Startup Model – Auctioning of Collectible Items

The Model: A platform for auctioning collectibles like jewellery, classic cars, stamps, coins etc. In house auctioneers select items from all over the world and auction them on the website.

Startup Doing It: Catawiki (Dutch startup)

What I Like:

Core Idea – Auctioning collectibles s a very clear and focused idea. The niche is clearly defined.

Value Add – Selection of items is where the business creates value. Some of these items would be selling on other auction sites as well such as Ebay. Curating a list of items to sell is where the real value is being created.

My Concerns:

Customer Conversion – Since most collectible items tend to be priced high, building trust and getting conversions is difficult. A lot of emphasis has to be put into ensuring genuinity of products, safety of payments and robustness of delivery mechanism.

Higher Capital Required – If the inventory model is used in fulfilling orders. Else is we use a drop shipping model, product quality and delivery will need to be looked at to ensure a good customer experience.