PSA Card Grading Faces Class Action Over Inconsistent Grades and Fees
The lawsuit challenges PSA's role as a market price arbiter, alleging that its grading inconsistency and parent company's trading operations create a structural conflict of interest.
Reporting from 1 source: KAI-YOU.
A U.S. user, Nicholas Funk, filed a class action lawsuit against card grading service PSA and parent company Collectors Holdings on July 28 in Maryland federal court. The suit claims PSA's grading is subjective and inconsistent, and that its fee structure encourages resubmission. It also alleges a conflict of interest because Collectors Holdings profits from card trading and storage.
The suit, filed in Maryland federal court, argues that PSA advertises objective grading but actually relies on unquantified factors like a card's appearance. The plaintiff says resubmitting the same card can yield different grades, and that PSA profits each time a collector resubmits seeking a higher grade.
The complaint also targets Collectors Holdings, which operates card storage, buying, selling, and lending services alongside PSA's grading. The plaintiff argues that having the same corporate group both assign card values and profit from trading based on those values is a conflict of interest. The suit references Collectors Holdings' acquisitions of rival grading services SGC and Beckett, and seeks remedies including divestiture if the claims are proven.
PSA has not yet responded to the complaint.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.