TCGPlayer CEO Rob Bigler Reportedly Leaving eBay-Owned Trading Card Marketplace
Rob Bigler is reportedly leaving his role as CEO of eBay-owned TCGPlayer, according to an email sent to some sellers this week.
The message, shared Wednesday by TCGPlayer seller Poke Pastor TCG, said Bigler “has made the decision to leave TCG Player to pursue an opportunity outside the company and begin the next stage of his career.” The email also thanked Bigler for his impact on the company and seller community.
Christopher Hamze, co-owner of South Dakota trading card store Izzi’s Gym, also posted about the departure on LinkedIn, joking that he was updating his resume for the job while thanking Bigler for “actually listening to sellers.” Hamze said whoever takes over should continue that engagement, suggesting the next CEO sit down with 50 sellers, “the small ones, not just the top accounts,” and pointing to fees and seller tools as areas that need attention.
Bigler took over TCGPlayer in April 2023, moving from his role as General Manager of eBay Canada to replace founder Chedy Hampson, who stepped down the previous month. Hampson’s exit came amid growing questions about eBay’s due diligence on the acquisition and coincided with the sudden departure of eBay Chief Accounting Officer Brian Doerger.
Liz Morton
The leadership change came just five months after eBay completed its ~$295 million acquisition of TCGPlayer and in the middle of a contentious union battle at the company’s Syracuse Authentication Center. Workers had voted in March 2023 to form TCGUnion-CWA Local 1123, becoming eBay’s first US union.
Workers spent more than two years bargaining for a first contract while filing additional unfair labor practice charges and repeatedly pressing eBay and TCGPlayer over wages, benefits and working conditions. The dispute eventually drew pressure from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and city pension funds, leading eBay to commission a “Living Our Values” assessment of whether its actions were consistent with the company’s Human Rights Policy.
The assessment concluded eBay had not interfered with workers’ choice to unionize and had acted consistently with its commitment to bargain in good faith, though pay, benefits and working conditions were outside its scope. Lander later called the review “hollow and toothless” as workers remained without a contract.
In May 2025, Bigler announced TCGPlayer would close the Syracuse Authentication Center and consolidate its Direct verification and fulfillment operations into eBay’s Louisville, Kentucky facility. Bigler said space constraints and operational inefficiencies had left the Syracuse site operating at a loss with no viable path to breakeven.
The move resulted in layoffs of more than 200 unionized workers who were still bargaining for their first contract, while TCGUnion-CWA accused the company of closing the facility to evade its bargaining obligations and filed another unfair labor practice charge. The union later reached a closing agreement with eBay providing additional severance and benefits for affected workers, while TCGPlayer operations moved to Kentucky.
Bigler was still publicly representing the company at that facility in August, joining eBay executives and local officials for a ribbon cutting celebrating expanded operations at the 145,000-square-foot Louisville Authentication Center. The site now houses eBay sneaker authentication alongside TCGPlayer Direct verification, sorting and fulfillment. Bigler said the investment demonstrated the company’s “long-term commitment to supporting our community of buyers and sellers, and the growth of the trading card hobby.”
Liz Morton
Bigler’s tenure also brought increasing scrutiny over how TCGPlayer and eBay compete with businesses using their platforms. In 2024, TCGPlayer began selling cards directly on eBay through a TCGPlayer-branded account, including sealed products, without prominently disclosing on the listings that TCGPlayer was owned by eBay. TCGPlayer said the inventory came through its Direct program, but the move drew criticism because eBay has long positioned itself as a marketplace that does not compete directly with third-party sellers.
Around the same time, a group of TCGPlayer sellers took broader complaints directly to Bigler, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone and eBay’s board, alleging anticompetitive conduct, retaliation and restrictions that interfered with their ability to use competing platforms and services. Some of those allegations were later included in a Responsible Online Commerce Coalition petition asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate eBay’s acquisition of TCGPlayer and related business practices, including its ownership of BinderPOS and ChannelFireball and restrictions on third-party tools.
Liz Morton
TCGPlayer disputed many of the claims, saying the actions cited were based on legitimate business, fraud and policy considerations. The company later updated its Direct Seller Agreement and stopped selling sealed products acquired through Direct, while continuing to invest in fulfillment, inventory management and tools aimed at local game stores and other professional sellers.
The Poke Pastor TCG video sharing the departure email noted that TCGPlayer had taken significant criticism from sellers earlier this year but said recent changes, including improved protections for orders that go missing, had started to address some of those complaints.
Bigler’s departure could also revive questions about whether TCGPlayer may factor into GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen’s pursuit of eBay. Cohen has repeatedly pointed to the overlap between the two companies in collectibles and trading cards, while GameStop’s acquisition pitch emphasized using its store network for authentication, fulfillment and other services across a combined business.
Some investors and sellers have speculated that TCGPlayer could ultimately figure into a deal or broader negotiation between the companies, though Cohen has not publicly identified TCGPlayer as a target and there is currently no evidence connecting Bigler’s departure to the GameStop situation.
Bigler’s LinkedIn profile still listed him as CEO as of October 1, and TCGPlayer has not publicly announced who will replace him. Neither eBay nor TCGPlayer had responded to Value Added Resource’s requests for comment as of publication.
