Card collectors often argue about the value of their cards. CollX, based in New Jersey, offers fans a free application to iOS y Android that allows them to scan their stickers and get value in return.
Launched in January last year, the application already has more than 600.000 users who have scanned more than 100 million letters. Its CEO, ted mann, explained in a phone call that the company has created its own database with more than 20 million cards, from Pokémon to sports, which helps the CollX application to determine the value of a card.
The idea came about when Mann's son Charlie began collecting trading cards during the pandemic, but found it difficult to determine their value. The father-son duo tried many tools and forums, including eBay, to determine the prices of these letters, but found it to be a tedious task and decided to create an app.
CollX has raised a $5,5 million seed round led by Brand Foundry Ventures with participation from Next Coast Ventures, FJ Labs, 114 Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners. The company has a long list of angel investors, including Nat Turner, DJ Skee, David Adelman, Darren Lachtman, Brad Stadler, Ryan Schinman and Robert J. Moore.
The goal of the startup is to create a marketplace that facilitates transactions between card dealers. Currently, the app helps two collectors connect and have a conversation about a potential deal. But they have to exchange addresses and money manually. CollX wants to help facilitate those transactions and, in turn, get a cut too.
“Eighty-five million American adults own trading cards, but most have no idea what they're worth. We launched CollX with a simple utility to know how much they are worth. This has become a gateway to help people digitize their collections, make million-dollar deals, learn to classify stickers and much more. We have only just begun"Mann says in a statement.
For now, the startup makes money from Card Dealer Pro, a startup it acquired last year that helps card shops quickly scan and load their inventory. Mann said there are thousands of stores in the US that have a large collection of letters and that this software helps them digitize and keep track of those letters better than creating a spreadsheet.
Mann mentioned that he also wants to help these stores to publish their collection on CollX. Thus, over time, users will have access to a larger collection for possible purchases. In the long term, the startup wants to include other collectibles, such as coins and stamps, in CollX as well.
In recent years, collectibles such as playing cards have emerged as an alternative asset class with multiple start-ups obtaining notable funding. Collectibles trading platform Alt has raised more than $300 million to date from investors including Spearhead, led by Jeff Fagnan and Naval Ravikant, and Seven Seven Six Capital. Last year, entrepreneur Brian Lee and baseball legend Derek Jeter launched a sports card-focused startup with $9 million backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Defy.vc and BAM Ventures. At the same time, eBay acquired trading card marketplace TGCPlayer for $295 million.
“CollX has grown to be a force in the hobby in a very short time. The secondary trading card market is large, but we see an opportunity for it to grow 2-3 times. And CollX will be at the center of that, helping collectors level up the hobby," Brand Foundry's Wesley Gottesman said in a statement.
