eBay Vault Officially Launches For Trading Cards
UPDATE 10-20-22
eBay has now lowered the minimum for cards stored in the vault to $250.
Head's up! The eBay vault is now accepting all graded cards $250+, including relics, as well as pack-pulled and aftermarket autos. Enroll and start saving today. #eBayVault
— eBay (@eBay) October 20, 2022
It looks like they've also extended fee waivers for buyer premiums out to Spring of 2023 and for storage fees out to Summer of 2024.
Direct submissions are "coming soon" some time in 2023.
UPDATE 8-17-22
eBay has once again dropped the minimum for Vault eligibility, now down to $350 single graded card and pack pulled autograph cards.
Maintaining your collection can be stressful. That’s why the eBay vault is here—offering the most seamless way to buy, sell, trade, and store trading cards. Plus, no storage/seller fees! Now, all graded cards $350+ are welcome (including pack-pulled autos). Sign up for free!
— eBay (@eBay) August 17, 2022
UPDATE 7-24-22
eBay has dropped the minimum price for items purchased on the site to be sent to the Vault to $500 & also now includes graded pack pulled autograph cards.
While there was no official announcement, it looks like the change happened sometime in the last month according to the Internet Archive Wayback Mahine.
UPDATE 6-22-22
eBay will be offering white glove pick up for Vault submissions worth $100k+ by 2023 - stay tuned for details!
4 pro collectors. 4 cities. $15 million dollars in cards. The eBay vault exchange is complete. The only thing missing now is you. White glove pickup will be available for submissions worth $100k by 2023. You collect. eBay protects. What gems are you vaulting?#BuySellSecure
— eBay (@eBay) June 21, 2022
eBay has officially opened the Vault, accepting trading cards sold for $750 or more.
Today, eBay, a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world, announces the launch of the eBay vault – a 31-thousand square foot, 24/7 secured, temperature controlled facility and digital marketplace for collectors. Beginning today, single, graded trading cards $750+ are eligible for eBay vault access.
Prospective buyers can easily 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+ in the U.S., purchased directly on eBay, and graded by top graders in the category, including: Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA); Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC); Certified Collectibles Group's affiliates, CGC Trading Cards, Certified Sports Guaranty (CSG); and Beckett Grading Services (BGS).
While eBay doesn't reveal it in this press release, I did some digging and discovered the Vault will be located in New Castle, Delaware.
The benefit of course is that Delaware does not have state sales tax, which allows eBay to promote no tax on sales that are made and kept within the vault.
Liz Morton ~ Founder
eBay has also said the Vault will enable fractionalization, but they still haven't given details about how exactly that will work.
With the launch of the eBay vault, the company is delivering an unparalleled experience – offering benefits like instant transfer, authentication, insurance, fractional ownership, affordable shipping and a tax free storage location – and giving collectors peace of mind and unprecedented control over their assets.
The eBay Vault for Trading Cards: How it Works
- When a service-eligible purchase is made, the buyer instantly becomes the owner once the card passes authentication, and can choose to keep their card stored in the eBay vault or withdraw.
- To continue storage, ownership transfers from seller to buyer in a matter of seconds and there’s no need to re-authenticate or ship the item anywhere. There is no time limit for storing in the eBay vault as it’s designed for long-term, secure storage.
- Cards destined for the eBay vault are required to go through Authenticity Guarantee, at no cost. If a buyer opts to send their purchase to the eBay vault, the seller will first ship the card to be inspected by independent authentication experts.
- For withdrawal, the company’s dedicated eBay vault team will meticulously package the card and ship it to the buyer via tracked shipping.
More info about how the Vault works can be found on eBay's Help & Policy pages - most importantly, information about fees. eBay is apparently waiving storage fees through the rest of 2022.
Interesting to note there will be no FVF on sales within the vault, just a 3% instant transfer fee paid by the buyer (waived for the rest of 2022).
If an item is shipped to the vault, the seller will pay reduced FVF, though I don't see an indication of what the reduced rate will be.
Also very important to note - items purchases from the vault are final sale.
An eBay vault order is considered final sale and can't be returned. If an item is lost or damaged in transit it may be eligible for eBay Money Back Guarantee. See the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy page for more information.
Storage fees
There are no fees to store your items in the eBay vault in 2022.
Withdrawing items from the eBay vault
Withdrawal and shipping feesWhen an item is removed from the eBay vault by its current owner, we charge a withdrawal fee and an insured shipping fee.
To introduce the eBay vault, we're waiving the insured shipping fee through fall of 2022.
The withdrawal fee is based on the last purchase price of the item. You can see the withdrawal fee breakdown in the table below.
At launch, only items valued at $750+ are eligible for the eBay vault.
Instant transfer fees
When an item in the eBay vault is sold, we charge the buyer an instant transfer fee. This fee is calculated as 3% of the last purchase price of the item. The eBay vault instant transfer fee will be waived through 2022.
The instant transfer fee covers the administrative costs of securely reassigning ownership of the item within the eBay vault.
Remember that everything in the eBay vault is backed by our Authenticity Guarantee, so in the unlikely event that something is amiss, we’ve got your back.
Buying items in the eBay vault and shipping them to your address
Instant transfer fees and withdrawal feesWhen an item in the eBay vault is sold and the buyer ships it directly to their address, we charge the buyer both the instant transfer fee and the withdrawal fee, as well as an insured shipping fee. But because the instant transfer fee is waived through the end of 2022 and the insured shipping fee is waived through fall 2022, the buyer will currently only pay a withdrawal fee.
When an item in the eBay vault is sold and the buyer keeps it there, we’ll only charge the buyer the instant transfer fee at the time of the transaction.
As a security precaution, all customers are limited to three shipping addresses per month and five shipping addresses per year for eBay vault withdrawals.
Selling fees & shipping costs
Selling feeseBay waives all selling fees for items stored in the eBay vault, which means once your item is in, you won’t have any selling fees–including final value fees.
If you’re shipping an item to the eBay vault, you’ll pay reduced final value fees.
Shipping feesFor items that are purchased and sent to the eBay vault, the buyer does not pay for shipping.
There are no shipping costs when you buy an item in the eBay vault and keep it there.
When an item is withdrawn from the eBay vault, insured shipping costs are calculated based on the shipping address. Insured shipping costs for withdrawals are waived through fall of 2022.
For items withdrawn from the eBay vault with an eBay market value of over $100K, eBay customer service will contact you within 48 hours to discuss shipping options.
eBay community members have been discussing The Vault and what the future may hold - my bet is at some point eBay may look to further monetize this service by offering loans using your Vault items as collateral.
Competitor PWCC is already doing so and ALT has a similar program in development as well.
Another interesting tidbit from PWCC that could give some insight into something eBay could emulate to pay for the cost of the Vault and then some....PWCC offers loans to vault users based on their portfolio value.
To be clear - I have no knowledge whether or not eBay intends to do the same, this is just being offered as an example of what other players in the vaulting market are currently doing.
That being said, I don't believe eBay would be going through the significant expense of getting into this type of service if they didn't have a roadmap for making even more significant amounts of money from it in some way, so it won't surprise me at all if something like this ends up being in the long term playbook for eBay Vault.
What do you think about the eBay Vault? Let us know in the comments below!
