Collectors, the parent company of grading service PSA, is buying eBay Vault and selling its Goldin marketplace to eBay. According to today’s announcement, eBay and PSA will offer a “full, seamless, customer-centric product experience for the collecting community that will be unveiled over the coming months.”
“PSA will introduce a new service offering to allow customers to list and sell trading cards on eBay at the time a card is graded, accelerating time-to-market and quality of listing. Existing options for grading and sale will remain available.”
eBay also said PSA would maintain seamless access to eBay Vault services for its US customers. “There will be no immediate changes to the services provided for a period of time post-closing. After the deal closes, PSA will fold its existing vault services along with eBay’s vault program, into a newly branded offering with further details coming, including integrating selling and grading services.”
In Wednesday’s press release, eBay said it had also entered into a commercial agreement with Collectors but declined to state whether any money would change hands when the transactions close simultaneously in the current quarter, which ends June 30, 2024.
“eBay is relentlessly focused on providing the best inventory and the highest level of trust for our global community,” eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said in the press release announcing the deal with Collectors. Formerly Collectors Universe, it was acquired by hedge fund billionaires Steve Cohen and Dan Sundheim and venture capital investor Nat Turner in 2021 and taken private.
The same year, Collectors acquired Goldin Auctions from Ken Goldin, who stayed on as CEO of Goldin. eBay did not say whether he would remain with the company after the acquisition.*
In 2022, eBay had entered into a partnership with PSA and began requiring sellers of graded cards that sold for $2,000 or more to send it to PSA for verification. Its authentication policy for trading cards can be found on the eBay website.
But last year, Collectors sought to expand Goldin and, according to Bloomberg, seemed poised to “take on eBay” with Goldin Marketplace. With today’s announcement, it appears the two companies have declared a truce and decided to stay in their own lanes, with eBay giving up its Vault and Collectors giving up its marketplace.
Trading Cards is one of eBay’s focus categories. In the fall, eBay entered into an agreement with and invested in COMC, “a leading marketplace for collecting and selling sports cards, gaming cards, comics, and more.”
Update 4/10/2024: Sports Collectors Daily quoted Ken Goldin in its coverage that indicates he will remain the head of Goldin. We’ve since noticed that eBay’s press release quoted Ken, our apologies – here’s what it said:
“We see so much opportunity ahead with eBay, and I am incredibly excited for this new chapter for the Goldin brand,” said Ken Goldin, Founder and CEO of Goldin. “This deal will enhance and expand our reach as we continue to do what we do best – source incredible collector’s items – and connect with millions of enthusiasts around the world. I am looking forward to an amazing future with eBay.”
