Sports Cards Collecting App, Loupe raises $12 Million

Loupe is a live e-commerce streaming platform built for sports card collectors and box breakers. The new app combines that community of video game streaming with the excitement of opening cards live and hoping to hit a 1 of 1 or limited autograph card in the latest, hottest sports card products on the market today. Loupe prioritizes a streamlined buyer experience and low-latency streams making it easy and fun to buy and sell cards in a safe, trustworthy online environment.

Yesterday, Loupe announced that it has raised $12 million dollars of funding in a Series A round led by Forerunner Ventures, a San Francisco venture capital firm that specializes in early-stage and seed investments. Eric Doty, Loupe’s CEO and Founder, wouldn’t disclose how much that company is generating in sales, but he cloaims their revenue is rising at a fifty percent clip monthly. Doty and Loupe plan on using the raised funds to invest in their app and broaden their staff.

Loupe is not a traditional marketplace like eBay. For right now, transactions on Loupe are conducted via live streaming. “We’re looking at other ways to expand our offerings, but right now to purchase you need to be in a live stream,” Doty said. Currently their focus is on the social aspect of the hobby, where in the live stream you are interacting with seller rather than just purchasing from a site without interaction.

Sellers on the app do not have to pay to access Loupe, but the company does take a cut of each sale. Doty, however, has not revealed the exact percentage.