Citing the rapid growth of its trading card market, eBay expands authentication service
• eBay has expanded its authentication service to include sports cards, game cards, and other trading cards worth at least $750. The company said it plans to roll out the service to graded, autograph, and patch cards, worth $250+ later this year.
• eBay’s Authenticate program has been around since 2017 and also covers sneakers, watches, and other luxury products. The process is simple: after a sale, the seller ships it to Certified Collectibles Group, which verifies the product and sends it to the buyer.
• Fun Fact: Trading cards have taken off on eBay. The marketplace processed $2 billion in transactions in the first 6 months of 2021 alone (H2 results aren’t out yet), more than it sold in all of 2020.
Christie’s adjusts big-dollar evening sale to appeal to growing Chinese market
• The auction house is reformatting its mid-season modern and contemporary evening sale as a relay-style sale. The March 1 event will start off in Shanghai before moving to London later in the night.
• Collectors in mainland China were historically boxed out of marquee auctions, which almost always take place in Western Europe or the United States. The relay sale gives Christie’s access to China’s booming art market.
• Fun Fact: Christie’s is the only auction house that’s licensed to hold live auctions on the mainland, giving it a powerful advantage over competitors like Sotheby’s and Phillips.
Bored Apes gives its holders full rights. They’re using it to create the future of entertainment.
• BAYC, like many character-based NFT projects, gives owners the right to reproduce and iterate on their Ape. Some owners are commercializing their Apes, turning them into brand symbols and media projects.
• NFT Licenses have existed since the start of the technology, but usually limit rights to merchandise and revenue to $100,000 per year. BAYC gives owners full commercialization rights with no monetary cap.
• Fun Fact: A collector recently signed an agreement with Universal Media Group to package four of his Apes into a virtual band (sound familiar?). Other owners have turned their Apes into the mascot of a beer brand and the main character in a universe-building experiment.
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• This week in the Otis Discord, we’re talking about: the Shattered Backboard sneakers, Pokémon, and more — join the conversation.
• Serena Williams’ 1999 SI For Kids Series 4 Rookie card sold for $117,000 at PWCC last weekend, smashing her own previous record for most expensive women’s sports card ($55,200, set just a few weeks ago). Two Serena Williams rookie cards are trading on Otis: the 2003 NetPro Elite Glossy #G2 /100 BGS 9.5, and the 2003 NetPro Glossy Int’l Preview #P2 /500 PSA 10, at market caps of $18,400 and $12,816.80 respectively as of trading close 1/27.
• A Lionel Messi Rookie Card (2004 Panini Mega Cracks La Liga #71 BGS 9.5) was sold for $84,000 on PWCC on Sunday. The same card was trading on Otis at a market cap of $55,133.20 as of trading close 1/27.
• A Venusaur Pokémon card (1999 Pokémon 1st Edition Shadowless Holo Venusaur #15 PSA 10) sold for $26,400 on Sunday at PWCC. Otis has the same card trading for a market cap of $18,480 as of trading close 1/27.
• A Tom Brady Rookie Card (2000 SP Authentic #118 /1250 PSA 10) sold for $132,000 on Sunday at PWCC. Otis has the same card, trading at a market cap of $104,675 as of trading close 1/27.
• Louis Vuitton paid tribute to the late designer Virgil Abloh at its Paris Fashion Week show last week, filled with tributes to Abloh’s life. Abloh’s Nike x Off-White sneaker collection, “The Ten,” is trading on Otis.
• MSCHF is going after major corporations in its latest stunt, “Cease & Desist Grand Prix,” which pokes fun at lawsuits from major companies like Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Amazon. MSCHF’s Medical Bill, 2020 is trading on Otis.
