In another consolidation of hobby industry titans, Collectors Holdings, the parent company of PSA, is set to acquire vintage grading favorite SGC. How will this effect collecting and slabbing?
Late last night, Darren Rovell broke the news on X, that Collectors Holdings, PSA’s parent company, will acquire longtime competitor SGC Grading. The two grading services make up a bulk of the submissions and slabs in the industry. Collectors are worried that this type of consolidation will only drive prices up, and honestly, to one degree or another it probably will. The reduction of competition in the space isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered.
SGC handles a fraction of what PSA does on a weekly basis. Gem Rate, a website that tracks the card grading industry, shows a large discrepancy in graded cards for the past week. Here are some figures of the top 4:
- PSA = 290.8K submissions
- CGC = 57.4K
- SGC = 32.3K
- Beckett = 15.1K
SGC is known for it’s grading of vintage and is adored in the post-war vintage community. Faster than industry normal turn around times and low cost help it to gain a foothold in the modern industry. A current deal of $15 per slab and a 5-10 day turn around, bests most of the industry at this point.
Yes, it is possible that the acquisition will allow PSA to utilize some of the SGC resources to help their own process and efficiency. However, costs may rise as this is one more competitor that PSA doesn’t have to battle with for market share.
Time will tell but it looks like SGC will operate business as usual:
“SGC will remain an independent grading brand, and no changes are contemplated. Joining forces with the Collectors team will allow SGC to double down on our strengths while greatly enhancing our capabilities to innovate and modernize our offerings moving forward.”
-SGC President, Peter Steinberg (From Sports Collector’s Daily)
I guess we will wait and see how this shakes out for collectors. Fanatics has done its bit to consolidate the card manufacturing of the hobby, now we get some consolidation in grading services. Maybe we can hold out hope for better product, but a lack of competition is never good for the consumer in the end.
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