A new update to the eBay mobile app will making selling Pokemon and Magic cards as simple as possible. In the near future, sellers will be able to quickly scan individual cards and list them on the auction website in seconds.
However, with the ongoing rise of card game scalpers, will this make the TCG environment rougher? As card game prices continue to rise thanks to large scalping groups, this new feature could make their activities even easier.
How to scan Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh cards on eBay
The upcoming eBay feature won't launch until the end of April, and even then, it won't support all three games. At the start, only Magic the Gathering cards will be supported. When the feature becomes available, players will be to scan a card when creating a new listing. However, this will only help users make new listings and won't auto build a complete listing. Instead, players will have to add photos and the price they want.
The feature will be expanded next month with the addition of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Other card games may eventually become supported by the eBay service, but only if they're popular enough. With all three supported games being highly popular for decades, it makes sense that they have priority.
On top on this feature, eBay is making it even easier for cards to be sold on their service instead of competitors’. The company has stated that they will be “reviewing its buyer protection policy for trading cards” to make card buying safer for customers.
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Will this feature help scalpers?
When it comes to TCGs, scalpers are somehow more predatory than with new PS5s. New sets of Pokemon Booster Boxes are constantly being milled from websites and stores. In fact, it's a surprise that the average players can get their hands on any cards at all.
Unfortunately, the ease of selling cards with this feature will also apply to scalpers. With scalpers having access to most of the stock of cards nowadays, they could easily scan in highly sought-after cards in just a few seconds.
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