Less than three years after acquiring Goldin Auctions, Collectors Holdings is selling the New Jersey-based collectibles marketplace to eBay. In addition, the definitive agreement also includes the sale of eBay’s vault to PSA.
Financial details of the transaction weren’t revealed. Neither is final yet, but are expected to close simultaneously between now and the end of June.
eBay says the moves “will support more streamlined buying, selling, grading and storage experiences for all who participate in the trading card hobby in the United States.”
The arrangement will allow US-based collectors and dealers to list items for sale as soon as they are authenticated and graded by PSA if they desire.
“This will benefit The Hobby above all else, which is the primary goal of this innovative partnership between eBay and PSA,” stated Nat Turner, CEO of Collectors. “We will drastically improve the collector experience by creating a seamless, end-to-end journey. No matter an individual collector’s goals, this partnership will make collecting safer, easier and more fun.”
After the deal closes, PSA will fold its existing vault services with eBay’s vault program, into a newly branded offering with further details coming, including integrated selling and grading services.
The deal offers a new audience for Goldin customers, although details of how the partnership weren’t immediately revealed.
“We see so much opportunity ahead with eBay, and I am incredibly excited for this new chapter for the Goldin brand,” remarked Ken Goldin, the company’s founder and CEO. “I have the opportunity to bring the Goldin brand to millions of collectors around the world who may never have heard of us, never bought from us. For eBay it’s a great opportunity to bring the experience and high-end business that Goldin offers to all of its customers as well.”
The acquisition marks eBay’s first purchase of a sports collectibles-focused company, although the company did announce an investment in trading card consignment platform COMC in November of last year.
It marks the latest twist in an eventful period for Collectors and Goldin. In February of 2021, a group of investors including Turner, himself an avid collector and entrepreneur, and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, acquired Collectors in an $853 million deal that took the parent company of grading and authentication firm PSA from public to private. That same month, Goldin received a $40 million investment from The Chernin Group and a group of athletes.
Less than five months later, Collectors announced the acquisition of Goldin, a company founded by hobby fixture Ken Goldin early in 2012.
In January 2023, Goldin expanded its auction platform to a larger marketplace, with weekly and large monthly “Elite” auctions as well as a fixed price marketplace. Ironically, the company touted its marketplace as an alternative to eBay at the time. Now, eBay will own Goldin.
In spite of various new marketplaces that have opened, both online and through live streaming, eBay remains a giant in the world of online commerce and auctions. The platform has over 135 million users worldwide. In 2023, eBay enabled more than $73 billion of gross merchandise volume.
eBay remains the most popular place for collectors to buy and sell collectibles, generating over $10 billion in GMV from collectibles over a recent 12-month period, according to CEO Jamie Ianone. However, with some exceptions, eBay hasn’t had much of a presence in the world of sports collectibles valued at over six-figures. Acquiring a sports-focused auction house that has been selling six and seven-figure items on a regular basis for years, could be a pathway for the company to do that.
Mike Nett, the former Vice President of Marketing at Collectors, recently revealed that he left his role there in August of 2023 to take over as eBay’s General Manger of Trading Cards and Collectibles. He’ll be the third person in that role since 2021, succeeding Bob Means and Nicole Colombo, both now at Walmart.
There was been some sports auction consolidation last year, with Fanatics buying PWCC in May 2023 and Robert Edward Auctions acquiring Huggins & Scott two months later, following the death of founder Bill Huggins.
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