Collectors
Unicorn · $4.3B3 known investors
Collectors operates a group of brands providing grading, authentication, and related services for the collectibles market. The company positions itself as infrastructure for trust and security in buying, selling, and holding collectibles.
Also known as Collectors Holdings, Inc. · Collectors Universe · Collectors.com
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 1
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Collectors (Collectors Holdings, Inc., formerly known as Collectors Universe) is a collectibles-industry company that groups authentication and grading services with marketplaces, auctions and research tools. Its brands include PSA for trading cards and memorabilia, PCGS for coins and currency, and WATA for video games and pop culture, alongside the Goldin online marketplace and auction platform, CollectorsCorner, and the Card Ladder collectibles research tool. In March 2022 the company consolidated these brands into a single Collectors.com experience under new corporate branding, presenting a stated mission of helping collectors pursue their passion and a vision to modernize and scale the collectibles industry.
The Collectors.com website also functions as a search engine and aggregator that compares collectibles listings from hundreds of external sites across categories such as action figures, autographs, coins, comics, currency, entertainment and historical memorabilia, sports memorabilia, stamps and trading cards. The site states it has no affiliation with and does not endorse the sellers or dealers listed on it, and that buyers must perform their own diligence. Collectors is described on the site as an independently managed subsidiary of Collectors Universe.
In 2022 the company announced a secure vault platform and collection management service, allowing collectors to submit items for PSA authentication and grading and transfer them to an 11,000-square-foot secured facility in Delaware, with the ability to manage holdings digitally through Collectors.com or list them for sale via the Goldin marketplace. An earlier predecessor business, Collectors Universe, exited the diamond and colored gemstone grading businesses (GCAL and AGL) in 2009, citing revenue uncertainties and prior impairment charges, while continuing to license the Gemprint diamond identification and registration system.
Business model
Collectors monetizes the collectibles ecosystem through third-party authentication and grading services (PSA, PCGS, WATA), marketplace and auction platforms (Goldin, CollectorsCorner), collectibles research tools (Card Ladder), and a vaulting and collection-management service tied to PSA grading submissions. Collectors.com additionally aggregates publicly available listings from external sites to help users discover and compare items.
Traction
The company reported growing revenue and EBITDA by more than 100% year-over-year as of March 2022 and stated it was profitable, attributing growth to demand for authentication and grading services and to marketplace sales following the Goldin acquisition. The Collectors.com site displayed a count of more than 158 million collectibles.
Latest developments
In March 2022 Collectors announced a $100 million financing from existing investors at a $4.3 billion valuation, launched its unified Collectors.com branding and website, introduced an expanded leadership team, and announced a secure vault and collection management service scheduled for availability in summer 2022.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
The company describes itself as the global leader in authentication and management of collectibles, operating in an industry that one cited report projected to be worth $522 billion globally in 2028, up from $372 billion in 2020.
Technology
Collectors.com uses technology to aggregate and compare thousands of collectibles from hundreds of sites to promote discoverability and price comparison, and the company has stated it is investing new capital in technology to improve the collector experience, including digital collection management linked to its vault facility.
Go-to-market
The company markets a suite of consumer-facing brands to collectors and consolidated them into a single Collectors.com destination combining discovery, grading submission, marketplace listing and collection management.
Hobbyists and long-time collectors as well as new collectors and alternative-asset investors across sports cards, trading card games such as Pokémon, coins and currency, autographed memorabilia, video games and other pop-culture collectibles.
Geography
Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Paris, and an 11,000-square-foot vault facility in Delaware.
History
The business traces its origins to 1986, when it was founded as Professional Coin Grading Service, and later operated as Collectors Universe. In 2009 Collectors Universe exited its diamond and colored gemstone grading businesses. In 2021 the company was acquired by an investor group led by Nat Turner with D1 Capital Partners, Cohen Private Ventures and TCG Capital Management, in a deal reported by Axios at approximately $850 million and including athlete investors such as Kevin Durant, Larry Fitzgerald and Andy Roddick. In March 2022 the company rebranded as Collectors, unified its brands on Collectors.com and announced $100 million in new funding at a $4.3 billion valuation.
Risks & controversies
Collectors.com states it is an aggregator of publicly available information with no affiliation to, or endorsement of, the sellers and dealers listed, disclaims representations and warranties regarding sellers or items, and places diligence responsibility on buyers. Historically, the predecessor Collectors Universe exited its jewelry grading businesses after incurring impairment charges and citing revenue uncertainties amid the economic downturn.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsCollectors Holdings, Inc. announced $100 million in new funding from existing investors at a $4.3 billion valuation, to be used to grow the business and invest in technology.
$100M source ↗
Collectors announced a vault platform, available in summer 2022, enabling items graded by PSA to be transferred to an 11,000-square-foot Delaware facility and managed digitally or listed on Goldin.
The company launched new corporate branding and the Collectors.com website, unifying PSA, PCGS, WATA, Goldin, CollectorsCorner and Card Ladder into one experience.
An investor group led by Nat Turner with D1 Capital Partners, Cohen Private Ventures and TCG Capital Management acquired the company; dot.LA cited an Axios report of roughly $850 million, with athlete investors including Kevin Durant, Larry Fitzgerald and Andy Roddick.
$850M source ↗
Collectors acquired the Goldin collectibles marketplace and auction platform, which contributed to increases in marketplace sales.
Collectors Universe decided to exit the jewelry grading businesses, including GCAL and AGL, citing revenue uncertainties and impairment charges, while continuing to license the Gemprint system.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Aboutcollectors.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Collectors do?
- Collectors operates authentication, grading, marketplace and research brands including PSA, PCGS, WATA, Goldin and Card Ladder.
- Who are Collectors's investors?
- Collectors's investors include 01 Advisors, The Chernin Group (TCG Crypto).