(Bloomberg) -- Josh Luber, co-founder of sneaker marketplace StockX and Fanatics Inc.’s collectibles business, has started a new venture in another memorabilia industry: toys.
The new company, Ghostwrite, makes limited edition toys that share the same shape, but come in different sizes and designs. Investors include Fanatics boss Michael Rubin, actor Mark Wahlberg, record executive Scooter Braun and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest, a venture capital fund led by Steve Case.
“The collectible toy space is big enough to matter,” Luber said in an interview. “We’re seeing a lot of the same macro things that are happening in toys that drove sneakers and trading cards.”
Toys have proliferated as another alternative asset that has attracted collectors, investors and speculators, with popular brands like Be@rbrick and Kidrobot selling coveted figurines. Each is a blank canvas, allowing for collaborations with artists and consumer brands like Coca-Cola and Disney.
Ghostwrite’s early tie-ups include Eastside Golf and Rocky’s Matcha. It has also signed licensing deals with the National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and their unions.
The toys will be sold on its site, where users will place bids through a blind-Dutch auction model to promote pricing equity. For resale, Ghostwrite is working with StockX to integrate its primary and secondary markets.
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