A deal has been made. Collectors, the company behind the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), and eBay have closed a transaction that will see both sides gain assets from the other—and entering a partnership that will have a streamlined suite of features centered on trading card collectors.
On April 10, Collectors and eBay agreed to a deal that would see Collectors taking over the eBay vault used to store valuable, verified cards, while eBay acquired the Goldin collectible auction house and marketplace. That transaction has today been completed and both companies are now gearing up to launch a combined offer that is touted as a “streamlined approach to buying, selling, grading, and storage” for card collectors.
Called The Hobby, this project is expected to launch sometime this summer as an “integrated, end-to-end hobby experience.” As a partnership between Collectors and eBay, it will offer users a way to utilize the PSA’s grading services, eBay’s expanded marketplace, and access the vault, all at the same time.
“Reducing friction for hobbyists at every step in the collecting journey is always a key goal of ours, and combining efforts and strengths with an industry leader like eBay allows us to effectively address each of those steps,” Collectors CEO Nat Turner said. “As a collector myself, the idea of being able to grade a card with PSA, then utilize the vault to either store it securely or make it available to other collectors on eBay in an instant is a major win for everyone who participates in this hobby.”
According to a release from both companies, anyone who uses The Hobby’s suite of features will have consistent access to the vault’s insured storage, buying, and selling options along with grading through PSA. Any card graded through PSA can also opt to sell the card on eBay or use the vault directly instead of getting it shipped back to them.
EBay has noted it will be integrating “real-time transaction data and PSA Population Report data” into any relevant collectibles on its platform as part of this deal too, which will provide more information for prospective buyers upfront. Other improvements for selling graded products, such as image-based listings through scanning will also be available, and provide a faster way to put your cards on eBay with all of the relevant information.
“These deals further our mission of reinventing the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts, and we believe our shared expertise will inspire even more people to sell, shop, and collect with confidence,” eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said.
This deal comes just days after PSA announced it was partnering with Bandai Namco to offer PSA Collectors Club subscribers an exclusive One Piece TCG Luffy card and a new report that GameStop is betting big on graded cards.
