At this year’s Fan Expo Vancouver, the event partnered with eBay Canada to introduce eBay Live to the masses. The pitch is simple: deliver live-streamed auctions taking place at this event, and hope that collectors will return to this platform to buy and sell in real time. Their attempt to remind everyone that the internet’s largest yard sale is still fundamentally an auction house generally worked.
As for what’s currently available, representatives noted that as more domestic sellers come onboard, the range of items accessible within Canada will improve. Right now, that inventory pool remains limited, and geo-filtering options do not exist. Visiting localized domains like .ca helps guide algorithms toward domestic listings, but vigilance remains key. Winning a deal only to receive a second invoice from customs is the collectibles equivalent of a jump scare.
Browsing online without the app means you’re browsing U.S. sellers, which introduces the familiar cross-border caveat. Duties and brokerage fees lurk like hidden boss battles for anyone not paying attention. Winning the bid is one thing. Surviving the import invoice is another.
Booth presence, hosts, glass displays, and rotating inventory demonstrations transform what was once passive browsing into something closer to theatre. For collectors walking the hall, it becomes less about opening an app and more about watching the platform attempt to reassert itself. In practice, the live format works within the convention environment as a spectacle to observe. If attendees saw something they wanted, entry into the booth was straightforward. People could wander in and sit down. At the front, a host ran the show with the polished cadence of late-night television auctions. You’re observing prompts, the going once, twice… and the gavel hits, all delivered with the same enthusiasm as those 2 a.m. infomercials from long ago.
When everything was filmed from a three-camera setup, the feel is certainly there. For those watching on the sidelines, they can hear and see what’s being auctioned. And while monitors showed what’s next on the block, there was very little product that a seasoned collector of thirty-something years would want. What’s not said is the fear of missing out. Once people know it’s not a rare LEGO mini-fig, Pokémon card, Funko ReedPop exclusive, or a premium signed trading card, it’s best to move on.
This convention appearance is a Canadian promotional tour. After Fan Expo Vancouver, they are headed to Collectors Supershow next. eBay Live has already been operating in the United States for roughly three years, and the UK afterwards. These are details not communicated unless attendees asked. That timeline reframes the initiative as market expansion rather than innovation. Canada is the talk for now, and pretty soon other countries like Germany and Australia will follow.
And in where this initiative earns genuine credit is accessibility. That said, the only shame is that participation requires an account with payment information attached. This is a preventative measure based on the assumption that someone, somewhere, will absolutely press the bid button by accident. While that creates a small barrier to casual browsing, it aligns with auction culture norms. Still, collectors hoping to see six-figure hero props or headline-grabbing film relics akin to those sold through Heritage or Propstore won’t find those here. eBay Live instead positions itself as a mid-tier gateway, where signed merchandise and retailer inventory circulate through a more theatrical sales channel.
Structural criticisms that have long followed eBay remain intact. Buyer trust still hinges on seller integrity. Bootlegs, replicas, and questionable autographs are part of eBay’s website, whereas eBay Live only allows trusted sellers through. Anyone wishing to sell live is vetted. Representatives acknowledged investigations only begin once buyers file a complaint. They won’t actively seek out and purge their database of bootleggers.
Platforms like Whatnot thrive on livestream selling built around personality and community moderation, while Loupe and Fanatics Live lean heavily on grading partnerships to stabilize legitimacy. For newcomers, the entertainment shouldn’t be dismissed. It’s a spectacle many hardcore collectors don’t often experience. Although staff distributed cards encouraging attendees to install the mobile app, they understood the polite no-thank-you once it became clear the encouragement amounted to packs of premium trading cards. Not even Gary from Pokémon could elevate the incentive beyond curiousity.
To eBay’s credit, participation remained low pressure. The broader message felt less like a demand to buy and more of a reminder that eBay still sees itself as an auction house rather than just another digital storefront. For now, it stands as a platform rediscovering the thrill of the gavel while carrying the marketplace baggage it has yet to fully shed.
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