SYRACUSE, N.Y. - TCGplayer.com, a leading digital marketplace with a focus on collectible gaming, has signed on nearly 10 percent of the brick-and-mortar collectible industry retailers in the U.S. to its new e-commerce service, TCGplayer Pro. Within only 48 hours of its launch at the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Trade Show in Las Vegas on March 20, more than 250 retailers signed up for the service.
TCGplayer Pro allows retailers like gaming, hobby and comic book stores to create an online presence to sync and manage their inventory through TCGplayer.com. The service offers a full suite of features that make it easy for retailers to reach more customers, empower their employees and grow their sales. To date, more than 450 retailers nationwide have signed up and 200 have adopted the TCGplayer Pro platform.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible reaction we’ve seen from retailers across the country who are excited to adopt TCGplayer Pro,” said Chedy Hampson, founder and chief executive officer of TCGplayer.com. “We are looking forward to working with the seller community to continue adding new features and tools to help them continue to drive their business.”
TCGplayer Pro helps retailers easily create an online presence when they previously may not have had the resources, knowledge or time, and allows them to broaden their customer reach by selling products online globally versus only in store. The service also enables retailers to minimize the amount of time it takes employees to manage inventory, reducing overhead costs.
In less than 30 minutes, a retailer can use TCGplayer Pro to create a personalized, mobile-friendly website to connect with collectible gaming fans from all over the world. TCGplayer Pro includes features such as:
- Online Store - Website out-of-the-box features include 20 website design themes, multiple pre-designed banners, customizable navigation, intelligent search powered by TCGplayer’s algorithm, multichannel syncing, product listings that use TCGplayer databases and an events calendar to promote in-store tournaments and game nights. The sites use the TCGplayer checkout for purchases and allow for in-store pickups. The website also has built-in security features that provide 100 percent fraud protection and ensure a hands-off, worry-free experience for retailers. In addition, it comes with a first-of-its-kind protection plan for lost packages.
- Card Scanning Software - Using powerful image-recognition technology, the TCGplayer Pro software lets retailers easily scan cards from “Magic: The Gathering,” “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” “Pokémon,” “Cardfight!!,” “Vanguard” and many other popular games to update their inventory instead of trying to identify cards manually, then set prices using real-time marketplace data. The software can also work in conjunction with any third-party point-of-sale software, like Diamond, Lightspeed, Square and Stripe.
- Simplified Inventory Management - TCGplayer Pro helps retailers streamline product and price updates through a combination of tools that include CSV spreadsheets, custom apps and the card scanning software.
- TCGplayer Apps - With TCGplayer Pro, collectibles retailers gain access to a wide variety of apps that help them manage and grow their business. From pricing solutions to inventory management, TCGplayer Apps offer more choice to retailers than existing e-commerce services.
Future enhancements for TCGplayer Pro may include adding new product lines for comics, trading cards, action figures and more; additional apps to provide new functions; and integrating sales through non-TCGplayer platforms like Amazon or eBay.
TCGplayer Pro has no monthly, setup or listing fees. There are no charges for in-store pickups or point-of-sale transactions. The cost for the service is a small commission applied to online sales, with a capped commission for high-priced products.
Founded in 2006, TCGplayer has doubled in size each of the past four years, growing its workforce of designers, developers and marketers to more than 140 people; moved to a larger office space in downtown Syracuse; and entered the international market. In 2016, the company announced it would begin offering employees stock options in the business.
For more information on TCGplayer.com or to sign up for TCGplayer Pro, visit seller.tcgplayer.com/start-selling.
About TCGplayer.com
Headquartered in downtown Syracuse, New York, TCGplayer.com is a leading digital marketplace with a focus on collectible gaming, a multibillion-dollar industry with over 25 million players worldwide. Their technology platform uses real-time data from tens of thousands of daily transactions to reinvent inventory and logistics management—creating a superior experience for buyers and sellers. The company’s mission is to gather the world’s collectible gaming information and make it accessible and useful.
TCGplayer.com is a nationally recognized and award-winning workplace that has been ranked as one of the top 100 workplaces for women in the U.S., one of the top 50 companies in New York State and a great place to work by 100 percent of employees as measured by the Great Place to Work® Institute.