Promising to offer an all-in-one solution for collectors looking to manage their collectibles and engage with the community in the form of its “super app,” Collectibles.com officially makes its public launch Wednesday.
The company, which began as a platform for sports card collection management named Cardbase, pivoted toward a broader pursuit and multi-faceted approach under the collectibles.com banner. It places “AI-assisted” technology at the center of its app, which is aimed at collectors of all sorts, from cards to stamps and beyond.
One of the boldest claims made by the company is in its ability to “identify any item, anywhere, providing product details and estimated value.”
When asked the extent of the technology’s capabilities, co-founder and chief business and strategy officer Dietrich von Behren explained to cllct the technology was applicable to any category — using a vase as an example — but noted, like any AI-driven technology, it was not without its imperfections.
Other companies already exist in the space which seek to achieve various aspects of collectibles.com’s product suite, such as Mascot for inventory management and Mantel for community engagement, though von Behren says, “collectibles is a huge pie … There are a lot of pieces to go around.”
Going on to explain how the company seeks to differentiate itself, von Behren cited the strength of the brand — particularly the domain collectibles.com, which he called “category defining” — as well as the ability to bring features like collection management, community engagement and technologically-driven components together in one place as key attributes that set the company apart.
Collectibles.com offers a tiered subscription model after a certain number of items are added to a users' inventory, which is made possible by scanning in the app, that costs a monthly or yearly fee.
“The secret sauce for all collectibles is data,” von Behren said, saying how the user experience has been quite “sticky” after a collector engages with the AI-assisted collection management tool.
In June 2023, the company raised a $5 million seed round led by Blockchange Ventures with names such as Peter Thiel attached, which has allowed it to build what von Behren hopes will be a destination for collectors looking to manage, display and interact regarding their collections and act as a compliment to behemoths in the space such as eBay or even Instagram.
“We're seeing an opportunity that when you manage your collection and share your collection on collectibles.com on your profile, it is there for all to see, and you can continue to share it on other socials as well,” von Behren said. “We do not want to interrupt the flow. We want to complement the flow.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.