SHINY THING$ 0136 👨‍⚖️

At Rally, we’ve had the good fortune to work with many of the most storied auction houses in the world. We’ve also been able to create relationships with the many of the most influential collectibles platforms in the space through panels, collaborations, and partner IPOs in the Rally app. 

This week, two of those platforms announced a new offering that we’re thrilled we were able to contribute to - the “Fanatics Collect” auction via Sotheby’s. 

The Fanatics / Sotheby’s partnership will officially go live this Fall, with top-tier trading cards being auctioned through the Sotheby’s platform, featuring “pinnacle moments around some of the best cards in the hobby” in the words of Fanatics Collect CEO Nick Bell. 

While Sotheby’s has had huge success in the sports memorabilia space, an auction solely dedicated to trading cards represents a new vertical for the 280 year old auctioneer. Similarly, Fanatics has been a leader in all-things-collectibles for years and recently acquired auction dealer PWCC, but this is an entirely new business unit with the sole purpose of bringing high-end cards direct to auction and private sale. 

In this initial auction from the two collectibles giants, the focus is quality over quantity. The star of the show: Rally’s 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson card, which we’re thrilled to see front and center throughout press and across the social media pages of both companies and some of the most notable personalities in the hobby.

Last week, we brought the card to a vote with the 900+ investors. The winning majority of shareholders agreed to send the card to auction. Now, we eagerly await the auction preview and the eventual sale of this gem from one of the greatest talents in baseball history. 

While auctions never offer a guarantee on outcome, we have the utmost confidence in the teams behind this auction, the shared mission, and the storytelling capabilities of the combined entities leading into the Fall 2024 launch. We’re excited to keep building relationships with the leaders in the space and continue to push the hobby forward for future generations. When we can provide liquidity for nearly a thousand individuals along the way, that makes it even better. 

You can read more about this partnership, and Rally’s ’48 Robinson card in the full story from our friends at Cllct. 

Until Next Week…