If you’re someone who gets a rush from discovering the perfect addition to your collection — whether it’s a rare trading card, a limited-run toy, or the kind of pop-culture treasure you absolutely cannot leave behind, you’re not alone. Australia’s full of collectors – an estimated 7.6 million Australian adults collect – constantly on the hunt for their next gold, and there’s never been a better time to be a collector than now. That’s because eBay Live has officially landed in Australia, and it’s about to change the way you shop forever.
eBay Live is shopping like you’ve never experienced it. Sellers use in-app livestreaming to reveal items as they hold them, move them, and talk through their history or condition. You can ask questions about the items through the chat, watch others react as something rare appears, and then buy the exact item you’re seeing, right there in the moment.
For Aussie collectors, this launch is huge. We’re a country filled with passionate hobbyists, but we can sometimes be held back by limited local stock, long waits, international shipping delays, and the heartbreak of missing out on drops happening overseas while we’re asleep. eBay Live, however, levels the playing field. It gives Australian buyers access to sellers showcasing unique and rare inventory in real time — all within our own time zone, and all supported by eBay’s trusted marketplace framework. It means the card you’ve been after for months might now appear in a livestream from which you can purchase instantly.
Just in case you needed any extra encouragement, Australian footy legend Buddy Franklin recently surprised shoppers on eBay Live by hopping on and auctioning footy trading cards of special moments throughout his career, including a pristine-graded (BGS 10) rookie card of Buddy from the 2006 Select* Champions series, valued at approximately $1,000 AUD, for just 1 cent! The card was sold in what is known as a ‘penny drop’. Penny drops are auctions on eBay Live that last only a few seconds and start at the price of just 1 cent. These are the type of bargains you could be missing out on if you’re not on eBay Live.
To celebrate eBay Live’s Aussie launch, eBay headed to Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne in early December to give shoppers an IRL look at the experience. The hero of the space was the eBay Live stage, from which eBay sellers streamed eight one-hour shows across the weekend to both in-person collectors and shoppers on the eBay app.
Across the weekend, sellers and guests including UnlistedLeaf, Jacob Weitering, Chloé Hayden, okJLUV, Made of Lucy, Dropzone, PCA Mart, The Hobby and more kept streams packed with epic pulls, and some massive moments—like an attendee pulling a Charizard Pokémon* trading card on stage, a 1-of-1 Disney* Scrooge McDuck card reveal, and some penny-drop deals including a Nintendo Switch 2* and a 1999 Pokémon Base Set Booster Pack*. Attendees had the opportunity to be invited up to rip packs open live, and those streaming from the eBay app from home didn’t miss out either, they had the same opportunity to shop these mega deals live.
The whole weekend was packed with nonstop thrills for collectors and captured the experience of shopping on eBay Live.
It wasn’t just the eBay Live stage at the eBay booth that had collectors captivated. Fans also grabbed their eBay Collectors Passports, snapped a photo, and earned stamps by completing mini missions to score stickers and exclusive merch. The collector community goes hard, and once you’re in it, you might not ever want to leave.
On top of the excitement at the eBay booth, over at the eBay mainstage the energy remained high all weekend with cosplay comps, trivia, and, of course, the Collectors Club Live, complete with spin-the-wheel giveaways and on-stage challenges.
Find out more about eBay Live, and potentially find your next hidden gem, by downloading the eBay app.
