Behind the phenomenon of Trading Card Games like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Magic: The Gathering, and that business of card exchange through platforms like eBay, there is a large network of professionals dedicated to evaluating the cards to ensure their condition and authenticity. A job that, despite its exoticism, is actually like any other. For worse.
Despite the passion they put into reaching that position, they end up living in that toxic circle of those who pray that working in what you love is not really working until it’s too late. In fact, 66% of professionals dedicated to card authentication admit to having to rely on friends, family, and public services to get by.
The other side of the TCG card business
It has recently been revealed that workers at the Ebay authentication center in Syracuse, New York, have organized protests. The reason is that 87% of the employees are earning less than a living wage for their work despite the company being valued at almost 30 billion dollars.
In the face of the challenge of holding Ebay executives accountable to change the situation, statements from some workers certify that their condition is already unsustainable. “I put my whole heart into my work. And to see that returned with almost nothing, to hear them say they care but not show it, to go through something that should be as wonderful as pregnancy and preparing for a family, and being worried about choosing between my job or my family. It’s a terrible feeling. It feels like something from the past instead of 2024.”
Certainly, living daily among collectible cards capable of reaching thousands of dollars in the market, and having to deal with a situation where your experience and skills are not rewarded, must not be easy. In any case, they trust that the negotiations will eventually reach a successful conclusion and that eBay will eventually give in.
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