Keep pursuing
Forbes this morning. The 9.8 percent as a platform. Nomination window 2027. The letter stays in the folder. Possible. Not the close.
A dispatch from Grapevine
I keep the letter in a folder labeled white lies that malls despise.
Do not buy the mall. Open the store next door. Then buy the bag that grades the card. September 3 the converts closed. Turner still has not bought. Yet.
- 01
I keep the $56 billion letter in a manila folder labeled neither credible nor attractive. The jobs on the wall say something louder. Grapevine is hiring marketplace product. You do not staff that to drop cards at PSA. You staff that to list them.
- 02
Pull the bid. Keep the 9.8 percent as a wedge and a mark to market and a political fact. The knife has a calendar: 17 Feb to 19 Mar 2027. Become the competitor. One thousand six hundred doors that take the card in the hand.
- 03
Beckett. SGC. Card Ladder. Already sitting inside Collectors, bought when they were cheap enough to be furniture. September 3 the convert slice closed. Cash still a weapon. Turner still owns zero. Picnic photos are not mergers. An open market Form 4 would be.
premarket 11 SepGME $21.12 +3.58%prior $20.39EBAY $105.03short 54.0M · 13.2% of floatoptions 195k calls / 28k puts · IV 43%
GME last
$21.12
+3.58% premarket · prior $20.39
Collectibles mix
45.1%
Q2 · was 23.4% · sales $790.2M
Collectibles sales
$356M
+57% · operating income $160M
EBITDA outlook
>$650M
FY2026 adjusted · $2B buyback authorized
Cash + digital
$5.4B
$5.06B cash · as of 1 Aug
eBay stake · keep it
$4.9B
43.39M shares · EBAY $105
The building is writing a sequel. The street is still reading the letter.
The hiring tape
You do not post these jobs to buy eBay.
Five live reqs at Grapevine HQ. Marketplace pedigree. TCG ventures. Catalog, pricing, order management, mobile commerce. The whole building repeated the letter because it was clean. Clean is how a fifty six billion story gets mugged by a careers page. You hire this team to list graded product, not to integrate someone else’s mall.
- MarketplacePosted ~2 days ago
Senior Product Manager, Graded Collectibles
Grapevine HQ · onsite 5 days
“7+ years in product, ideally across digital products, marketplaces, platforms, or complex operational ecosystems.”
The sentence that mugs the bid. Customer facing and internal. Surfaced. Managed. AI enabled. Bonus: sports cards, TCG, collectible ecosystems. This is not a merchandising seat. This is a listing engine wearing a Grapevine badge.
- Pricing tapeLive
Graded Collectibles Coordinator
Grapevine HQ · onsite
“Review historical and real time market data to optimize pricing. Pokémon. Magic. YuGiOh.”
A pricing desk for graded product. You hire this when the catalog is about to move, not when you are sending slabs out the back door like a dealer with a clipboard and a smile.
- TCG venturesReposted ~16 days ago
Senior PM, Store Systems and Operations
Grapevine HQ · onsite 5 days
“Evaluate and manage technology needs for current and future trading card game (TCG) ventures. Upcoming TCG projects.”
POS and inventory are the cover. The last line is the payload. TCG ventures, plural, future tense. The building is writing a sequel while the street is still reading the eBay letter.
- Commerce platformPosted ~1 week ago
Senior PM, Order Management System
Grapevine HQ · onsite 5 days
“Own catalog, site catalog, pricing into the commerce platform, online inventory, and post purchase.”
Catalog in. Price on. Inventory live. That is marketplace plumbing, not a circular rack refresh. The machine that sells is being staffed in the same week the board is buying the stock.
- BuildPosted ~14 days ago
Senior Manager, eCommerce and Mobile Engineering
Grapevine HQ · onsite 5 days
“Salesforce Commerce Cloud, React, mobile. Omnichannel experiences that convert.”
They are staffing the stack that sells. Not the stack that bids. Clean is how a fifty six billion story gets mugged by a careers page.
The fork
Forbes named three. The building is writing a fourth.
This morning the papers put three eBay paths on the wall. Keep pursuing. Partner and hand them the stores. Sit as a holder and build collectibles. Partnership is the trap. You do not staff a marketplace PM to become someone else’s warehouse. The fourth path is already on the careers page. Pull the bid. List the card.
Partnership
Give eBay the first mile. Stores as their authentication desk. Cohen floated it in June. That is the trap. You do not staff marketplace PMs to become someone else’s warehouse.
Just a holder
Stay long eBay. Build the mix. 45.1 percent and climbing. Necessary. Not sufficient. A wedge without a listing engine is a mark to market.
The Close
Pull the bid. Keep the knife. List the card yourself. Close Collectors. Turner buys. The fourth option is the one the careers page already voted for.
The letter was the option
May 3: one hundred twenty five a share, cash and stock, about fifty six billion. eBay called it neither credible nor attractive. Cohen said he was not going away. August 10 the papers floated a partnership instead. That is the off ramp. Take it. A rejected letter is still a wedge. It is not a takeout. A later approach, a partnership, a Collectors led consolidation that uses the stake as leverage: all of that still lives. The May print does not have to.
