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EBay (EBAY) CEO Jamie Iannone has 10 billion reasons to be bullish on its fledgling collectibles empire.
“The average household has $3,000-$4,000 [worth] of stuff that could be sold on EBay,” he told Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi on the Opening Bid Unfiltered (see the video above, listen below.) “And less than 20% of that is online.”
Iannone says EBay's collectibles operation is now “massive”, ringing up $10 billion in business annually.
The company, which originally launched under the moniker Auction Web 30 years ago, got its start during the halcyon days of e-commerce. Iannone originally joined EBay in 2001 and stayed until 2009, departing to Walmart (WMT) to run various e-commerce operations. He returned to EBay as CEO in 2020, and has since leaned into new business such as classic car sales and collectibles.
Collectibles are hot, he said. And, they’re not your grandmother’s Hummel figurines.
Sure, there are plenty of Pokemon cards and Labubu doll on the site. But also think vintage clothing, premium jewelry, and accessories.
In the case of classic cars, “we’re really focused on that collector, that enthusiast, that’s buying the 1959 Corvette,” he said. “It works well with our parts and accessories business too because what do you do after you buy a car that you want to fix up? Trust me. You buy a lot of parts.”
The used and refurbished market is roaring at EBay, representing 40% of its platform, according to Iannone.
“When you're trying to make your dollars last and you can get an almost like new product for 40% less and it's backed by a warranty and money back guarantee, people do trade down and take advantage of that,” he said.
Similarly, consumers looking to make some money spike in times of economic uncertainty.
“The other thing we see is that when consumers are stretched, they start selling stuff that they have around the house,” he said. “So it's a great time for us to acquire new consumer sellers to the platform.”
EBay has rolled out some features to assist collectors and sellers alike in connecting to one another, including a streamlined experience for buyers and a robust toolkit for sellers.
The global collectibles market is set to skyrocket. In 2023, they were valued at an estimated $294.23 billion, and they are anticipated to reach $422.56 billion in 2030, according to Grandview Research.
On June 1, a Labubu broke all prior records by selling for $170,000 at auction. Similarly, Yahoo Finance sister platform Yahoo Sports has announced plans to cover the collectibles market courtesy of a dedicated new hub.
