadership departures and resources moving to PSA, despite assurances of independence at the time of the deal. Those are reports, and we haven't verified each one.
What common ownership changes for you
Competition between those brands may not keep prices and service honest. A grader that loses customers to a rival has a reason to cut prices or speed up. When the rival has the same owner, that pressure can be softer. Whether it actually is softer is the question the lawsuit and the FTC request are about. It hasn't been established.
"Switching" to a sister brand is not switching companies. If your reason for moving is dissatisfaction with how the owner operates, such as pricing, turnaround or customer service, moving from PSA to SGC or BGS won't change who you are dealing with.
Independence after acquisition is a promise. Collectors said Beckett would remain an independent brand. That is also what was said about SGC. Whether SGC's volume fell and why is disputed, but the case shows that "independent brand" is a commitment a company makes, not something you can check from the outside.
What it does not change
Each brand still grades to its own scale. A PSA 9, a BGS 9 and an SGC 9 are different claims, as they always were. See our opinion piece, Nobody can prove PSA is better than anyone, on why there is no shared standard.
Populations, prices and turnaround are still per brand. The population report you read, the price you pay and the wait you face are specific to the brand you pick. Comparing them is still worth doing.
Resale acceptance is still per brand. The market treats the three differently, which is why they score differently on this site.
We have no evidence that consolidation has made grading worse. The claim hasn't been established. This guide does not make it.
If you are choosing a grader today
- Look up who owns the grader on its scorecard. It is on every one.
- If you want an independent option, CGC is the only one of the four. That is a fact about ownership, not a recommendation. Check whether its slabs sell for what you need.
- Compare by what you need, not by the name. Cost, turnaround, subgrades, vintage reputation and how the market prices the slab are all still separate questions.
- Use our comparison pages for the three Collectors brands and CGC. They show ownership next to every other field.
The one-line version
Choosing between PSA, SGC and BGS is now choosing between brands of one company. The rules, prices and reputations are still different. The assumption that they compete with one another is the part that has changed.
