Whatever Happened to Snype? Probstein Never Explained the Data Breach
It was a dumpster fire.
In November 2025, Rick Probstein launched Snype, an independent auction platform designed to compete with eBay. The site shut down after its first auction cycle, and Probstein has never publicly addressed what happened.
In the lead-up to Snype’s launch, Probstein granted interviews to multiple hobby news outlets promoting the platform. He has not issued a public statement or appeared in media since the site’s closure in November.
What Happened in November
The platform featured a “snype bidding” function that would automatically place bids in the final seconds of auctions. Probstein, one of eBay’s largest consignment sellers with an estimated $900 million in lifetime sales, positioned the site as a major alternative to established auction marketplaces.
Technical problems caused auctions to close prematurely during the first auction cycle. Probstein initially suggested the site may have been the victim of a cyber attack.
Days later, members of the Pokémon card collecting community discovered that Snype’s entire backend database was publicly accessible without authentication. The exposed data included:
- Customer names, email addresses, and phone numbers
- Home addresses and birth dates
- Payment information including credit card details
- Complete bidding histories for all users
The Bidding Data
The complete bidding history for all users being exposed caused a huge problem for Probstein.
The database revealed 34 suspicious user accounts that placed approximately 47,000 bids totaling over $2.1 million across roughly 2,500 listings during Snype’s brief operation.
Several accounts were directly linked to Probstein:
“Honey Bunny” – Registered with probstein123@gmail.com (Probstein’s known email address), a Delaware address owned by Probstein or his wife, and his wife’s phone number. This account placed over 12,000 bids.
“Johnny Pickley” – Registered with rickprobstein@gmail.com, the same phone number, and another Delaware address linked to the Probstein family. This account placed approximately 5,000 bids.
“Charizardy” – Listed Probstein’s business address as the account holder’s location.
The bidding activity included cards across all price ranges. Examples from the leaked data showed the same accounts bidding multiple times on items ranging from $5 cards to a 1952 Mickey Mantle PSA 1 listed at over $50,000.
In many cases, Probstein was listed as both the consigner and the bidder on the same item through these accounts.
The Return to eBay
Probstein did not issue a public statement addressing the data breach or the bidding activity revealed in the database.
Approximately one week after the shutdown, collectibles news site Collect reported that Snype was closing indefinitely and Probstein would return to selling on eBay.
As of today, Probstein continues to operate his eBay consignment business under the seller name Probstein123.
No Legal or Platform Action
Neither eBay nor law enforcement agencies have publicly commented on the Snype incident or the bidding data that was exposed.
Data privacy regulations in the United States and Europe typically require companies to notify affected customers of data breaches and may impose penalties for failing to properly secure personal information.
Related:
Probstein’s Own Email Linked to Suspicious Honey Bunny Account
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