eBay Reveals Top 5 Exports in First Half of Year... K-pop Items and Recommerce Market Drive Sales

eBay, Top 5 Exports in the First Half of the Year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Global commerce platform eBay has revealed the top 5 export categories for the first half of this year based on sales by Korean sellers.

According to eBay on the 14th, the category with the highest sales among Korean sellers was collectibles, including K-POP items, sports cards, and figures, accounting for about 26% of Korea's sales. Among collectibles, 'K-POP goods and albums' accounted for nearly half of the total sales, followed by sports cards, figures, and character cards.

Next in sales were fashion, automation & industrial equipment, electronics, and parts & accessories. The automation & industrial equipment category, which ranked third in sales, mainly involves machine parts and equipment used in industries. The parts & accessories category reflects the lifestyle of Americans who repair their own cars or buy parts to take to repair shops, making it one of the active categories on the eBay platform.

Online exports in the first half of this year were driven by eBay's unique recommerce market. Recommerce transactions on eBay accounted for about 40% of total transactions in the first half. On eBay, used items with collectible characteristics such as sports cards, figures, pre-owned luxury goods, watches, and cameras are actively traded.

The highest volume of recommerce transactions on eBay was in sports memorabilia. 'UEFA Champions League commemorative cards' were the best-selling items, with the most expensive sports card sold for about 13 million KRW per card. This reflects the characteristics of the eBay market, where rarity, enthusiasts, and collectible trading are active.

In particular, card-type item transactions were prominent in the recommerce market. Representative examples include sports cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and K-POP photocards. Figures, old pop records, and albums with collectible value are also actively sold as used items. The recently released Marvel movie 'Doctor Strange' figure sold for about 2.7 million KRW, and a jazz record released in the 1960s by 'THE MIKE TAYLOR QUARTET' sold for about 3 million KRW. Additionally, vintage models, limited edition high-end watches, and pre-owned luxury goods are frequently traded. eBay provides inspection services for pre-owned luxury goods.

eBay has selected ▲sports cards, ▲K-POP goods, and ▲luxury goods as promising items to lead online exports in the second half of this year. Sports cards are expected to be popular due to sports events such as the 2022 Qatar World Cup and Major League Baseball postseason, featuring star player cards. Demand for related goods has grown with recent news of BTS's individual activities, and eBay predicts that K-POP goods transactions will remain high in the second half with the comeback of major K-POP stars. The high exchange rate is also expected to activate pre-owned luxury goods transactions on eBay, which are advantageous in terms of sales.

Lee Hyomin, team leader of eBay CBT Business Team, said, “Due to the nature of the eBay platform where auction and collectible trading are active, ordinary items in Korea such as traditional design lacquer boxes and BTS masks can be sold as special products on eBay,” adding, “Since online export is possible with K-items such as cosmetics and fashion that can be found nearby, we hope sellers start online exports on eBay, which has been activated as a reverse direct purchase platform.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.