Dive Brief:
- Introducing another service for collectors, eBay has created a trading card submission service for the eBay Vault, the e-commerce veteran announced on Monday.
- Through the service, collectors can send their eligible cards priced at $250 or more to the eBay Vault, where the cards will be stored within eBay’s 31,000-square-foot facility. The service expands eligibility for the vault to cards not purchased on eBay, as well as graded autograph, relic and patch cards.
- Customers can turn in items via mail or in person to have them authenticated and stored after filling out submission information. There are no submission fees for 2023, the company said.
Dive Insight:
EBay’s trading card submission service marks its continued investment in collectibles. The eBay Vault, first announced in March 2022, expects to store up to $3 billion in assets in the next few years.
“Trading cards are increasingly viewed as an alternative asset class, and the ability to buy, list, sell and transfer ownership instantly is crucial for collectors who want to maximize price realization and build portfolios,” the company wrote in its announcement. “With eBay’s new submission service, collectors can easily send an individual card – or entire collection – to the eBay vault, for specialized long-term storage, expert third-party authentication, and streamlined transactions.”
In its eBay Vault submissions announcement, the company highlighted collectors events it's engaging in soon as well, including The National Sports Collectors Convention in late July and Gen Con in August. Last month, it debuted a “Collectors Camp” event series, during which sports trading card fans can learn about growing their collections from experts. Two years ago, the company also introdued a series of in-person authentication events in major cities.
EBay has invested in the secondhand market and authentication services more broadly. Last month, the company said it would begin authenticating streetwear brands such as Vetements, Supreme and Off-White. And in April, eBay rolled out its Certified by Brand program, which allows brands to directly authenticate secondhand goods or items such as jewelry, handbags and watches.
In August 2020, eBay teamed up with Prova Group to authenticate sports memorabilia, enabling sellers to use Prova Group’s verification service. The company has since purchased a number of companies to aid in authentication and other collectible services. In November 2021, the company purchased Sneaker Con Digital’s sneaker authentication division. In August last year, eBay agreed to buy TCGplayer, a tech company specializing in collectibles, for about $295 million. And earlier this year, eBay entered into another agreement to buy Certilogo, a digital identification firm.
