Fan Cave

What Fan Cave does

Fan Cave is a privately held, family-owned retailer of authenticated sports trading cards and autographed memorabilia, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri (St. Louis metro). The company sells graded and raw singles across MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, and Pokemon TCG, plus sealed product (blaster, hobby, and retail boxes), autographed memorabilia (baseballs, jerseys, helmets, bats, photos, pucks, Funko Pops), and game-used items, with particular depth in St. Louis Cardinals and Blues inventory. It also offers add-on services including PSA/BGS/SGC grading submissions and professional custom framing.

The business runs on a Shopify-powered e-commerce platform with an integrated retail point-of-sale system, layered with live selling streams hosted by owners Ryan and Rebecca on Whatnot (15,000+ followers) and eBay LIVE. Distribution combines a single flagship retail store in Kirkwood with online ordering, in-store pickup, and direct shipping. The core technology stack is a standard Shopify storefront — no proprietary AI, APIs, or differentiated platform IP is disclosed. Authentication and trust are the company's central operational pillars: a 200% money-back authenticity guarantee is paired with a multi-source COA stack spanning JSA, MLB, Beckett, Fanatics, and Fan Cave's own house authentication.

Fan Cave generates revenue through one-time product sales (trading cards and memorabilia), professional service fees (grading submissions and custom framing), and gift card sales. Pricing is unit-based and ranges from roughly $1 bulk singles to over $5,999 premium autographed items, with a $500 free-shipping threshold. Customer segments are horizontal B2C — primarily individual sports card and memorabilia collectors, with a secondary gift-buyer segment. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, operates from a single physical location, and reports cumulative shipments of over 179,000 orders across its ten-year history.

Name

Fan Cave

Legal name

Fan Cave

Website

https://fancave.com/cart

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fan Cave is a family-owned, multi-channel retailer of authenticated sports trading cards and autographed memorabilia, operating a Shopify e-commerce storefront, a flagship store in Kirkwood, MO, and live selling on Whatnot and eBay, serving individual collectors nationwide since 2016.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Collectibles Retail

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120), Used Merchandise Retailers (4595)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Trading Cards Retail (CRALAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Memorabilia & Autographs Retail (CRALAGAI), Game-Used & Match-Worn Memorabilia Retail (CRAMAOAC), Collectible Card Games (CCG/TCG) Retail (CRALAGAC)

Keywords

• Sports trading cards
• Autographed memorabilia
• Pokemon TCG products
• Card grading services
• Collectibles retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Kirkwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Trading Cards & Collectibles Sales: One-time sale of sports trading cards (graded and raw singles), sealed products (blaster boxes, hobby boxes, retail boxes), autographed memorabilia, and Pokemon products. Revenue generated per transaction with no recurring subscription component.
2. Grading & Authentication Services: The company accepts card grading submissions and offers authentication services for autographed items, generating fees for these professional services.
3. Custom Framing Services: Fan Cave offers custom framing for autographed jerseys, photos, and collectibles as an additional revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fan Cave is a multi-channel sports memorabilia retailer selling authenticated trading cards (graded and raw singles), sealed card products (packs, blaster, hobby, and retail boxes), and autographed memorabilia including baseballs, basketballs, bats, helmets, jerseys, photos, pucks, Funko Pops, and game-used items across MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, and Pokemon TCG. The business also offers card grading submission services for PSA/BGS/SGC, custom framing of autographed items, gift cards, and live-selling auctions on Whatnot and eBay LIVE.

