WinBuyer has just announced that it has raised institutional funding for the first time, to the tune of $6.9 million, in a Series A round led by Pitango Venture Capital and joined by Giza Venture Capital.
The young Israeli company markets a so-called Onsite Comparative Pricing (OCP) application, which aims to help Internet retailers integrate comparison shopping elements straight into their own product pages.
The idea is that visitors of ecommerce websites would be less inclined to search the Web for more information and comparative pricing for products they intend to buy when the online retailer actually shows all that information on his own website prior to purchase, including pricing of and links to his competitors. Evidently, retailers can opt to show only information for merchants who sell the same product at a higher price point.
WinBuyer says this strategy helps lift sales because it removes the need for potential buyers to scour the net for more information, thus making the conversion process swifter. The company claims the OCP app also helps e-tailers keep customers coming back to them since it turns their product information pages into one-stop shops.
WinBuyer gets pricing and other information for products directly from hundreds of merchants and dozens of comparative shopping partners such as Shopping.com, Shopzilla and PriceGrabber.
Installation of the Javascript application is free and the tool includes a feature for AB testing, which enables online retailers to try out various integrations and custom placements on their websites before rolling it out in full. WinBuyer makes money from PPC revenue sharing.
Earlier this month, the company struck a partnership agreement with Overstock.com, which will integrate WinBuyer’s OCP application into their product detail pages (for an example page, go to this product page on the US site and look at the top right section).
A couple of downsides from what I can gather: the app is only available for English-language sites at this moment, and since the application isn’t capable of showing comparative shipping and handling costs for every online retailer out there, savvy shoppers are still better off researching detailed pricing on other retailers’ website to make sure they’re getting the best bang for their buck.
the problem I can see with this is that shoppers wouldn’t trust prices on the retailer’s own website. They would think that the prices have been manipulated to make it appear as if the retailer is giving them the best deal.
Good point. It’s worth pointing out that WinBuyer actually recommends merchants not to filter out only the higher prices from competitors but all of them, although I doubt many will actually listen to them.
i don’t think trust will be a big issue. it’s too easy to see if the price shown is correct or not. plus users see the info was presented by a third-party because it says “Powered by WinBuyer”
“Powered By WinBuyer” that receives from retailer site a variable containing the price for the item to be compared with prices from other retailers.
What a scam!
That’s exactly what is happening.
“Evidently, retailers can opt to show only information for merchants who sell the same product at a higher price point”.
But it still works. If you can see that other major/familiar brands are selling it for more – you’re less likely to jump off and search for a lower price among retailers you may not be familiar with.
And the bigger retailers will play around with the display of lower prices – since they know consumer’s will leave anyway to see what they can find – and that action will generate rev on the exit AND give them data about what made the user leave (where before, they’d be completely empty handed).
I heard about these guys when they were further under the radar and I know first hand that there are major industry leaders that have been toying with this idea for years.
These guys will do well. Congratulations on the funding!
So I guess Overstock decided to filter a small book etailer I just learned of via a google search named ‘Amazon’ where I can get that book cheaper…
Which is exactly why the whole thing reeks of scammy. The company enables the abuse customers by helping retailers manipulate information to achieve a higher priced sale. Go Team!
@andreog the difference between your vision in theory and practice, is why the word reality exists. Buy.com does this, so yes it works to a degree. But wake me when Amazon and Ebay start passing customers off for the cheaper sale… for an aff link commission.
Morgan,
It may be time for your “WAKE UP CALL”. Amazon Marketplace has been doing this for years; Supplementing sales for affiliate commissions.
Richard I might not be looking hard enough, but I haven’t see Ebay prices inside Amazon or vice versa. But I’ve been wrong before, where’d you see them?
I agree.
eventually, customer will learn that the data doesn’t show the real deal and the merchant will lose the trust of its customers.
This is great.
Wish I thought of it.
I have felt this type of technology coming on for a while now. Amazon marketplace basically does it and look what they can do.
I can definitely see some companies abusing the ability to show only certain price comparisons to make sure theirs looks the best. Unfortunately, that could mean that the app might be rendered useless. That remains to be seen.
Guys,
Gamequestdirect.com shows prices below their own. Take a look:
http://www.gamequestdirect.com/047875835931.html
Feedback?
This is because the site had implemented WinBuyer in the correct way. They didn’t set up wg_price variable as it did Overstock.com. That’s why WinBuyer provides them with true information
It won’t last long 
– David
Yeah, that implementation can’t last long – who in their right mind would show five competitors with prices below the price they are charging?! Duh – I’ll just click the link below and get it for seven dollars cheaper. I think this concept will drive down prices, however, as etailers try to undercut one another so they will rank higher on other sites using this sort of service.
Apparently the OCP application delivers the best results when it is implemented widely across products and product categories. Consumers lose trust in the retailer if they see comparative price listings for some products but not others.
Thank you for all your comments.
I just wanted to comment on one point that Robin has made. Shipping and handling prices are available. This functionality will be rolling out in a public release next quarter.
Eyal Keren
VP Marketing, WinBuyer
There is a similar Firefox add-on called ‘Invisible Hand’ which does this very well as external source to the site.
Other examples I know are in the travel booking segment, where both Travelocity (through IguUgo) and Hotwire offer consumers to compare their deals with competitors and then act as affiliates.
All-in-all, price comparison is vital for online shopping and is the main reason consumers prefer online shopping over other retail channels.
I think that even the largest brands are starting to incorporate these comparisons into their sites and WinBuyer enters a good niche, though maybe not attractive enough to justify $7M investment.
Yet, Kudos to the founding team to score a very healthy deal.
There is a similar Firefox add-on called ‘Invisible Hand’ which does this very well as external source to the site.
Other examples I know are in the travel booking segment, where both Travelocity (through IguUgo) and Hotwire offer consumers to compare their deals with competitors and then act as affiliates.
All-in-all, price comparison is vital for online shopping and is the main reason consumers prefer online shopping over other retail channels.
I think that even the largest brands are starting to incorporate these comparisons into their sites and WinBuyer enters a good niche, though maybe not attractive enough to justify $7M investment.
Yet, Kudos to the founding team for securing a very healthy sum.
don’t think trust will be a big issue. it’s too easy to see if the price shown is correct or not. plus users see the info was presented by a third-party because it says “Powered by WinBuyer”
Sara
http://www.isopurewater.com/
I couldn’t see the widget on the Overstock page…
Maybe I’m part of their A/B tests