eBay, a popular online source for secondhand items and collectibles, now offers a live shopping experience that combines auctions and livestreams. It's the company's latest effort to adapt to an evolving online market rich with competition. eBay has found a niche in collectibles and has started to develop services that directly benefit people buying and selling collectible items. These can range from antique items to shoes, cards and autographed memorabilia. With a live shopping experience, the company hopes to entice collectors to drive up auction prices on its platform.
The alternative way to shop on eBay comes after a flurry of moves catered to card collectors, especially those who collect trading card games like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Like with any collectible, how limited and rare these cards are can determine their appeal and value. However, the risk of encountering a fake or misleading listing is always present. To combat this, eBay introduced a program to authenticate sales of these trading cards, ensuring that the card delivered is the actual card marketed in the listing. Even still, there's a risk in purchasing cards online without seeing them firsthand, and eBay is trying to lessen that risk with a live shopping experience.
eBay's live shopping experience blends a livestream and an auction while utilizing well-known names in the trading card space. It fits nicely for an industry that typically completes sales using auction-style formats. Collectors and professional authentication companies have set prices in mind for items, but the market is driven more by demand than any other factor. If a bunch of people are interested in a card, its prices skyrocket, which is why auctions work so well. With a livestream alongside the auction, the experience becomes more immersive and compelling for buyers.
Live Shopping Is A Staple Of Collecting
The live experience features Bleecker Trading, a top seller on the platform specializing in trading cards. It also has live entertainment from trading card enthusiast DJ Skee. During the live shopping streams, users can view extremely rare trading cards and other collectibles in an immersive format. For example, a traditional eBay listing might feature a few photos from different angles, but it's hard to grasp the card's condition through images alone. With a live experience, the seller can interact with the audience and provide unique angles of the card's features as requested by potential buyers. As a result, buyers have more confidence and likely more profit for sellers with this format.
The live shopping experience will be available both in the eBay app and on the company's website, with the first event slated for June 22 at 3 p.m. eastern. It's the perfect mixture of card-collecting livestreams and auctions, which are prominent both online and at nationwide card shows. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to opening and selling cards on the internet, garnering millions of views, so there is definitely a market for this type of auction. But with eBay's option, just about anyone can bid on a card with confidence due to its money-back guarantee. For collectors, it's worth giving a shot during one of the early livestreams to see if the buying format is a better alternative to asynchronous online shopping.
Source: eBay