eBay, a leader in global e-commerce, has unveiled a new price guide and portfolio management tool specifically designed for trading card enthusiasts. This initiative aims to streamline the buying and selling process for these highly sought-after collectibles. Nicole Colombo, eBay’s general manager of collectibles and trading cards, emphasized the significance of this development, stating, “Trading card enthusiasts have long awaited a tool that provides real-time valuation of their collections and facilitates inventory management as part of a portfolio. Our new features offer a more cohesive collecting experience, leveraging eBay’s extensive trading card inventory and data to provide essential context for collectors.”
Traditionally, users depended on eBay for price assessments, a task that required manually searching the site to review past sales of specific cards. The newly introduced tools automate this process, making it more efficient. “Previously, users had to piece together information by examining sold items. We are now offering this service in a transparent and streamlined manner,” Colombo explained. “Feedback indicated a need for a better method to track collections, prompting us to develop a solution.”
The price guide delivers real-time valuations for both graded and ungraded cards, while the collection tool enables users to monitor their card collections in a manner akin to how investors track stock portfolios. “These features are designed to enhance market transparency and empower users to make informed decisions regarding buying, selling, trading, and investing,” Colombo added.
Currently in its beta phase, the price guide and collection tools are accessible on Android, desktop, and the latest version of eBay’s app available in the Apple App Store. “These tools are intended to be mobile-first,” Colombo noted, highlighting that the beta phase is crucial for gathering user feedback to refine the platform. During this period, the collection tool supports cards from various categories, including baseball, basketball, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer, Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Users can incorporate items into their collection through their eBay purchase history or by uploading a CSV file, allowing them to track the value of individual items, specific categories, or their entire collection. Colombo pointed out that eBay has witnessed “explosive growth” in the trading card sector over the past five years, particularly during the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, trading cards on eBay generated over $1 billion in gross merchandise volume, with 20 million new listings and an average of 139 cards sold per minute.
Colombo also noted that trading cards across all categories are experiencing substantial growth, with Pokémon and basketball cards leading the surge. She mentioned that these tools are expected to expand to other eBay categories, including collectibles, fashion, and electronics, in the future.