Product overview

Fan Cave is a multi-channel sports memorabilia and trading card retailer operating both a flagship retail store in Kirkwood, MO and an e-commerce platform. The core product portfolio centers on authenticated sports trading cards across major leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA) and the Pokemon Trading Card Game, complemented by a comprehensive range of autographed memorabilia including baseballs, basketballs, bats, helmets, jerseys, photos, and pucks. The company specializes in graded cards (PSA, BGS, SGC) and sealed product (blaster boxes, hobby boxes, retail boxes). Add-on services include professional framing, grading submission assistance, and live selling via Whatnot. Product categories are organized by sport/type with team-specific and player-specific filtering. The business model emphasizes authenticity guarantee (200% money-back) and serves collectors ranging from casual fans to serious investors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trading Cards Sports trading cards including baseball, football, basketball, and other sports, sold as singles, graded cards (PSA, BGS, SGC), and sealed boxes (blaster, hobby, retail) for individual collectors.
• Pokemon TCG Products Pokemon Trading Card Game products including booster packs, elite trainer boxes, collection boxes, and graded Pokemon cards for individual collectors.
• Autographed Baseballs Hand-signed baseballs with COA authentication from MLB legends, Hall of Famers, and rising stars for collectors and gift buyers.
• Autographed Basketballs Hand-signed basketballs with COA authentication from NBA players, legends, and Hall of Famers for collectors.
• Autographed Bats Hand-signed bats with COA authentication from MLB players for collectors.
• Autographed Framed Memorabilia Custom-framed autographed items including jerseys, photos, and collectibles with multiple authentication options.
• Autographed Funko Pops Signed Funko Pop figures featuring athletes, celebrities, and pop culture icons with Beckett COA authentication.
• Game Used Items Game-used equipment from St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals players including bats, helmets, sticks, and cleats.
• Autographed Helmets Autographed full-size and mini helmets from NFL, NCAA, and NHL players with Beckett, JSA, or Fanatics COA authentication.
• Autographed Jerseys Authenticated autographed jerseys from NFL, MLB, and NHL players with Fan Cave, JSA, MLB, or Fanatics COA.
• Autographed Photos Signed photographs in 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20 sizes with COA authentication from athletes across multiple sports.
• Autographed Pucks Hand-signed hockey pucks from NHL players authenticated with JSA, Fanatics, or Fan Cave COAs.
• Bulk Singles / Dollar Bins Affordable trading card singles sold in bulk boxes at $1, $2, $3, and $5 price points and team-specific bulk collections for budget-conscious collectors.
• Grading Services
• Custom Framing
• Live Selling
• Gift Cards

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Steel City Collectibles: Long-running sports card and memorabilia retailer operating retail and e-commerce channels with a regional stronghold (Pittsburgh). Mirrors Fan Cave's model of combining a brick-and-mortar store with online sales and event-driven community engagement.
• Sportscards.com (Pristine): Online sports card and memorabilia retailer carrying singles, sealed product, and autographed items. Comparable product mix, pricing tiers, and target hobbyist customer to Fan Cave.
• Pristine Auction: Online sports memorabilia auction platform featuring autographed items across MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL with authentication partners like JSA and PSA. Directly comparable to Fan Cave's autographed memorabilia assortment and authentication model.
• Dave & Adam's Card World: One of the largest U.S. sports card and memorabilia retailers with both a flagship store and large e-commerce presence. Directly comparable to Fan Cave in product mix (trading cards, sealed product, autographs) but operates at materially larger scale.
• Burbank Sportscards: U.S. sports card and memorabilia retailer with retail and online operations, offering graded cards, autographs, and sealed product across major sports. Comparable multi-channel DTC model and customer base to Fan Cave.
• Blowout Cards: Online-first sports and gaming card retailer offering singles, sealed boxes, and memorabilia across MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL and Pokemon TCG. Closely comparable assortment, pricing, and target collector to Fan Cave's e-commerce channel.

Broad incumbents

• PWCC Marketplace: Large online sports card auction marketplace and consignment platform. Competes with Fan Cave for serious collector spend on graded cards but operates a marketplace model rather than a retail storefront.
• Heritage Auctions: Major auction house with a dedicated sports memorabilia category covering cards, autographs, and game-used items. Competes for premium collectible spend but at a much higher price point and broader category scope than Fan Cave.
• Goldin Auctions: High-end sports collectibles auction house focused on premium cards, autographs, and memorabilia. Overlaps with Fan Cave's higher-end autographed and graded inventory but targets the upper end of the collector market via auction.

Others

• Collector Universe / PSA: Third-party grading and authentication services provider that Fan Cave uses and submits cards to. Acts as an ecosystem partner (and indirect dependency) rather than a direct competitor, but grading economics influence collector behavior across the category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FanCaveSTL
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FanCaveSTL
• Facebookfacebook.com/FanCaveSTL
• Instagraminstagram.com/fancavestl
• TikToktiktok.com/@fancavestl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fan-cave-sports-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Fan Cave