PSA parent company Collectors to acquire Beckett, keeping it an ‘independent brand’

[Skipscards]

[kyle1707]

Fanatics and Psa run everything

We think this hobby is huge

But it’s not .. in grand scheme nobody gives a truck about it

Because no way this would fly in most other aspects of business

[fabiani12333]

Beckett surpassed SGC this year as number three in trading card grading market share.

With the acquisitions of SGC and BGS, PSA has now become a monopoly in the sports card grading space -- CGC only graded about 7% of all graded sports cards in November 2025.

The only thing keeping PSA from becoming a full monopoly in the trading card grading space is CGC's share of the TCG market -- 25% share in November 2025.

[Bcr]

What a bizarre time for the hobby. This train just isn't stopping.

[blackbears86]

this whole hobby is becoming laughable at this point, not that it wasn't already.

[49ersSF]

CU now has a prime opportunity to turn BGS 9's into 10's for their brand new buy-back program!

[towerymt]

PSA-9.5

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by 49ersSF

CU now has a prime opportunity to turn BGS 9's into 10's for their brand new buy-back program!

I heard all of Nats 9s are going to become 11s

[theshowandme]

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by kyle1707

Fanatics and Psa run everything

We think this hobby is huge

But it’s not .. in grand scheme nobody gives a truck about it

Because no way this would fly in most other aspects of business

They’ve been given the green light to print money.

Invest!!!!

[Cracktoast]

yeah I don't get why people are losing their minds. This was a forgone conclusion for a couple years now. BGS hasn't been relevant in god knows how long.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by Cracktoast

yeah I don't get why people are losing their minds. This was a forgone conclusion for a couple years now. BGS hasn't been relevant in god knows how long.

They're still popular for their black label. A lot BGS slabs still in circulation. They could have expanded like CGC if they had the financial backing.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Cracktoast

yeah I don't get why people are losing their minds. This was a forgone conclusion for a couple years now. BGS hasn't been relevant in god knows how long.

For thicker cards like exquisite, NT and flawless, they are still very relevant.

Plus no upcharge scam. For now.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

For thicker cards like exquisite, NT and flawless, they are still very relevant.

Plus no upcharge scam. For now.

The lack of upcharge and brand awareness could have given them a competitive edge if they had tried to grow their market share. They are known for Pokemon grading, which could have allowed them to siphon TCG business away from PSA.

We'll never know now.

[corockies]

PSA essentially let SGC die after acquisition, in what world would they not allow the same scenario to play out at Beckett? This all inevitably leads (it pretty much already has) to PSA changing their base line grading to $50+ per card, and the fan boys will still submit in bulk. It's sad what's happened overall to this hobby since Fanatics took over - if you're not a gambler or a high dollar investor, you're pretty much boxed out.

[ReggieBush22]

Terrible news. PSA is a complete monopoly now. But people keep going back to PSA and keep empowering them. They'll probably let BGS slowly fade away like they did with SGC.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The DoJ should block this on anti-competition grounds......but......

They should but this industry isn't big enough to warrant such scrutiny/attention. Just makes me scratch my head how BGS and SGC gave into PSA. Offers must've been very good. If not, how could they not see they had an established brand in the hobby and they could gain market share by improving?

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by corockies

PSA essentially let SGC die after acquisition, in what world would they not allow the same scenario to play out at Beckett? This all inevitably leads (it pretty much already has) to PSA changing their base line grading to $50+ per card, and the fan boys will still submit in bulk. It's sad what's happened overall to this hobby since Fanatics took over - if you're not a gambler or a high dollar investor, you're pretty much boxed out.

It's a shame what they did to SGC. Instead of building on SGC's established rep, which took decades, they gutted it instead. Hey PSA, you own SGC! How about you improve a subsidiary.

[PuddleMonkey]

Gotta get as bloated as possible for the IPO, this is standard operating procedure.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by ReggieBush22

They should but this industry isn't big enough to warrant such scrutiny/attention. Just makes me scratch my head how BGS and SGC gave into PSA. Offers must've been very good. If not, how could they not see they had an established brand in the hobby and they could gain market share by improving?

Where have you been the last 6 years? You guys always conflate your hopes and dreams with reality when it comes to BGS. Better question is why none of you sought employment with BGS to help turn things around.

PSA’s first move with BGS is going to be a crackdown on black label rates.

[theshowandme]

The Federal Trade Commission has an Antitrust Complaint site if you truly believe this is wrong

https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/...mplaint-intake

[ddearing]

I find this interesting, but not surprising. The most surprising thing is that Collectors did it and not Fanatics. When CU bought SGC, it was thought of as trying to beat Fanatics to the punch. I am "in this business" pretty consistently and the most surprising part of the article to me was about SGC losing market share at the level they have. I assume that is because the super cheap, set specific, promos with SGC went away with the merger, so their overall numbers went down. I assume that a lot of the cards not graded with SGC because of the lack of promos, ended up at PSA, so not a bad move by them.

FWIW, at the show in Philly this past weekend, and for the first time in a long time, I heard a pretty smart guy try to convince me that I should be grading my One Piece with Beckett because they get a lot of 10's and black labels. Maybe that is a direction BGS could grow, if CU even wants them to grow. This very well could just be another brick in the defensive wall keeping out any future competition.

Also, with Beckett's declining market share, I expect this deal was not a large price compared to CU's bottom line.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by ddearing

FWIW, at the show in Philly this past weekend, and for the first time in a long time, I heard a pretty smart guy try to convince me that I should be grading my One Piece with Beckett because they get a lot of 10's and black labels. Maybe that is a direction BGS could grow, if CU even wants them to grow. This very well could just be another brick in the defensive wall keeping out any future competition.

Also, with Beckett's declining market share, I expect this deal was not a large price compared to CU's bottom line.

BGS allows you to turn mass produced TCG “junk” into highly desired and highly priced gems. The only reason to grade current year TCG with BGS is for the black label.

2025 Chinese Pikachu/Gengar prices
BGS 10 Black $6000
BGS 10 $1800
PSA 10 $1400
BGS 9.5 $875

BGS receives such little volume because people are only subbing cards that have a chance at a black label. Versus CGC where people are subbing their crap that they know is not a PSA 10 but they can get a CGC 10 out of. At least for Pokemon, the issue is usually the back corners, which is easily identified online. Three white back corners? No problem, still CGC 10 worthy.

[BoSoxFan1999]

PSA haters in shambles. lol

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by ddearing

FWIW, at the show in Philly this past weekend, and for the first time in a long time, I heard a pretty smart guy try to convince me that I should be grading my One Piece with Beckett because they get a lot of 10's and black labels. Maybe that is a direction BGS could grow, if CU even wants them to grow. This very well could just be another brick in the defensive wall keeping out any future competition.

IMO the only reason to sub to BGS is to chase 10P/Black Labels. Or to get a "Gem Mint" card (9.5) graded at the fraction of the price of a PSA sub which may only net you a 9.