The high-end auction house is going more mainstream with a site that aims to take on EBay.
(Bloomberg) — High-end collectibles auction house Goldin is looking to go mainstream by opening its own online marketplace to compete with the likes of EBay Inc.
The new platform combines an e-commerce site with authentication and grading services, along with a physical vault to store the items, in an effort to streamline the selling process.
“There’s a big opportunity when you’ve got such organic growth and a lot of people who should be collecting who don’t,” Goldin Chief Executive Officer Ross Hoffman said. “It’s a hobby for some. It’s a profession for others.”
The collectibles boom has attracted all kinds of investors in recent years, with the growing interest in alternative assets like trading cards and sneakers luring funds from companies including Amazon.com Inc. and Fanatics Inc.
Goldin itself was acquired by an investment group led by hedge fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen in 2021, adding to a growing collectibles empire that also includes Professional Sports Authenticator, a leading card-grading service. Collectors Holdings Inc., owned by Cohen, D1 Capital Partners’ Dan Sundheim and health-care entrepreneur Nat Turner, set out to piece together a one-stop shop for collectibles.
Goldin is best known for its curated auctions of rare collectibles, such as a $3.6 million Kobe Bryant rookie jersey. As part of the push for more customers, it will start offering weekly auctions for more accessible products, starting at $5.
Management has been steadily adding collector services under its umbrella. Earlier this year, the company opened an 11,000-square-foot vault in Delaware, complete with armed guards and seismic motion detectors, for users to store their inventory. Hoffman is now looking at offering several other features, such as lending and cash advances.
Outside sports, executives are looking to grow in several categories such as video games, entertainment memorabilia, VHS tapes, comic books and historically significant items. The group is considering additional acquisitions, should the opportunity arise.
“We’re always looking and you can see the potential for new verticals,” Hoffman said. “It’s got to be fueled by audience overlap.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
