eBay is the original online marketplace for trading card collectors, with 134 million hobbyists actively looking to eBay first when buying cards. This community is all about the details — some trading cards are worth millions, and even the tiniest bit of damage can wipe out their value.
In 2023 the eBay vault was unveiled: an ultra-secure, end-to-end service, enabling collectors to discover, buy, store, and sell high-value cards without having to physically hold them.
However, we found that despite the risk of physical damage in shoe boxes and binders buried in closets, collectors were wary of storing their cards in any service they ‘didn’t trust and could inhibit their ease of collecting.’
We needed to increase awareness of the vault and its next-generation features to drive in-hand submission of collector’s high-value cards directly into the vault.
With few people aware of the eBay vault and its features, we knew a ‘how to’ film or a ‘30s sponsored post’ wouldn’t be enough to get collectors to trust this game-changing service.
Enter the Vault Trials - - an immersive, Virtual Reality manifestation of the eBay vault, transporting players into the future of the hobby and epicenter of high-value card trading.
Spanning three interactive VR mini games, collectors were able to hold the most coveted cards listed on eBay in the palm of their hands: all while gamifying education around the security, grading criteria, and valuation each card experiences before being safely secured inside the vault.
Each game featured rare and high-value cards coveted by collectors, allowing them to hold exclusive grails sold on eBay in the palm of their hands for the first time through immersive VR.
When it comes to high-value cards - specular patterns, holographic reflections, and the card’s condition play a vital role in determining its real-world value.
We activated this VR experience at two of the largest collectibles events of the year to reach industry whales & grassroot collectors alike at MINT Collective & The National.
Bridging the gap between physical and digital, the VR experience was an effective showstopper on site—reinforcing awareness of the vault, its core features, and the high-valued cards collectors could buy, sell, and trade within.
Our immersive VR experience outperformed our goals of awareness and in-hand submission to the eBay vault:
The most impressive part – we achieved all of this in… Just. 5. Days.
The eBay Vault Trials – immersive access to the most advanced vault, with the most exclusive cards, for the most passionate collectors.
