Walmart Takes Rookie Turn In National Sports Collectors Convention Debut
Walmart is making their debut appearance on the floor of The National Sports Collectors Convention, continuing their push to take a bite out of the collectible resale market
VP Michael Mosser revealed details of the company's plans for the big event in a corporate blog post, saying now was the right time to dive into The National with trading card sales on the platform soaring over 200% in the last year.
jake0
Mosser highlighted how Walmart is making the Collectors Shop section of Marketplace, launched last year, even better with new features like:
- Brand-new filters – Search and discover collectibles by team, event, card number, autograph, edition, and more! Whether a collector is after that elusive rookie card or a truly unique memorabilia piece, finding that next favorite has never been easier.
- Enhanced Product Pages – We’re now spotlighting essential collector-grade information—from condition, grade, and essential metadata to detailed seller information —right on the product page, giving you complete transparency with every purchase.
- New Badges – Grade and condition badges, now displayed across search, browse, and product pages, will provide at-a-glance credibility for a smoother path to trustworthy purchases.
He also teased new partnerships with livestreamer WeTheHobby to launch a recurring live-stream series on Walmart Live this fall during the NFL season and Mascot, a new platform on the collectibles scene making it easy for sellers to manage their listings across multiple channels.
This year's rookie debut at The National comes as Walmart continues to see impressive growth in the collectibles space - largely with the help of ex-eBay talent, including Mosser, who was GM Lifestyle/Media/Toys at eBay from 2015 - 2019.
Liz Morton
Other notable ex-eBayers turned Walmart Collectibles Dream Team include:
- Bob Means - GM Electronics, Toys & Seasonal
- Mayank Hajela - GM Collectibles
- Kohl Perkins - Senior Director Business Strategy
- Antonio Cox - Business Development Collectibles
- Kristina (Schumann) Stewart - Director Trading Cards and Sports Memorabilia
- Jason Cobb - Manager, Business Development Channel Partnerships
And it's not just trading cards and collectibles Walmart is coming for - they've also poached eBay talent to bolster their efforts in other key categories like Motors Parts and Accessories, luxury fashion and handbags, and sneakers, leading to impressive growth in recent quarters.
Liz Morton
Ironically, current eBay CEO Jamie Iannone rejoined the company in 2020 after stints as CEO at SamsClub.com and COO Walmart eCommerce and has spent much of his tenure at the helm developing what he calls his "high value enthusiast buyer focus vertical" strategy - investing heavily in growing market segments with highly engaged buyer-bases like sneakers, trading cards, luxury fashion and accessories (handbags, watches and jewelry), and auto parts.
Since then, Walmart has been draining the eBay talent pool to win market share in these same category, which should leave shareholders with some serious questions for eBay executives and board members about how they allowed such a key part of their business to walk out the door and into the waiting arms of a competitor - just like Scott Cutler did with Stock-X years ago.
The fact that key talent in those exact categories has systematically migrated to Walmart over the last few years to challenge eBay in those verticals should be of interest to investors in both companies - and it will be interesting to see if Iannone faces any questions about it when eBay reports Q2 2025 earnings later today.
