StarStock Raises $1.3M for Trading Card Marketplace

Sports card marketplace StarStock has raised a $1.3 million seed round. The company, founded in 2019, allows users to buy, sell and invest in trading cards. 

StarStock is backed by Thirty Five Ventures co-founders Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, FanDuel co-founders Nigel and Lesley Eccles, Cleveland Cavaliers player Matthew Dellavedova and VaynerSports co-founder AJ Vaynerchuk, among others.

The company launched with 3,000 cards in May, quickly building out its inventory to more than 300,000 after six months. It now receives an average of 15,000 to 30,000 cards per week and stores them in a centralized vault.

StarStock is just the latest example of the booming trading card business in 2020. 

• An investor group recently acquired Collectors Universe, the parent company of Professional Sports Authenticators, for $700 million. In its most recent quarter, Collectors Universe generated $30.8 million in revenue — a 52% rise year-over-year — and saw a 130% bump in cards and autographs revenue, amounting to $18.6 million. 
• Sales in eBay’s sports card category between March and May were 92% higher than they were during the last three months of 2019.
• A LeBron James rookie card sold at auction in July for $1.8 million, setting a new modern-day record across all sports. 
• Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card is expected to become hockey’s first-ever $1 million collectible card, according to auction house Heritage Auctions.