U.S. Congressman of New York’s 18th District Pat Ryan wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew N. Ferguson to demand an antitrust investigation into Collectors Holdings, claiming that they potentially have a monopoly over the trading card grading market.
The request for the FTC investigation comes after PSA parent company Collectors Holdings acquired SCG in 2024 (see “Acquire SGC“) and then acquired Beckett at the end of 2025 (see “Acquiring Beckett“). According to Ryan, Collectors Holdings has consolidated over 80% of the grading business under one roof leaving “only one independent competitor” in the space (presumably CGC). Ryan claims Collectors exhibits signs of monopolistic practices because the company, after the Beckett acquisition, now controls grading capacity and pricing analytics (via CardLadder) as well as has a conflict of interest with the card grading business because they buy and sell graded cards through its own ecosystem and partnerships.
“Even my four and six year old boys, who just started their collections, know this behavior is wrong. Attempts to corner the trading card market are not only deeply unpopular, they are unethical,” said Ryan. “Kids, collectors and local card stores shouldn’t have to worry that the system is stacked against them, and the FTC needs to step in before this hobby is controlled by one powerful company.”
Ryan has requested that the FTC look into whether or not Collectors’ acquisition of Beckett was specifically to eliminate competition in the space. He also wants them to determine if Collectors’ “systematic roll-up strategy” violated Section 5 of the FTC Act (which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices that affect commerce), and if eliminating competition has directly impacted grading service prices, service quality, and turnaround times.
Source: ICv2
