Some people just want to be able to hold it.

At a time when the world is hyper-focused on NFTs, collectibles you can’t touch, here comes the reboot of the passion for physical stuff. It’s a return to what people love about collectibles, the ability to have the actual physical object supported by a secure backend. The merging of the physical and digital.

Welcome to the eBay Vault and its digital trading marketplace. The Vault has all the authentication ability and the security of managed transaction history and ownership path, similar to NFTs. But you have an actual thing. The trading platform allows for transactions more akin to NFT trading marketplaces, where investors can track real-time valuation movement and flip a card in what is fundamentally an instant sale. No re-authentication or shipping is required. It’s all in the Vault. eBay provides authenticity guarantees at no cost. Suddenly, trading cards fall into a managed investment category.

From Weiss Schwarts to Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, and of course, every conceivable sport, trading cards are hot. In 2021, Trading Cards merchandise volume (GMV) more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels. In Q1 2022, an average of 2 trading cards were purchased every second on eBay. To date, over 10 million cards purchased on and off eBay were added to customer collections. 

The Vault is a natural. And the beauty? Cards remain secure in the eBay vault, never seeing the light of day. Unless, of course, you want to bring one home. Buying and selling can happen in a digital marketplace that previously was not available for these kinds of collectibles. Anticipating Brady playing another season and his rookie card going up in value? Get one now before he retires.

eBay plans to expand the offering to other collectibles and luxury goods by 2023 and anticipates it will hold $3 billion in assets by 2025 

The digital authentication, ownership, and secure transaction capability alone have massive potential across a huge range of collectibles. 

Hey, got a Zion rookie card? I’d store it here. It’s gonna be worth something.