EBay plans to acquire trading card vendor TCGplayer for $295 million

“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,” wrote Chedy Hampson, founder and CEO of TCGplayer. “With eBay’s support, we will advance our Purpose, and expand our tools and services to improve the collecting experience online and in your favorite local hobby store.”

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EBay has long been a premier hub to buy and sell collectible trading cards. For the past few years, Pokémon surged in value on the auction site due to gaming influencers and content makers popularizing the unboxing trend, where creators record themselves opening decks in hopes of finding rare and valuable cards. In June, the company even established a temperature controlled, 31,000-square-foot facility called the eBay vault to store particularly precious cards which have been purchased for $750 or more.

TCGplayer, an online platform that specializes in the trading card market, announced its acquisition of ChannelFireball, a market and strategy hub for card games, and BinderPOS, an inventory management system for hobby stores, on July 11.

In the collectible space, TCGplayer is seen as a competitor to eBay. When Hampson announced the planned acquisition on his Twitter account, some collectible enthusiasts were critical of the deal, saying that they originally turned to TCGplayer as an alternative to eBay.

EBay and TCGplayer announced that the deal is expected to close in Q1 2023.