Keep the knife
Forty three million three hundred ninety thousand three hundred eighty three shares. 9.8 percent. Fair value about $4.9 billion. Physical settlement on July 15. Nomination window 17 Feb to 19 Mar 2027. You do not need to own the mall to sit on the landlord’s board or to fund the store next door. It is a mark to market and a political fact about a man who said he wanted a very large public consumer company.
Be the competitor
eBay has listings. GameStop has one thousand six hundred doors within fifteen minutes of eighty percent of the country, PSA on the counter, Power Packs live, and a headquarters hiring marketplace PMs. Authentication, intake, grade, price, sell. Vault title can change without the card moving. That is a marketplace a warehouse cannot photocopy. Photocopies are not filings. Jobs are.
eBay has listings. These stores take the card in the hand. That is a first mile a warehouse cannot photocopy.
Not material
Three names. One check. The stock goes.
Collectors already rolled them up when they were small or fading. Against $5.4 billion of GameStop cash they do not move the needle on the balance sheet. They move the story. Close Collectors and they all come home. If a court forces a spin, GameStop is the bid with one thousand six hundred doors. Furniture. Dangerous furniture. The kind that rewrites a mix.
BGS
Beckett
In the house · Dec 2025
The original name in the hobby, scooped when it was fading. On GameStop’s cash this is a rounding error with a cult holder. Furniture. Dangerous furniture. The kind that rewrites a mix.
Distressed. Volume ~824k cards in 2025 vs PSA’s 19.2M.
Sportscard Guaranty
SGC
In the house · Feb 2024
The tuxedo slab. Collectors paid small company money for a brand collectors still chase. GameStop would not feel the check. The street would feel the holder.
Boutique after the buy. Volume down. Vintage niche.
The tape
Card Ladder
In the house · Dec 2021
Grade the card, then own the number on it. Data is the quiet monopoly. Cheap then. Cheaper now against $5.4 billion. The tape the hobby stares at does not need a press release to keep staring.
Startup. Terms never disclosed. Still the pricing screen the hobby stares at.
This week
Four buys. One empty cell.
Earnings hit. Window opened. Cheng, Grube, Cohen, Attal bought in forty eight hours. Turner, the man who already owns Beckett, SGC, PSA and Card Ladder, still owns none of this stock. The empty cell is the loudest room in the building. I will say that until the paint peels.
| Director | Date | Shares | Value | After | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Larry Cheng Independent director | 8 Sep | 55,000 | $1.03M | 143,000 indirect | Bought Would vote Collectors. Bought earnings day. |
Jim Grube Independent · Audit chair | 9 Sep | 10,255 | $196k | 39,694 direct | Bought Would vote Collectors. |
Ryan Cohen CEO / Chair | 10 Sep | 1,000,000 | $20.4M | 39,347,842 direct | Bought Open market. No 10b5 1. Twenty million of his own cash. Direct 39.35M. About 8.5 percent with warrants. |
Alain Attal Lead independent | 10 Sep | 5,000 | $100k | 601,464 direct | Bought Would vote Collectors. |
Nat Turner Collectors CEO · GME director | none | 0 | $0 | 0 · never bought | Empty Runs Beckett, SGC, PSA, Card Ladder. Owns zero GME. |
The rooms
The people who would vote just bought.
Collectors is a related party deal. Turner recuses. Attal, Cheng, and Grube vote. All three are in the stock this week. Recusal weather is not a purchase agreement. The vote is already long the common.
Ryan Cohen
CEO, Chairman
- Why
- Runs the company. Just put $20.4M more of his own money in. Writes the check. Already buying the stock.
- Committees
- Investment Committee
- Recusal
- Not recused from M&A.
- GME
- 39.35M direct · ~8.5% with warrants
- Deal seat
- The man who said he wanted a very large public consumer company.
Alain Attal
Lead independent
- Why
- Independent. Chewy era partner. Would vote a Collectors deal.
- Committees
- Audit · Compensation (chair) · Nominating (chair)
- Recusal
- None on PSA.
- GME
- 601k
- Deal seat
- Bought this week. The vote is already long the common.
Larry Cheng
Independent
- Why
- Independent. Would vote a Collectors deal. Bought earnings day.
- Committees
- Audit · Compensation · Nominating
- Recusal
- None on PSA.
- GME
- 143k indirect
- Deal seat
- The first print of the window. Not a rumor. A Form 4.
Jim Grube
Independent
- Why
- Independent. Audit chair. Would vote a Collectors deal.
- Committees
- Audit (chair) · Compensation
- Recusal
- None on PSA.
- GME
- 39.7k
- Deal seat
- Bought this week. The numbers room is in the stock.
Nat Turner
Not independent
- Why
- CEO of Collectors. Owns up to 10% of PSA plus unvested Collectors equity. Signed up for recusal weather.
- Committees
- None.
- Recusal
- Recuses from every PSA commercial vote.
- GME
- Zero
- Deal seat
- He is the bag. Picnic photos are not mergers. When he buys, the bag has a side.
The empty cell
Turner buys. That is the tell.
