eBay announced Tuesday that sales by Korean sellers on its platform reached an all-time high in the second quarter of 2026, marking seven consecutive quarters of record-breaking performance since the fourth quarter of 2024.
New seller registrations also hit a record high. They have posted double-digit year-on-year growth for seven straight quarters since the fourth quarter of 2024, and have set new highs for six consecutive quarters since the first quarter of 2025.
The top three categories by sales growth in the second quarter were camcorders, building toys and K-pop merchandise. Camcorder sales surged by four digits year-on-year, topping the growth rankings, driven by strong demand for compact, portable gimbal cameras such as the Osmo Pocket. Drones ranked first in overall quarterly sales, while digital cameras also posted triple-digit growth.
In the building toy category, Lego drove the gains. Growth was fueled by collectors and enthusiasts who treat discontinued sets as investment assets — a trend known as "Letec" (a portmanteau of Lego and the Korean word for financial investment) — with discontinued products commanding a premium due to their scarcity. K-pop merchandise sales were led by limited-edition goods tied to offline events such as pop-up stores and fan meetings.
Among the top 10 best-selling individual products listed by Korean sellers, several were based on Korean intellectual property. The Stellar Blade Nivelarne Booster Pack ranked first overall. The MapleStory x Lotte World collaboration merchandise came in fourth, the BTS Arirang pop-up lucky draw photocard placed sixth, and the Stray Kids 6th-generation fan meeting merchandise ranked seventh.
The NeeDoh Nice Cube — known in the US as a squishy stress ball and recognized internationally as the stress ball used by Rosé of Blackpink — ranked second in overall product sales. Bombas, a premium American sock brand, placed in the top five in both the men's and women's fashion categories.
"We will support product discovery so that Korean sellers can connect with global consumers across diverse categories, and will work to expand the market by introducing a seller ecosystem in the second half of the year," said Yoo Chang-mo, head of eBay's cross-border trade Korea business division.
Meanwhile, eBay is recruiting participants for the "Global Seller Championship 2026" to nurture new domestic sellers looking to enter global markets. The program targets Korean sellers who began selling on eBay for the first time this year, offering step-by-step missions, education and mentoring. An offline eBay Seller Fair is also scheduled in Myeong-dong, Seoul, on Aug. 28.
andy@heraldcorp.com
