eBay celebrates 'Star Wars' in time for 'May the Fourth'
eBay is hosting a major promotion for collectors of "Star Wars" merchandise as a holiday celebrated by enthusiasts approaches.
The online marketplace is running a limited-time sale event, "Your Side of the Fourth," through Saturday, May 4, 2024. May 4 has become an unofficial holiday for "Star Wars" fans as "May the fourth be with you" sounds similar to the film series’s catchphrase "May the Force be with you."
The promotion features an assortment of "Star Wars" merchandise and memorabilia, including rare items, curated by actress Billie Lourd (who played Lieutenant Connix in the most recent set of "Star Wars" sequels). Customers can shop the collectibles from two online storefronts, the Light Side and Dark Side Collections (ask a "Star Wars" fan if you need an explanation).
The assortment features 12 ultra-rare auction items including a Mark Hamill-signed replica Luke Skywalker lightsaber hilt, a Carrie Fisher-signed trading card from 1980, and a David Prowse-signed Darth Vader helmet – with bidding starting at $0.54.
In addition, on Thursday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET, the eBay Live livestreaming platform will broadcast the first-ever live shopping event held at Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco. Hosted by Anthony Carboni and Krystina Arielle and brought to customers by eBay and Alliance Entertainment, the event features "Star Wars" collectibles and contests to win items.
On Saturday, May 4, customers can watch a marathon of eBay Live livestreams to shop Star Wars collectibles all day.
"It has been a supremely sentimental journey combing through eBay’s incredibly expansive 'Star Wars' inventory - from legendary pieces dating back to 1977 to today’s most modern must-have items,” said Lourd. "I am a deeply obsessed ‘Star Wars’ fanatic, so getting to curate a collection that is meaningful to both fans and me has been one of the most fun things I’ve ever gotten to do. The widespread familial love for Star Wars and its iconic history brings me so much joy and I feel so lucky to get to partner with eBay to offer fans a rare piece of that magical history."
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eBay Dark Side Collection -
eBay Light Side Collection
eBay zeroes in on collectibles
Collectibles represent an increasingly important product category for eBay. The company offers a series of exclusive Funko products as part of a collaboration with the pop culture brand, and has a a strategic partnership with PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), a trading card authentication and grading company.
eBay recently hosted a special sale event in honor of another collector’s holiday, "Pokemon Day," which marks the Feb. 27, 1996 debut of the original version of what would become the global trading card game Pokemon in Japan.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay operates in more than 190 markets globally. In 2023, eBay enabled nearly $74 billion of gross merchandise volume.