The YouTube generation needs its QVC. That is what Shopflick is trying to become, but with an edgier feel targeted at younger Internet shoppers. The LA-based startup has raised $7 million in a series A financing, led by Panorama Capital and Venrock. Earlier it raised $1 million in angel money, including from former Guba CEO Tom McInerney.
Like eBay, the company plans to make money from listing and transaction fees. But its model is flipped from eBay’s in that it will try to make more from the transaction fees than the listing fees up front. Shopflick takes a 12.5 percent cut of each transaction, slightly more than eBay, but has waived listing fees for now, and plans to make them as low as $10 to $20 a month. (eBay’s listing fees can be ten times as much).
Since its private beta launch in April, Shopflick has quietly opened its doors to all comers. Now instead of watching mindless cat videos at your desk, you can be shopping instead. Somehow they don’t feel like commercials if you are actually selecting which ones to watch because you are in the market for a wallet made out of a tie or a mushroom spice jar.
Sellers on the site tend to be hipster boutiques and designers. The videos can be highly personal and slightly irreverent. LA rock band Malbec even has a store where they sell T-Shirts, stickers, and CDs. Here’s one:
Shopflick: Get this! |
Get your own Store!
nice idea
but when i think of flicks i think porno
it is not a bad idea, but i dont know who will really shop online this way
Nath
http://www.them...rfulcompany.com
congrats to the shopflick guys – they’re a smart, motivated group with a great product!
Quaint idea, until they build inventory don’t see the long term WOW factor, let’s see where they are in 6 months
I’ve used eBay quite a bit in the past but dropped it a couple of years ago when they canceled my auctions for no reason but having to many neurotic admins on watching auctions I think I had a link to my site on it to proof to my byers that I am real – it was a $2k item…).
Since then I had no problems with Craigslist.
So I think its time for some good competition. Maybe someone that can actually create a user interface. But how will they overcome the marketplace / network effect? I guess if enough people are pissed off with eBay…
This is the best idea I have seen on TC in quite a while, the name, not so much.
Yeah Pablo.
The real genius here is in the videos. Some of them are really cool so it allows the seller a youtube way to highlight and sell their products. The page layout is very simple, nice feel to it. I can see this catching on. The hard part will be keeping the videos fresh and interesting to watch. I hope they build a marketplace where avid tubers can help businesses create fun youtube styled videos for their products.
A simple yet gr8 idea to serve the audience…..
They will be acquired soon…Lucky guys
The concept seems good. But I wonder how it works for products that are standardized. If there are 20 sellers of the same product, will I watch 20 videos? It seems like a good concept for infomercial-type stuff from a single seller. But the competition which makes pricing attractive on eBay might not work with this model.
If a company has their own website they don’t need this. If they don’t have their own website why are they making videos instead of making their own website and then playing the videos on the site? You can post Youtube videos in Ebay auctions and get more traffic and have the same effect.
What are the main differentiators in terms of products/service offerings? Anything that is different from any other online store… http://www.read...ex.php?RTA=web2
Good idea, but some of the prices (at least looking at t-shirts section) are truly outrageous. Why would I pay 65 USD + 8 USD shipping for this: http://www.shop...w-York-Crimes-T
This isn’t etsy where everything is handcrafted.
May work well for “as seen on tv” informecial products.
how the hell did they get 8 million for this?
Hi,
Video Casting is king now, and very-very soon internet/TV will be “ONE” The concept seems Super Great. They need to used some of that $8M to buy better domain Name!
Genius video by MALBEC. Hilarious.