eBay, one of the top global commerce companies, announced on Monday that they would be expanding their 'Authenticity Guarantee' by enabling users to trade single graded cards for over $2,000.
(Photo : David McNew/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 13: People play the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game at the Square Enix exhibit on opening day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
"Strategic Partnership"
The expansion was made possible via a strategic partnership with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), one of the largest third-party trading card authentication and grading companies. From now on, when a graded card is sold for over $2,000 in the U.S., the seller will be required to send that trading card to PSA for verification.
This announcement came to light four months after eBay launched Authenticity for raw trading cards. To expand their services, they had to tap PSA's expertise, which has graded more than 54 million trading cards, according to eBay.
Furthermore, PSA will be responsible for verifying if the trading card matches their listing description and ensuring that the sealed plastic holder and label are authentic, untampered, and not counterfeited.
Dawn Block, the VP for Collectibles of Electronics and Home at eBay, underscored the importance of authentication services when casual buyers veer towards collecting cards and investing in them.
"eBay is the top destination for buying and selling high value cards and collectibles, and PSA has been a leader in the authentication and grading of trading cards for more than three decades," Block said in a statement on eBay's press release.
She also added that, "with this latest partnership, collectors can feel even more confident in their purchases of graded cards, and eBay continues to set the standard for this category."
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"Growing Demand"
The growing demand for trading cards proved to be attractive for collectors to invest in them and in turn became a perfect market opportunity for eBay and PSA to combine their prowesses in one business venture.
Kevin Lenane, President of the PSA, said that they have been operating for more than three decades and that they have established a significant position in the card community.
"Our trading card expertise is the perfect complement to eBay's breadth and depth of inventory," stated by the President.
Based on eBay's data, Trading Cards in the first half of 2021 reached $2 billion in transactions, which is equivalent to their total earnings in 2020.
An average of two trading cards are sold every second on the e-commerce platform and over 9 million cards purchased on and off eBay have been added to Customer Collections.
The following are the top Trading Cards and their growth merchandise value (GMV) growth in H1 of 2021
- Tennis -1797%
- Soccer - 852%
- Pokémon - 536%
- Marvel - 437%
- Golf - 436%
- Football - 200%
- Basketball - 148%
How to Shop Trading Cards?
You can shop Trading cards at ebay.com/authenticcards, eBay has also included authentication offering for sneakers, watches, and handbags at ebay.com/buyauthentic.
The Authenticity Guarantee service offers over $100 for sneakers, watches sold for $2,000 and above, and handbags priced at over $500. eBay also said that in the future, their services would include any graded card sold for over $250.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
