Dive Brief:

• After launching authentication initiatives for various high-end product categories, EBay is debuting its first digital wallet for users to store their sales revenue and use it to purchase new items or pay selling expenses, the e-commerce giant announced on Thursday. 
• The company also announced the forthcoming launch of the EBay Vault, a storage facility and digital marketplace for trading cards and other collectibles. The vault will launch in the U.S. next quarter and will soon secure luxury goods as well, the company said.
• The company expects the EBay Vault to secure up to $3 billion in assets over the next few years, which could make it one of the largest warehouses of non-governmental assets globally, per the press release.

Dive Insight:

With the EBay Vault, the veteran e-commerce platform is building upon its previous efforts to foster more trust in its marketplace.

In October 2020, the company announced that it would enlist third-party experts to authenticate shoes sold for more than $100 as part of an authenticity guarantee initiative. Later that month, it also announced its Certified Refurbished program, which showcased items in "like new" condition that had been cleaned, inspected and refurbished by their manufacturer.

The online marketplace operator has devoted resources toward authenticating not just sneakers but also luxury watches and sports memorabilia. Last April, the company began hosting in-person events to verify the authenticity of collectibles in Atlanta, Seattle and other major cities. It acquired Sneaker Con Digital's authentication division in November.

EBay's new digital wallet offering is part of an effort to expand its payment capabilities, which also includes new features like allowing users to receive payouts on demand or on a schedule, per its investor day infographic. EBay currently boasts 147 million active buyers.

"Over the past two years, we have fundamentally changed the trajectory of our marketplace. We have demonstrated we can improve customer satisfaction, accelerate our growth, help sellers thrive and attract and retain enthusiast buyers," Jamie Iannone, CEO of EBay, said in a statement. "We are building an EBay for the future by doubling down on what we do best — connecting sellers and buyers of non-new in-season products."

As it executes on a transformation, EBay last year also hired former Walmart digital advertising executive Stefanie Jay to serve as its chief business and strategy officer, which involves managing the strategy, business operations, analytics and communications teams at the company.

Though EBay and other marketplaces have dedicated resources to vetting merchandise sold on their platforms, marketplaces are still a focus point for those combating counterfeits. A host of retailers have called for greater transparency around e-commerce marketplaces and their sellers.

Twenty retailers, including Target, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, wrote a letter to members of Congress in December asking them to pass the "Integrity Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces" Consumers Act, legislation that would require online marketplaces to disclose more seller information to shoppers and verify the identity of high-volume sellers. The retailers said that the law would disincentivize the sale of stolen goods on online marketplaces. After initial opposition, EBay also endorsed the bill, along with some other e-commerce marketplaces.