THE SLAB LAB LTD

What THE SLAB LAB LTD does

THE SLAB LAB LTD is a privately held, UK-incorporated e-commerce company (Company No. 16940122) headquartered in Poole, Dorset, that sells online mystery packs containing real, professionally graded Pokémon trading card slabs sourced from UK inventory. Each pack guarantees one physical slab drawn via a provably fair cryptographic engine using SHA-256 hashing, committed server seeds, optional client seeds, and per-user dupe cooldowns; every reveal produces a permanent public verification receipt. The company holds slabs in a secure, locked, temperature-controlled, fully insured UK facility, and customers have 30 days to keep, ship, or sell slabs back at 85% of guide price as store credit.

The platform is built around four integrated product surfaces: Mystery Packs (the core SKU), a Slab Showcase for browsing available inventory and odds, a Collection/Vault ('Decide Later') that holds revealed slabs for up to 30 days with scheduled reminder emails, and a Buyback Programme. UK tracked delivery is provided via Royal Mail with tiered shipping fees ranging from £4.99 (1–3 slabs) to £19.99 (16–20 slabs), with consolidation up to 20 slabs per shipment. Stack dependencies include Axcess Merchant Services for payments with 3D Secure, Google OAuth for sign-in, TrackingMore for shipment visibility, and DigitalOcean and Microsoft Azure for hosting and content delivery.

The business model is a product-led, self-serve e-commerce model targeting UK Pokémon card collectors and active traders. Revenue derives from pack sales (one-time transactions), shipping fees, and buyback/resale (85% buyback rate recycled as store credit rather than cash; bank withdrawals have been discontinued). Acquisition is organic — Instagram (@theslablabuk), website content, email, and a referral programme (15% off for new users, £5 store credit for referrers). The company is bootstrapped, founder-owned, and ships domestically only.

Name

THE SLAB LAB LTD

Legal name

THE SLAB LAB LTD

Website

https://theslablab.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

THE SLAB LAB LTD is a UK-based, bootstrapped e-commerce platform that sells online mystery packs containing real, professionally graded Pokémon card slabs with a provably fair cryptographic reveal engine, 30-day vault, and 85% buyback programme for UK collectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Poole

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pack Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling mystery packs containing graded Pokémon slabs. Each pack guarantees one real, professionally graded slab from UK inventory. Pack tiers have published rarity bands and probabilities.
2. Shipping Fees: Revenue from tracked delivery services within UK. Shipping costs calculated by number of slabs per shipment: 1-3 slabs £4.99, 4-6 slabs £8.99, 7-10 slabs £11.99, 11-15 slabs £15.99, 16-20 slabs £19.99.
3. Buyback/Resale: Buyback at 85% of slab's current guide price provides store credit used for future purchases. Slabs returned to inventory pool for future pack assignments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

THE SLAB LAB LTD operates a UK-based e-commerce platform that sells mystery packs containing real, professionally graded Pokémon slabs sourced from in-house inventory. Each pack is selected through a cryptographically verifiable provably fair system, and customers have 30 days to ship the slab, keep it, or sell it back at 85% of guide price as store credit.

Product overview

The Slab Lab operates a single unified platform offering mystery packs containing real, professionally graded Pokémon slabs sourced and stored in the UK. The core product is the Mystery Packs system, which is supported by the Slab Showcase (for browsing available inventory), the Collection/Vault (for holding revealed slabs for up to 30 days), the Buyback Program (for selling slabs back at 85% guide price for store credit), and UK Tracked Shipping (for physical delivery of slabs). All slabs are physically held in a secure, locked, temperature-controlled, fully insured UK facility. The platform uses a provably fair cryptographic engine for pack openings and accepts payments via Axcess Merchant Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mystery Packs Digital mystery packs that each contain one real, professionally graded Pokémon slab from the company's UK inventory. Customers purchase packs at various price points, reveal the contents via a cryptographically verifiable process, and receive a guaranteed graded slab.
• Slab Buyback Program A sellback service allowing users to return revealed slabs for 85% of the current guide price as store credit, which can be applied to future pack purchases and shipping fees. Slabs are recycled back into the inventory pool for future pack assignments.
• UK Tracked Shipping Physical tracked delivery of slabs from the company's secure UK facility to UK addresses. Slabs are fully insured while in transit. Shipping is volume-tiered (£4.99 for 1-3 slabs up to £19.99 for 16-20 slabs), and up to 20 slabs can be consolidated into a single shipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30-day decision period before automatic buyback
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Axcess Merchant ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party payment processor handling card payments and storing saved card tokens securely. THE SLAB LAB LTD does not store full card details. Supports credit and debit card payments including 3D Secure authentication.
• Royal MailcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary carrier for physical shipments of slabs within the UK. Handles tracked delivery services. THE SLAB LAB uses Royal Mail alongside other UK delivery services.
• Ace GradingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary grading company for the majority of slabs in THE SLAB LAB's inventory. Cards are professionally authenticated and graded by Ace Grading, with some slabs also from other reputable grading companies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Whatnot: Livestream marketplace for collectibles including graded Pokémon cards. Competes for UK collector spend on graded slabs through auction/show format rather than mystery packs.
• Magic Madhouse: One of the UK's largest TCG retailers offering Pokémon, Magic, and other TCGs both singles and sealed product. A larger incumbent in the same UK hobbyist market.
• PWCC Marketplace: Major US-based graded card auction house and marketplace. Competes in the broader graded Pokémon secondary market though focused on auction rather than mystery packs.
• Goldin Auctions: High-end collectibles auction house with strong Pokémon TCG category presence. Competes for serious collector dollars in graded slabs.
• eBay UK: Dominant secondary marketplace where most graded Pokémon slabs trade. Indirect competitor for collector spend and the default alternative to mystery pack purchasing.

Direct peers

• Base Set Cards: UK retailer specializing in graded Pokémon slabs and mystery packs. Competes directly for the same UK Pokémon collector customer base with similar pack tier products.
• Collector Crypt: Online platform selling mystery boxes of graded Pokémon and sports cards with cryptographic verification. Most direct comparable given similar mystery pack + crypto-verified mechanics for graded card collectors.
• Gem Mint Cards: UK-based Pokémon and trading card retailer with mystery pack / random hit products. Direct competitor in the UK graded Pokémon market with similar inventory model.
• GG Store: UK trading card retailer offering graded Pokémon slabs and mystery box products. Comparable in target customer and product format.

Others

• Ace Grading: Primary third-party grading partner for The Slab Lab's inventory. Enabling ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but a critical supplier dependency.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/theslablabuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THE SLAB LAB LTD