Collectors competes with eBay’s secure trading card facility
Trading card collectors have a new option for securely storing, buying and selling merchandise.
Collectors, a global provider of authentication and management services for collectibles, is launching Collectors Vault, an all-in-one service designed to enable the seamlessly authentication, grading, researching, storage, buying, and selling of collectibles through one platform. Open to graded cards valued at more than $100, Collectors Vault lets collectors and investors submit items for authentication and grading through Collectors’ Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) service and transfer those items directly to its secure storage facility.
The Collectors Vault Delaware-based facility employs security features including 24/7/365 armed guards, reinforced vault doors, and seismic motion detectors. Given the vault’s Delaware location, Collectors will not withhold tax on orders shipped and stored in the facility. Additionally, all collectibles stored in the Collectors Vault – regardless of their value – are also fully insured at no-cost and with zero fees or payments.
Customers will also soon be able to list their items in the vault for sale on Collectors’ Goldin marketplace digital collectibles platform. Items purchased through Goldin can also be submitted to the Collectors Vault for secure storage.
In addition to the vault, Collectors is also launching several other new services, including a single sign-on and password for PSA, Goldin, Collectors Vault, and Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). Customers can add graded cards to their inventory by scanning a graded card’s QR code with their device or searching based on certification number.
eBay opens secure vault for trading cards
eBay also recently opened a facility dedicated to the safe storage of collectible trading cards. Initially announced in March 2022, the eBay vault is a 31,000-sq.-ft., 24/7 secured, temperature-controlled facility and digital marketplace for collectors. Single, graded trading cards worth $750 or more may be eligible for eBay vault access.
Prospective buyers can identify cards that are already stored in the eBay vault via the vault badge in the listing, while buyers browsing eligible cards not already housed in the vault will have the ability to opt-in when completing their purchase. eBay vault eligibility requires assets to have been bought for $750 or more in the U.S., purchased directly on eBay, and graded by top graders in the category, including PSA.
Once an item is in the eBay vault, ownership transfers from seller to buyer in a matter of seconds, without need to re-authenticate or ship the item anywhere. By 2023, eBay will expand the capacity of the vault to include additional collectibles categories and luxury goods. Within a few years, the retailer expects the vault to hold up to $3 billion in assets.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all collector and everyone has slightly different motivations,” said Nat Turner, CEO of Collectors. “Some people want to build collections over years that have deep personal meaning while others are looking for the agility to time the market and quickly buy, sell, and trade items. Our vault will change the way people collect by connecting our services directly to Goldin's liquid marketplace, all through the Collectors.com platform.”