Social shopping services are a strange grab-bag of sites all trying to crack the nut of how to monetise social networking around shopping, which is most social when it is real-world, not virtual. In April Wishpot took $1 million Series A for a service that lets you collect and and share information about items you find online and in stores, via texting the site. It competes in the same space as Kaboodle, Stylehive, Yahoo Shoposphere, Zlio and MyPickList.
Now UK-based Skimbit is re-launching as a social booking site for actually making decisions about the stuff you want to buy. In the process it has created a new and subtle way to generate affiliate revenues without bothering the user, selling to them, or using up screen real-estate with terrible ads.
Thanks for the post, Mike!
An addendum – Skimbit is useful for non-purchase related decisions too. We have users use it to collaborate on designs for logos, to get ideas on where to go for a stag weekend, to collect research on online services. We like to think of ourselves as the way to research and make decisions online
Skimbit is a great a service I used last month to help me buy a Monitor. It’s great to see all your options laid out in one place.
Love the new design!!!
that is good we should add that kind feature to where people can shop after they join in social networking
Great news, thanks!
Wow really liking the new design on Skimbit.com, haven’t used it in ages must check it out again.
I just had a look at Skimbit and it looks great…
It is great to see site that have imagination like Skimbit get funding.
Way to go Alicia.
Go all the way.
Regards
Kevin
It’s cool how Skimbit focuses on decision making rather than a random assortment of products and comments.
Wish they had some facebook application, I hate having to create new account after new account.
Another social shopping site that seems to be making inroads to Facebook is ThisNext, I think they are on the right path focusing on leveraging their assets in the FB arena.
Absolutely fantastic idea,
loving the new design too – well done guys
Congratulations Alicia! It looks great.
@mj Thanks, delighted you like the site. Facebook integration is coming in the near future both with Facebook connect and and an a Facebook app.
@everyone else, Thank you very much, delighted you all like the new design, we have been working very hard on it.
Congrats Alicia on making the home page of TC!
and yes, like everyone else in this thread, the redesign looks great. The offering is much easier to understand with the samples on the home page.
keep on rocking in the free world grrrl
uh, mypicklist appears to be dead…
myfavz.com could be of interest to you. It is a new startup launched on sept 8th at the techcrunch50 in california. It is a social shopping portal with a unique patent pending feature called pKaboo!
pKaboo! enables gift givers to anonymously find out the recipient’s current interests, hobbies or perfect gift ideas. The giver’s identity is disclosed to the recipient by myfavz on the day of the event, thus maintaning the element of surprise which is so crucial to the ritual of gifting.
Let me know your views on myfavz
AJ
Founder / CEO
http://www.myfavz.com