Last week, GameStop caught the attention of Pokemon TCG collectors and trading card fans more broadly with its sudden offer to buy eBay. Given eBay’s overall stakes in the collectibles and trading card market, GameStop’s proposed acquisition could have had a big impact on the TCG resale market. And CEO Ryan Cohen garnered even more attention for the bid by posting his collection of gaming and GameStop memorabilia on eBay to help fund the buyout. Now, after a week of deliberation, eBay’s board has issued its formal response to the proposal.
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On May 12th, eBay issued its formal response to GameStop’s proposed buyout. And the Board “determined to reject it,” with some pretty harsh words, adding that the “proposal is neither credible nor attractive.” So, it seems that GameStop will not be the new owner of not only eBay, but also TCG Player. And for collectors of trading cards and other rare gaming merch, that’s honestly probably the better outcome from all of this, at least for now. As for Cohen’s auction of rare gaming merch and GameStop memorabilia? It’s still live at the time I’m writing this, with a little over a day to go on the sales.
eBay Resoundingly Rejects GameStop Buyout Offer
For those worried about the impact of GameStop grabbing up a bigger share of the TCG resale market, eBay’s rejection comes as a relief. And from the sounds of it, eBay isn’t likely to change its tune on this matter. The letter to Ryan Cohen outlines 6 key reasons for turning down the offer. In addition to reiterating that eBay is doing just fine on its own, thank you, the letter notes “uncertainty regarding [the] financing proposal” and concerns about what a combined eBay/GameStop entity would look like.
As of now, it doesn’t appear that Cohen has posted any public response to the news that the offer has been rejected. He has, however, shared quite a few posts in recent days about the state of eBay as a business, seemingly as part of a case for why GameStop should take the reins. Though eBay has rejected the buyout offer, there’s no denying that the bid, along with Cohen’s eBay listings, has gained plenty of attention for GameStop over the last week.
Many of the items listed on his eBay page have garnered quite a few bids, with the GameStop signs currently going for nearly $15K. As for that massive Master Chief statue? It’s at over $14,500. Assuming Cohen goes through with the auction despite eBay’s rejection, that’s a good bit of capital that he could put towards whatever venture might come next. The auction is set to end on Wednesday, May 13th at 1 PM ET, so you still have time to browse the collection if you’re curious.
Overall, I think it’s probably good news for collectors that GameStop isn’t taking ownership of eBay and TCG Player through this sale. Though it’s hard to say what would’ve happened if the sale had gone through, it would have given GameStop a lot of weight to throw away in the TCG resale market. And when companies have more control over a market, it often means higher prices for consumers. With eBay’s resounding no on the offer, there’s one less reason to worry that fees and other costs associated with buying and selling Pokemon cards and collectibles will increase.
What do you think about eBay’s rejection of the GameStop bid? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Forum Conversation: eBay Turns Down GameStop's Bid – What Do You Think?
Go to ForumYeah, based on the wording of the board’s response, I think they also didn’t believe GameStop could afford them. I kind of think the whole thing was mostly a publicity stunt from GameStop if I’m being honest.
It is probably a good and also i still believe gamestop didn’t have real “lets buy ebay” money
After a week of speculation about what would happen if eBay accepted GameStop’s buyout offer, we’ve got the decision. And it’s a pretty resounding “no” from eBay. Personally, I think that’s good news for collectors, since eBay owning TCG Player could’ve given GameStop a lot of sway in the market if the sale went through. What do you think about the whole situation?
(More context here)