Relentless efforts to reinforce eBay’s reputation as a trusted platform for trading watches and other collectibles is paying off for the business across sneakers, handbags and trading cards.
Underpinning the program is the eBay Authenticity Guarantee, which is assigned to goods that have been through physical checks by experts on route from sellers to buyers.
The service is used for all trading cards sold for over $750, over $500 for handbags and over $2,000 for watches.
In the watch category, eBay has also recently added an opt-in version of the guarantee for pieces selling for between $1,000 and $2,000, with the buyer paying $80 for the service.
In its latest quarterly results eBay reported revenue of $2.5 billion, down 6% on the prior year, from gross merchandise volumes worth $19.4 billion, which dropped by 20%.
The corresponding quarter in 2021 was affected by covid restrictions around the world that typically increased ecommerce activity while some stores were closed.
“Our team has delivered another strong quarter, at the high end of our expectations,” says Jamie Iannone, Chief Executive Officer of eBay.
“Despite the current macro headwinds, we remain confident in the long-term strategy we laid out during our Investor Day in March. We are building an eBay for the future with an eye toward delivering long-term, sustainable growth. Our enthusiast buyers continue to shop and engage on eBay regularly, and our results to date demonstrate our focus category playbook is working.”
In its financial results report, eBay announced the creation of the eBay Vault, a 31-thousand square foot secure storage facility and digital marketplace for trading cards and collectibles, with plans to expand into luxury goods.
“The eBay Vault will provide peace of mind and convenience for the company’s millions of buyers and sellers, and within a few years, eBay expects the Vault will hold up to $3 billion in assets, making it one of the largest stores of non-governmental assets in the world,” the company reveals.
Despite eBay reporting a dip in sales and gross merchandise volumes in its Q1 results, it said it is continuing to see “great traction” in its luxury watch category, with high customer satisfaction leading to positive double-digit growth.