Accel backed online celebrity-commerce company, Collectabillia launches today

Thursday December 20, 2012 , 2 min Read

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Collectabillia is an online destination for celebrity merchandise and memorabilia where fans can bid for or make an outright purchase of such items. Promoted by Anjana Reddy, Collectabillia is a part of Universal Sporsbiz Pvt. Ltd. (USPL), which helps celebrities extend their brand beyond careers.

Funded by Accel Partners, the news about Collectabilia were out in July and the site has now launched. Collectabillia aims to promote celebrity branded products among fans and enthusiasts who collect sporting and movie memorabilia. The company aims to expand the global market for such memorabilia into India and develop collection of memorabilia on the same lines as that of art, numismatics and philately.

Collectabillia's repository of sports merchandise are available for sale online from today. They include jerseys and kits of India's young brigade Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza; and international football merchandise associated with the legend Pele, English footballers Wayne Rooney and Steve Gerrard, Brazilian sensation Kaka, and UEFA Euro top scorer, Christiano Ronaldo. The collection also includes items autographed by tennis stars Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova; golf legend Tiger Woods, swimmer Michael Phelps and celebrated F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

"The aim of Collectabillia is to allow fans a closer and deeper association with their icons, while offering them fresh avenues to express their passion. The pieces of history that are available online have a unique emotional connect to the celebrities - like the first hundred bats that Sachin Tendulkar autographed after his hundredth hundred or a pair of personal gloves autographed by Mike Tyson; items that allow enthusiasts access to possessions that signify moments they cherish", said Anjana Reddy, Founder and Managing Director, Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd, on the launch of the website.

Certainly a good and wide collection, Collectabillia will be riding on the star power to make its sales. Visibility will certainly not be an issue for Collectabillia as it is with the hordes of other startups in this field. What will define its success is the hunger of such products within the fans. A Messi jersey for INR 29,000, anyone?