This morning, Lofty announced a $3m investment led by Peter Thiel’s Founder’s Fund and Fabrice Grinda. Here’s Grinda positioning Lofty in the art and collectible marketplace:

“LOFTY’S innovative and unique approach has the potential to transform the art, antiques, and collectibles market. In the future there will be four major players: eBay at the low end, Sotheby’s and Christie’s at the highest end of the market, and LOFTY for items between $500 and $50,000 in value.”

In truth, what Lofty founder Mark Lurie will tell you is that the site seeks to be a discovery engine for owners of objects. Those owners have few resources to verify the value and authenticity of their possessions. They also lack a low cost way to turn those objects into cash. Think of Lofty as a virtual Antiques Roadshow, always there, always on.

Lofty.com