Just got this e-mail from them. It sounds like TCGPlayer and eBay are joining together. TCGPlayer will remain independent, but I’m guessing with partial or full ownership under eBay.
Thoughts?
5 Likes
Well they claim no changes are coming but I doubt that.
9 Likes
Hoping things stay the same or get better for these 2 merchants.
However, I can see them raising seller fees up to 15% or more and there really isn’t no where else to go to sell cheap singles, cheap packs, etc.
6 Likes
Hoping this moves the addition of sports cards to their platform to happen faster
Reading the release here makes it unclear what the benefit to ebay actually is. I’m sure there is more going on behind the scenes than what’s being said
4 Likes
I have a hard time understanding why eBay would want to run TCGPlayer.
I can understand why they’d want to eliminate TCGPlayer, but why run a second concurrent platform like this? 
eBay can barely run their own website.
8 Likes
two benefits if they implement could be cross-listing between platforms and if they are able to use the $.99 tracked envelope that ebay has access to.
6 Likes
Seems like there is a lot going into the plan of trading cards with the partnerships with cgc and now this. Hoping that it doesnt make it harder for sellers nor add extra fees.
1 Like
standout points to me:
cheaper shipping for TCGPLayer sellers.
Seller fees might increase, as there are fewer options.
Something eBay may gain is TCGPlayer’s card search feature, as it’s far more functional and specific than the eBay search. However, this is only the case for cards, and eBay’s model doesn’t fit this method of searching, unless they require all card features to be specifically set in the future… something i would not look forward to.
3 Likes
Would love to see eBay bring in TCGPlayer’s or Troll and Toad’s system where you search for a specific species of Pokémon, and you only see different variants of that species. So instead of seeing 1,000 listings for base set Charizard, you would see 4 different variants. Then you click on the variant to see listings tied to that specific one. Could go even further and see just raw or graded.
10 Likes
This would be so incredibly helpful, which is how I know with a high degree of certainty that eBay will not be doing it.
6 Likes
All of that categorization already exists on ebay, it’s just not widely used as the onus is on the individual seller to enter all of those details properly.
1 Like
Yes you can filter to find listings for the exact card you want. But I am talking about being able to view the top level arts and variants. So searching Eevee will yield 10,000+ results, whereas troll and toad and TCGplayer is more like a couple of hundred unique cards.
2 Likes
Seems like a nightmare. Genius let’s make eBay more of a monopoly then it already is!
3 Likes
They can run their platform pretty well, they know damn well they got no competition so they just run it with the bare minimum.
Why offer a better platform if they still “sell”?
Honestly just think they’re trying to scoop up competition before someone like CU decided to
1 Like
I wonder if eBay is protected from antitrust (monopoly) laws because they sell so much more than cards.
2 Likes
Well, ultimately, ebay is forming a vertical monopoly, where they control each aspect of the chain, but not all providers of each aspect… it’ll be interesting to see what happens, but I DO prefer competition in the secondary market for bulk cards.
However, eBay and TCG Player/TnT/crystal commerce LGS serve different needs. eBay is NOT for the players who need multiple, and bulk, and dozens of cards for their legacy or standard rotating decks. Because of this, it behooves eBay to keep the two services separate. Could one learn from the other? YEAH! Will they, as many ask rhetorically? …
3 Likes
So, you CAN streamline it in the same way, BUT it’s a far more click-intensive process, and what ebay doesn’t do is sort results by unique printing with a stock image first. That is what @eeveeteam means. So, if I want to see all eevee cards, it will show a single sample of each printing available, and then I can view all results for that specific printing. This makes sense for trading cards, but it does require, as was mentioned, that each seller provide those details individually, in a standardized way.
3 Likes
As part of “expanding their catalog,” I would love to see TCGPlayer expand into all set/promo Japanese singles. I can dream, right?
7 Likes