Collectible trading card marketplace TCGplayer sells to eBay for $295M

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TechCrunch Master Template TechCrunch Newsletter

Monday, August 22, 2022

Hello, Crunch Bunch!

Have you remembered to drink water today? You canât live off coffee and Red Bull alone. Look after yourself, you good-looking but dehydrated startup nerds. We care about you, and we want you to thrive!

Okay, with that out of the way, letâs dive into the news! â Christine and Haje

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The TechCrunch Top 3

What are you collecting?: Collectibles, like trading cards, are big business, and eBay got a big boost in this area with its new move to acquire TCGplayer, a trading card marketplace, for up to $295 million, Aisha reports. She writes, âThe companyâs latest acquisition shows that eBay sees increased potential in trading cards, as the company notes that the agreement offers a way for it to âmaintain its position as a desirable platform for trading card sellers.ââ âSurgeâing ahead: Jagmeet has the skinny on the 15 Indian and Southeast Asian companies selected for Sequoiaâs seventh Surge cohort.Â Not sure if the âFlowâ is going uphill or down: We all know by now that Andreessen Horowitz gave Adam Neumann $350 million for his new endeavor, Flow, which is buying up rental units in an effort to create a community effect. Tim, Dominic-Madori and Amanda provide three different takes on why both venture capitalist and founders may have âmisread Americaâs housing problems.â

Building Tech For A Better Future

Startups and VC

There was a bunch of news last week about ex-WeWork boss Adam Neumann raising more money to do whatever he does these days â but Connie brings us a story about how to do it differently in âThe AntiâAdam Neumann.â

Accelerators can be a little hit or miss, but Haje took a closer look at Miko, which went through the Disney tech accelerator, and this week announced that it is launching in 140 countries with Disney and Pixar content. Itâs a dream partnership for any startup, so itâs fun to see it work out for them.

Nourish thine mind:

Another step toward the singularity: Manish and Kyle report that John Carmack, the game developer who co-founded id Software and was Oculusâs CTO, is working on a new venture. Keen Technologies raised $20 million from Sequoia. Strategic salaries, simplified: Anita reports that Complete helps startups think through the “why” and “how” of employee compensation, raising $4 million in a round led by Accel. This slot machine is great â I keep winning: Founded in 1965 and by some accounts the creator of the first modern ATM systems, CSI agrees to be acquired for $1.6 billion,Â reports Kyle. Casting even more zen: Brian reports that podcasting recording platform Zencastr adds editing and distribution tools in a bid to become a full-service podcast offering. Have you herb what they came up with this time?: The kale came from inside the house, puns Haje about the new Click & Grow at-home hydroponic setup. But then he got all grumpy at how expensive these things are, and spent a couple of weekends building his own hydroponic system, and wrote a guide about how to build your own. You know, in case your to-do list wasnât quite harrowing enough.

4 ways founders can amplify revenue during hard times

Turning one-time customers into repeat buyers takes on heightened importance during a downturn. Acquiring a new user is a heavy lift, but finding ways to reduce friction is an easy way to boost a customer’s lifetime value.

One study found that password difficulties cause nearly 60% of consumers to abandon shopping carts before completing a purchase.

If you’re trying to recalibrate online sales, this TC+ guest post contains formulas for calculating lost lifetime value (LTV) due to churn on a monthly and annual basis. “In times of recession, you have to make things easier, not more difficult,” says Ari Jacoby, CEO and co-founder of Deduce.

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

Image Credits: Stewart Waller / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc.

It just so happened that a trio of self-driving news hit around the same time, and Rebecca was there to deliver the goods. So at the same time that Tesla says it will increase the cost of its full self-driving beta software to $15,000 in North America, YouTube pulled a pair of videos off its site where Tesla drivers were showing off the controversial software with their children in the driverâs seat. Meanwhile, over in the U.K., the government there said that self-driving manufacturers, not drivers themselves, will be liable for accidents when the car is in autonomous mode.

Someoneâs always watching: A class action lawsuit was filed against Oracle in the past few days accusing the tech giantâs âsurveillance machineâ of allegedly violating the privacy of 5 billion people worldwide, Natasha L reports. Taking a tumble: South Koreaâs largest car-sharing startup Socar made its stock market debut, but not in the way it probably intended, Kate reports. Okay to park: Roberto caught up with Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath during Monterey Car Week and found out whatâs on his mind. Job cuts: Kirsten confirmed that Ford is cutting some 3,000 jobs as it restructures. Why should iPhones have all the fun?: Owners of certain MacBook versions can now be part of Appleâs self-service repair offering, Brian writes. One word, three syllables: Brian also writes that MoviePass is returning just in time for Labor Day.