Problem

Physical collectibles are valuable but cumbersome to own and trade. Cross-border shipping creates cost, delay, insurance, and regulatory friction, while many collectibles sit in vaults and must be shipped to auction houses when sold. Courtyard’s founding thesis was that auction intermediaries can take roughly 20%–50% in commission, and that a physical item may be shipped once for sale and again before being locked in the buyer’s vault. The killer use case is therefore instant, trusted transfer of ownership without repeatedly moving the underlying card or collectible.

Product / Service

Courtyard combines a digital collectibles marketplace with physical-asset vaulting. Collectors can buy digital packs and reveal real graded trading cards, or ship their own cards from home, grading companies, or marketplaces to Courtyard. The company authenticates, stores, and insures the items in its vault, then adds a digital representation to the owner’s collection. The digital asset can be held, transferred, bought, or sold online, while the underlying card remains secured and can be redeemed and shipped to its owner when desired.

The service removes much of the friction of conventional card trading: Courtyard advertises free vaulting and insurance, instant listings, no seller fees, and no need for the seller to package or ship an item for each transaction. Its pack-ripping experience adds a discovery and gaming element, while instant buyback offers provide liquidity for collectors who want to cash out without waiting for a conventional marketplace sale.

Market

Courtyard competes at the intersection of digital collectibles, tokenization of real-world assets, trading-card marketplaces, and collectibles storage. Its direct marketplace alternatives include established physical-card platforms such as eBay, Fanatics Collect/PWCC, and Goldin, while its differentiated pitch is that authentication, custody, digital transfer, redemption, and marketplace trading are integrated into one service. It initially focused on graded trading cards, especially sports and Pokémon cards, and is expanding into comics and other collectible categories.

The company is an operating, funded platform rather than an announced pre-revenue concept. It raised a $30 million Series A in July 2025 led by Forerunner Ventures, with participation from NEA, Y Combinator, Burst Capital, and others; the company said the funding would support hiring, new categories, and a mobile app. Public materials describe a growing user base and thousands of authenticated, vaulted collectibles, but do not provide company-reported user, transaction-volume, or revenue figures. A third-party database estimated 2024 revenue at approximately $9 million ARR, but that figure should be treated as an external estimate rather than audited company disclosure.