TCGplayer, an online trading card marketplace, will be acquired by eBay, the companies announced today. The deal, which could be worth up to $295 million, represents eBay’s most recent foray into the growing trading card market, which saw a significant uptick during the pandemic.
Trade-in and trade-out sites for trading card games like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering include TCGplayer. Additionally, the business offers sellers resources and services including order fulfilment and storage. Trading card games were referred to as a “attractive category” with “substantial growth” when eBay announced the purchase.
Chedy Hampson, the founder and CEO of TCGplayer, is quoted in the press release as saying, “This new chapter allows us to continue operating independently within eBay, while also benefiting from their decades of industry experience and resources to deepen the connection between hobbyists and their communities”.
In the months prior to its purchase of TCGplayer, eBay launched a variety of collectible trading card programme. In May, the platform announced it would collaborate with Professional Sports Authenticator, a company that evaluates and grades cards, and expanded its Authenticity Guarantee to cover graded cards worth more than $2,000 as well. In June, the business established eBay Vault, a huge 31,000-square-foot, temperature-controlled facility where buyers and sellers may store their graded trading cards.
Trading card collectors have traditionally purchased, exchanged, and traded cards, but the pandemic sent this group into overdrive, overpowering both stores and grading services. Although the boom has partially subsided, eBay’s acquisition of a significant rival implies the business still believes there is plenty of money to be made.