News-Antique.com - Dec 14,2010 - ATLANTA, Dec. 14, 2010 – WorthPoint®, the world’s leading resource for valuation and associated services for art, antiques and collectibles, today announced it closed a new equity investment round of $3.6 million. In addition, the company will expand credit capacity with its current bank by up to $1 million. Participants in the recent equity-funding round include existing and new angel investors, as well as principal partners from Cheviot (http://www.cheviot.co.uk), a private UK-based investment firm.
“We are delighted to have the confidence and support from our existing investors as well as partnership with Cheviot, who will help us substantially with new key initiatives,” said Will Seippel, Founder and CEO of WorthPoint. “While we have reached profitability in our core business, this investment enables us to make significant value additions that will ensure our position as the market-leading resource for collectible enthusiasts worldwide.”
The new funds will extend support for product additions already scheduled for 2011, including:
• Vastly expanded price guide (Worthopedia™) from 73 million items to more than 100 million items -- aggregated from eBay®, leading auction houses and virtual marketplaces
• Community forums providing both free and paid members with access to expert opinions and debates regarding the most topical issues in the world of collecting
• Native iPhone®/iPad® application enabling a full range of research and valuation functions for users when attending auctions, trade shows, estate sales and other remote locations
However, most of the new funds will be used to launch globalization and publisher content integration efforts. Initial steps in making WorthPoint more useful for the global market include integrating high volumes of international auction data, an item search option by country and currency conversion tools. Eventually the WorthPoint Internet offering may be expanded through fully localized European-based web sites.
The publisher content program involves partnerships with subject matter expert organizations that will contribute information complementary to WorthPoint’s Worthopedia Price Guide listings. Not only will this allow subscribers to accurately value items, but it will also enable them to acquire valuable history and background data. To support all 2011 product development and marketing projects, WorthPoint estimates a staff increase of at least 12 positions – primarily in its Dublin, Ohio-based Operations Center.
“Our expanded efforts in globalization and publishing content will not only help acquire new members but will also undoubtedly enhance all of our basic performance metrics, from traffic through retention,” Seippel added. “Needless to say, we are very excited to have equity partners who share our vision in making WorthPoint the ultimate ‘go to’ destination for collectors.”
About WorthPoint
Atlanta and Dublin, Ohio-based WorthPoint Corporation (www.worthpoint.com) is an Internet- centric information and media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles in a repository branded Worthopedia. Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the world's largest resource center for researching the value of art, antiques and collectibles. The company helps collectors accurately assess the worth of their items and provides expert advice from its international team of Worthologists on