Empty cell
Nathaniel Turner · GME · 0
He runs the company that already owns Beckett, SGC, PSA and Card Ladder. He sits on this board. He has never bought a share. Picnic photos are not mergers. When that open market Form 4 prints, cash on the tape, the man with the bag just bet on the stock. Conflict cleared, or side chosen.
He buys
Turner has never bought a share. Zero pay. Zero committee. Recusal weather. An open market Form 4, cash on the tape, not a grant, not a vest. That filing means the man who runs Beckett, SGC, PSA and Card Ladder just bet on GameStop. Conflict cleared, or side chosen. Picnic photos are not mergers. That print would be.
The cash
$5.06 billion cash and securities. About $5.4 billion with digital. September 3 retired about $1.4 billion of converts. Residual notes about $2.8 billion. Beckett, SGC and Card Ladder were not material when Collectors bought them. They are still not material on this balance sheet. The market is not pricing a closed loop. That is the pop.
The jobs
You hire a marketplace PM the week the board is buying stock and the mix is already 45 percent. Outlook: adjusted EBITDA in excess of $650 million. That is not a PSA drop off counter. That is a listing engine. Pull the bid. Compete. Close Collectors. The stock goes.
The stack
Intake. Grade. Price. List.
- 01
Intake
One thousand six hundred stores. Cards walk in the door. The first mile eBay does not have.
- 02
Grade
PSA plus Beckett plus SGC. Close Collectors, own the holder. About eighty percent of graded cards in one house.
- 03
Price
Card Ladder. The number the hobby uses. The quiet monopoly.
- 04
Vault
PSA Vault. Already wired into the pack. Title can change without the card moving. Books and records, not a public chain.
- 05
List
Own marketplace. The jobs are already posted. Surfaced. Managed. Live.
- 06
Mix
Collectibles 45.1 percent of sales and climbing. Outlook: adjusted EBITDA in excess of $650 million. The operating company got leaner and more profitable.
- 07
Stake
eBay at $4.9 billion. Keep it. Do not buy the mall. A wedge is not a wedding. The nomination window is the calendar on the knife.
- 08
Close
One check for Collectors. Convert slice already done. Then the stock goes. The exhibit that would make me rewrite the piece.
- Dec 2021Collectors buys Card Ladder. The pricing tape goes in house. Terms never disclosed. It was a startup.
- Feb 2024Collectors buys SGC. Boutique vintage slab. Small company check.
- Oct 2024GameStop becomes a PSA dealer. One thousand six hundred stores start taking cards. Dating with a lawyer in the room.
- 18 Nov 2024Turner joins the GameStop board. Zero shares. Zero pay. Recusal weather.
- Dec 2025Collectors buys Beckett. The fading original name, cheap relative to PSA.
- 15 Apr 2026Power Packs go live. Digital pack, physical card in the vault. Launch is not a purchase agreement. Launch is still a launch.
- 3 May 2026Not binding $125 / ~$56B letter for eBay. The option, not the close.
- 12 May 2026eBay rejects. Neither credible nor attractive. The folder gets its label.
- 15 Jul 2026Physical settlement. Then 43.4 million shares. 9.8 percent. The stake stops being a rumor.
- 10 Aug 2026Cohen looking at a partnership instead of the buy. Off ramp is open. The letter can die without the knife dying.
- Aug to Sep 2026Grapevine posts marketplace, TCG, OMS, ecommerce seats. The building repeats it because it is clean.
- 3 Sep 2026Convert slice closes. About $1.4 billion retired. Cover shares 504.5 million. Residual notes about $2.8 billion. Structure cleaned. Cash still a weapon.
- 8 Sep 2026Collectibles hit 45.1 percent of sales. Record Q2 operating income. Outlook: adjusted EBITDA in excess of $650 million. The mix is the story the bid was pretending to be.
- 8 to 10 SepCheng, Grube, Cohen, Attal buy. Turner does not. The empty cell is the loudest room.
- 11 Sep 2026Forbes names three eBay paths: pursue, partner, hold. Rasmussen motions in California. GME premarket $21.12. The building is writing a fourth path.
- 17 Feb 2027eBay nomination window opens through 19 Mar. The knife has a calendar. No nominee right. Still a date on the wall.
Tonight
What would make me rewrite the piece.
Turner Form 4
EmptyAny window
Open market purchase. Cash on the tape. Not a grant. The only director who owns the bag still owns zero GME. The empty cell. The loudest room.
eBay bid status
Live8K
Withdraw the letter. Keep the stake. Nomination window 17 Feb to 19 Mar 2027. That is the competitor path.
Grapevine reqs
HiringCareers
Marketplace language on Graded Collectibles PM. TCG ventures on store systems. The building is writing a sequel.
Related party footnote
LiveNext 10Q
Still names Turner as Collectors CEO as of 9 Sep. Recusal weather. Not a purchase agreement. Watch the Power Packs dollars get larger.
Rasmussen motions
Today11 Sep
California hearing on Collectors, SGC, Beckett. If a court forces a spin, GameStop is the bid with one thousand six hundred doors.