How Collectors is Digitising the World of Collectibles

In the business of hobbies, Collectors are revolutionising the space at breakneck speed. The California-headquartered business has become the global powerhouse in authenticating, grading and vaulting collectibles – handling everything from sports cards and coins to comic books and magazines.

Collectables are not, as some might think, just nostalgia items. In the digital-first era, they are increasingly regarded as assets – tradable, insurable and often extremely valuable.  This underpins Collectors’ goal: to inspire the world to collect by making the process safe, accessible and fun. And, unsurprisingly, technology sits at the heart of this ambition more than ever.

Collectors is the parent company behind industry leaders including Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), boasting responsibility for more than 100 million items globally. In recent years, the company has seen an explosion in demand, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating a widespread return to collecting and trading. What was once seen as a niche hobby is now a multi-billion-dollar industry.

“To give you an idea of the scale in trading cards alone, we used to see tens of thousands of cards a month. Now, we’re seeing anywhere between 1.5 to 2.5 million a month,” says Collectors’ Chief Technology Officer, Dan Van Tran. More well known as DVT, he emphasises the immense scale of the business, as well as the amount of both human and technological power required behind the scenes to keep Collectors running.

To read the full story in the magazine, click HERE.