Pricing Culture
Jersey City, US · Founded 2021 · Delaware corporation · 2 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
Pricing Culture is a research and data publisher covering secondary-market pricing for art, watches, cars, handbags and collectibles.
Founders & leadership
Pricing Culture was founded in 2021 by Ted Merz.
Investors · 1
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$1.5M disclosed across 1 round · 2022
▶$1.5MraisedMar 2022 · 1 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Bhargav ShivarthyExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $1.5M
- Amount sold
- $1.5M
- Minimum investment
- $1.5M
- First sale
- Mar 2022
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2021
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Pricing Culture publishes news, editorial and market data on the markets for cultural assets, covering art, collectibles, luxury watches, exotic cars and designer handbags. Its public site aggregates secondary-market price movement for a set of luxury and automotive brands (32 tracked brands including Hermès, Cartier, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce) over 7-day and 90-day windows, alongside recent auction results with realized totals, a feed of live auction sales from houses such as Bonhams and Goldin, and a curated links section drawing on outside outlets. In-house editorial is produced under bylines including "The Desk" and imagery credited to Pricing Culture Studio, with topical coverage of auctions, art, watches and collectibles, plus a weekly "Week in Review" email and a daily editorial "Pro Daily Deep Dive."
The company's paid tier, Pricing Culture Pro, is positioned as professional market intelligence for wealth management, private banking and investment advisory professionals whose clients hold cultural assets. Pro includes daily editorial, live market data, brand intelligence with interactive data and monthly, quarterly and annual reports on brands and secondary-market movement, and auction market reports covering results, estimates, sell-through and category mix. Sample outputs include an Auction Market Monitor comparing realized value across houses (illustrative July 2026 fixture citing houses such as Christie's, Bonhams, Phillips and Heritage) and a July 2026 Monthly Monitor with an interactive 31-day timeline, house and category distributions, and a complete source list. The company states that reports disclose sources and reporting windows, follow a consistent correction standard, and are informational research rather than investment, appraisal, tax, legal or fiduciary advice.
Business model
Pricing Culture operates a media and research business combining a free public news site with a paid professional subscription (Pricing Culture Pro) that bundles daily editorial, live market data, interactive brand intelligence and periodic auction market reports.
Subscription revenue from Pro membership priced at $75 per month billed monthly, or an annual plan advertised at a 10% saving, preceded by a 7-day access period before the first payment; membership renews automatically until canceled and is limited to one named user and up to two active devices, with PDF downloads and a permanent report library unlocking after the first payment.
Traction
The public site publishes ongoing daily and weekly editorial, live brand price data updated to August 2026, and recurring monthly, quarterly and annual reports, including a full July 2026 Monthly Monitor covering 68 auctions, 13,568 lots and $209.8 million in sales.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography
Market position
Positions itself as a source-backed, dated research provider for fragmented cultural-asset markets, arguing that public art indices omit large private sales volume and mislead fiduciaries, and offering brand- and auction-level data intended for professional judgment.
Emphasis on disclosed sources and reporting windows, dated reporting periods, a stated correction standard, and combined coverage of brand-level secondary-market pricing with auction-room results across multiple asset categories rather than a single collectible class.
Technology
Web-based research desk with live secondary-market price tracking across 32 brands over 7-day and 90-day windows, auction results databases with realized totals and sell-through, and interactive visual views including an Auction Monitor, Momentum Board, Rotation Map and season views that map realized USD and lots sold by house and category.
Go-to-market
Direct self-serve digital subscription with a 7-day trial of live data and full web access before first billing, supported by free editorial, a weekly email newsletter, and freely readable sample reports intended to demonstrate the Pro research desk.
Wealth management, private banking and investment advisory professionals, family offices and other advisors to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients holding cultural assets, as well as general readers of auction and collectible market news.
Geography
Operates online with coverage of auction houses and markets internationally, including sales in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsPaid professional tier providing live secondary-market price data, daily editorial, brand intelligence reports and auction market reports, with a 7-day access period before first payment.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 5
primary sources listed
- Pricing Culturepricingculture.com · web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Pricing Culture do?
- Pricing Culture is a research and data publisher covering secondary-market pricing for art, watches, cars, handbags and collectibles.
- Who founded Pricing Culture?
- Pricing Culture was founded by Ted Merz in 2021.
- Who are Pricing Culture's investors?
- Pricing Culture's investors include Social Leverage.
- How much funding has Pricing Culture raised?
- Pricing Culture has disclosed $1.5M raised across 1 round.
- Where is Pricing Culture headquartered?
- Pricing Culture is headquartered in Jersey City, US.