Unsettling reports surfacing online regarding new auction platform Snype and it's sudden crash. RattlePokemon released an interesting video today on potential backend exposure of user info and shill bidding on platform.

https://youtu.be/xWYp3UOImgw?si=85zSz9Rj530wc2eE

Longtime power seller Rick Probstein — one of the biggest names in the online collectibles market — made headlines earlier this month when he announced he was leaving eBay to help launch his own marketplace: Snype.

Probstein had been responsible for billions in card sales over the years, and his departure raised questions about everything from eBay’s seller experience to whether the hobby has room for a new major marketplace. 

Early coverage (Cllct, VAR) highlighted both the scale of the move and the ambitious promise of Snype: a modern, seller-first platform with lower fees, improved transparency, and faster payouts.

But Snype’s first major auction last night hit serious technical issues, forcing the platform to disable bidding mid-event. 

Collectors reported:
• site outages
 • bids not registering
 • lag during auction closings
 • and in some cases, inability to log in

Shortly after, the platform was taken offline. Snype has not yet announced when auctions will resume.

For a startup trying to win trust away from eBay, PWCC, Goldin, Fanatics Collect, and others, this kind of launch-night failure has real consequences.

Was this move too ambitious or does the Hobby deserve a real eBay competitor? What can Synpe do to rebuild consumer trust after last night's mishaps?