eBay strengthens games offer with dedicated shop

Ecommerce giant eBay is about to launch a new hub for physical media called The Entertainment Shop. Among others, it will offer a selection of new, catalogue and pre-owned games across its market place from brands and sellers around the world,” the announcement said.

The new shop will launch this November in the UKand retailers utilising the platform include musicMagpie, ShopTo and Entertainment Alliance.

eBay’s physical media offer will deliver lower listing fees to gaming publishers, producers, wholesalers, and B2C sellers looking to grow their business and connect with eBay’s 23 million buyers in the UK,” the announcement added. eBay will offer competitive marketplace fees, improved user experience, and prime marketing and advertising opportunities to support a weekly cycle of new releases.”

eBay UK VP Rob Hattrell commented: We want to be THE destination for physical media in the UK driven by best value, unrivalled inventory and competitive seller fees. The first item ever sold on eBay UK was a Scorpions CD in 1999 for 2.89 and now we are home to some of the world’s largest suppliers of books, music, film and games. The launch of The Entertainment Shop is a natural progression for eBay that will offer brands and sellers of all sizes the opportunity to capitalise on the UK’s enduring appetite for physical media.”

In addition to the launch of The Entertainment Shop, eBay shared some figures on its marketplace. There has been a massive increase in demand for games and tie-in products over the last year, the firm revealed, with 553m searches related to the sector between July 31st 2016 and the same date this year. That represents an increase of over 11m year-on-year. The ecommerce leader also revealed than over 196k replacement parts and tools were purchased during the same period. This shows that there is a strong market amongst gaming fans keen to hang on to their existing consoles and continue to enjoy playing their favourite games,” the firm said.