Catawiki

Catawiki was founded by René Schoenmakers, a Dutch comic collector, and Marco Jansen, a Dutch developer. It went online on 10 September 2008 as an online wiki-based compendium of collector's catalogues. First focusing on comics, the database later covered items such as postage stamps, coins and telephone cards. ==Business model==

Catawiki has been curating weekly auctions since 2011, across a number of categories such as art, books, curiosa, model trains, stamps, wine and classic cars. Catawiki's auctions are online-only. Bids are open for all to see. Winners pay what they bid via a secure payment service to receive the object from the seller. Catawiki operates a network of over 240 experts who value, authenticate and curate objects. The site makes money by charging a Buyer Protection Fee of 9% + €3 and the Seller Fee of 12.5% (ex VAT) of the sale price. ==Notable auctions==

• Star Wars Darth Vader helmet with Swarovski crystals, €3,000 (December 2020) • A bottle of Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, €4,500 (May 2015) • A collection of 2017 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, €34,000 (July 2020) ==See also==