eBay rolls out grading for collectible trading cards
eBay Inc. has a new service for buyers of trading cards on its platform.
In an email to Chain Store Age, eBay said that it has officially integrated grading from PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), a trading card authentication and grading company it has been strategically partnering with for about two years.
As of Monday, March 31, 2025, the option to add PSA grading to trading card purchases will begin rolling out on eBay. U.S. card buyers should see the new feature appear over the next few weeks for all individual, raw, non-autographed cards priced $250 and above, with more than two images in the listing.
According to eBay, this feature offers a more seamless, end-to-end purchase for trading card collectors, streamlining the grading process. Card buyers can purchase PSA grading at eBay checkout with no extra steps, eliminating the need for cards to ship to the buyer first.
This value-added service applies to cards which already qualify for eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee program. Customers don’t need to register for a PSA account to add PSA grading to their purchase.
When a card is purchased with PSA grading, the seller sends the card directly to eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee service, at no cost to the buyer or seller, for inspection. After the card passes inspection, it is sent to PSA for grading. Once grading is completed, the card is shipped to the buyer.
If a card does not pass Authenticity Guarantee, it is returned to the seller and the buyer’s purchase is refunded. Any item that passes PSA grading will be final sale and not eligible for return.
To celebrate this new feature, eBay is offering free shipping of graded cards from PSA to buyers until June 30, 2025.
"Grading is a core part of the trading card hobby, and now the process to get from raw card to authenticated and graded is seamless when you build your collection with eBay," said Ron Jaiven, GM, U.S. collectibles at eBay. "We’re raising the bar and setting new standards for trust, innovation and speed, in service of the collecting community."
eBay zeroes in on collectibles
Collectibles represent an increasingly important product category for eBay. The company recently launched the "Evolving Shop," a limited-time curated shopping experience featuring Pokemon-themed rare trading cards and merchandise in honor of Pokemon’s 29th anniversary.
[READ MORE: ‘Pokemon Day’ returns to eBay – for three days]
eBay also offers a series of exclusive Funko products as part of a collaboration with the pop culture brand, and ran a limited-time promotion featuring collectible “Star Wars” merchandise and memorabilia in May 2024.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay enabled more than $73 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2023.
