eBay, TCGPlayer Cut Ribbon On Expanded KY Authentication Center
eBay and TCGPlayer held a ribbon cutting ceremony this week, celebrating upgrades and expanded operations at the Louisville, KY Authentication Center, which has been operating for over a year.
The 145,000-square-foot facility handles eBay Authenticity Guarantee operations for sneakers, along with TCGPlayer trading card verification and fulfillment for its Direct program. Company leaders joined Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Kentucky State Representative Emily Callaway and other local officials for a press conference and tour on August 12.
Some local media coverage referred to the event as the opening of a new or upgraded facility, but eBay's own announcement described it as a "major investment" in the Louisville Authentication Center and said the site now features "expanded operations."
Value Added Resource first reported in April 2025 that eBay was hiring for a new sneaker authentication center in Louisville, with open positions at the time including Frontline HR Generalist, Warehouse Operations Manager and Sneaker Authentication Manager.
Liz Morton
Just a month later, TCGPlayer CEO Rob Bigler announced the company would close its Syracuse, NY Authentication Center and consolidate those operations with eBay's existing Louisville facility.
Bigler blamed space constraints and operational inefficiencies in Syracuse, saying the facility was operating at a loss and the company had been unable to find a viable path to breakeven.
That decision resulted in the layoff of over 200 unionized TCGPlayer workers who had been bargaining for their first contract after voting to form eBay's first US union in 2023.
Liz Morton
TCGUnion-CWA accused the company of closing the Syracuse center to evade its bargaining obligations and filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. The union later reached a closing agreement with eBay providing additional severance and benefits for affected workers.
By September 2025, eBay was staffing up the Louisville operation to support the additional TCGPlayer workload.
Liz Morton
The company says the facility is its third Authentication Center in the US and eighth globally, housing eBay sneaker authentication alongside TCGPlayer Direct verification, sorting and fulfillment operations.
Visitors at the August 12 event were also shown TCGPlayer's Roca Sorters, which use image recognition and automation to sort and digitize trading card inventory.
TCGPlayer CEO Rob Bigler said the company's investments in Louisville demonstrate its "long-term commitment to supporting our community of buyers and sellers, and the growth of the trading card hobby."
The expanded Louisville operation is expected to employ more than 140 people by the end of August, growing to approximately 180 within one year and more than 220 over the next five years, according to eBay and TCGPlayer.
WDRB's coverage said the project would bring 200 new jobs to Louisville, while WHAS reported eBay saying the investment had already created 180 jobs. Those figures don't quite line up with the employment timeline provided in the company's announcement, which puts the current expected headcount at 140+ and the 220+ figure five years out.
eBay first brought sneaker authentication in-house with the acquisition of Sneaker Con's authentication business in 2021, followed by the ~$295 Million acquisition of TCGPlayer in 2022.
eBay Chief Legal Officer Samantha Wellington emphasized trust in announcing the expansion, saying the company's investment in Louisville gives its teams “the scale and tools to keep raising the bar.”
CEO Jamie Iannone has continued to make bold claims about the performance of eBay's broader Authenticity Guarantee program, despite documented examples of counterfeit products passing authentication.
Liz Morton
eBay has not disclosed how much it spent on the latest upgrades or provided details about exactly what was renovated or expanded at the facility.
