eBay Rolls Out New AI Powered Image-Based Listing Experience For Trading Cards
UPDATE 9-19-24
eBay has finally officially announced the launch of AI-powered bulk listings for trading cards.
eBay introduces new image-based listing feature for trading cards, building on COMC partnership to streamline selling process.
The tool appears to be in a phased rollout, so it may not be available to all sellers yet, but those who do have it will find the option for "multiple listings from photos" under Create Listings in Seller Hub.
Sellers are prompted to upload photos in the order they should appear in each listing, with a minimum size of 500x500 pixels.
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When uploading, select your images in the order you want them to show up in each of your listings.Tip: Minimum size for photos 500x500 pixels.
Once the photos are uploaded, eBay's image recognition technology works to identify the cards and fill in important item details automatically.
YouTuber Paul Carl Cards took the new tool for a spin, expressing overall positive opinions of the feature with some minor points off for occasional lag in loading and still having to manually fill in some data or double check to make sure eBay's AI got it right.
...the only drawback with this feature is that you have to do a lot of the data entry still yourself, and you have to check all of the cards...
...I think last night it went so quick because there probably weren't a lot of people listing late last night this way...versus now, at more of like a peak time...it's taken a lot longer...
...I think that this tool is perfect for somebody who only wants to sell and list maybe like a couple dozen to maybe a couple hundred cards per month...the the reason why I say that is because there's still a lot of data entry you have to do.
You have to fill in the description, you have to price everything. This, if this ever finishes loading, I'll show you how far over this goes. There's tons of stuff that you gotta still type in manually, but it is in the bulk editor so you can do stuff in bulk, like set your shipping policy, put your like description template, all that good stuff...
...There's lots of random stuff here to double check and to complete. But overall, I'm really impressed.
The update is likely powered by eBay's investment in and partnership with COMC that promised to "accelerate the growth of the trading card hobby" by unlocking access to new services to make listing easier and more efficient.
Liz Morton
eBay has been promising sellers (and investors) that magical AI and image recognition powered listing capabilities are "coming soon" since last year, but the company has struggled with execution, especially in the trading card categories.
Liz Morton
eBay built a "scan to list" tool in 2021 for collectible trading card games like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic The Gathering but for some reason they were unable to expand the tool to include sports trading cards or other collectible card games in the 3+ years since the initial roll out.
Liz Morton ~ Founder
Given the current state of eBay's image recognition technology, it would appear they may have run into some technical roadblocks preventing expansion of the scan to list feature.
When eBay announced the partnership last year, it appeared they were leaning heavily on COMC's patented system for high-resolution scanning, inventory management systems, and historical pricing data to help fill in the gaps where they had been unable to make progress in-house.
At Investor Day in 2022, CFO Steve Priest laid out what he calls eBay's "build, buy, or partner" strategy.
Notably later that year, eBay added collectible card game marketplace TCGPlayer to that "buy" column - including TCGPlayer Roca Sorter machines that can help stores scan and sort large numbers of cards quickly and efficiently.
Spend less time organizing inventory and more time selling it with Roca by TCGplayer, a technology solution that quickly sorts and alphabetizes your Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, or Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.
Roca allows you to:Save time and money. Autonomously sort and index 1,000 cards in just two hours, with labor cost savings of up to 80%.Customize how you sort your inventory. Sift for valuable cards, sort to fully alphabetize, or organize your inventory specific to your store’s needs.Easily digitize and import your inventory. Digitize your inventory with easy data imports into TCGplayer or other e-commerce platforms.Access insights to make smarter decisions. Get quick and deep visibility into your inventory so you can intelligently bulk pick and price your inventory across all channels.
Roca by TCGplayer offers two models depending on your store’s needs. The Roca Sorter and Roca Sorter Max both use cutting-edge image recognition technology that quickly sorts and alphabetizes your Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, or Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and then compiles a spreadsheet for an easy data import.
Unfortunately, the TCGPlayer acquisition didn't help with sports trading cards, but eBay's recent acquisition of Goldin Auctions may open up more opportunities in that market.
Liz Morton
I had speculated last year that COMC could eventually prove to be an acquisition target for eBay, and while that may still be the eventual goal, increased regulatory scrutiny of eBay's M&A activity (especially TCGPlayer and Goldin) may put the idea on the back burner for the near-future.
Liz Morton
What do you think of eBay's new Multiple Listings From Photos feature for trading cards? Let us know in the comments below!
