August 3rd Comprehensive Press CoverageAugust 3rd, 2007Radio Coverage Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline Coverage to air Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Online shopping just got a lot more fun and...well...cozier.
Hi, I'm Dave Graveline, and this is "Into Tomorrow."
A cozier way to shop online is now available at CozyBug.com. This new web marketplace is a friendlier, safer way to buy and sell just about anything, from cars in
And when you've finished browsing for bargains, stop by graveline.com for another look "Into Tomorrow." I'm Dave Graveline.
Press and Blog Coverage Northwest Innovation Interview with July 25, 2007 http://www.nwinnovation.com/story/0010304.html
Last week, Seattle-based CozyBug.com (www.cozybug.com) launched a new online classified site which is looking to connect buyers and sellers of products, particularly those that are too large to ship. We spoke with
What's the idea behind CozyBug.com, and why did you decide to start a classifieds site?
Can you give us some examples of the types of large items that are being sold and bought on your site?
How does your service compare with Craigslist and other classifieds sites, and why would someone want to use your service instead of others? David Cantu: What makes us different is the ability to create a listing with rich content, for instance our Garage Sale mapping mashup which allows users to create a comprehensive map of multiple garage sale locations, (not possible on Craigslist) at a very low price.
We do not have personals or job wanted ads. We're also not an auction site or a classified ads aggregator. Our goal is to create a niche in local markets not only for businesses and independent artists etc. to have storefronts, but a key part of our strategy is the creation of CozyBug.com Swap Spots. Swap Spots are designated CozyBug.com "partners" within local communities that are the site for physical meet-ups between buyers and sellers. Swap Spots offer a safer way for people to connect and they provide local businesses with the opportunity to drive more foot traffic. In addition we charge at least 1 dollar to keep away the spammers and possibly limit the somewhat questionable users that may generally post on craigslist or any other sites for free, yet our price is low enough to be reasonable for discerning users.
What's the relationship between CozyBug.com and iCantu Technologies? David Cantu: iCantu technologies is the legal corporate entity that functions as a holding company. CozyBug.com is a product of the company and there will be other products that will be announced out of iCantu Technologies LLC.
What's your background and that of your team, and how'd you end up starting the company?
My current team at CozyBug.com is comprised of two developers and one program manager. How is CozyBug.com funded? David Cantu: We are self-funded and we are in discussions with VCs and angels.
What's the biggest reason a venture capitalist or angel investor would be interested in your company? David Cantu: The success of companies such as eBay and Craigslist have obviously proven the model of using the web to buy and sell goods whether that's in the form of a classified type of listing or an auction. But so far there really hasn't been a great niche offering specifically targeted at the community level of local buyers and sellers. And there hasn't been an offering that our core demograhic, primarily women age 30-50, are really comfortable with. CozyBug.com, from the name, to the site design, to the concept of connecting buyers and sellers at Swap Spots (businesses in the community rather than in the home) provides a much friendlier, safer way to conduct transactions. Today you have eBay on one end and Craigslist on the opposing end - CozyBug is meeting a need right there in the middle.
Thanks for the interview!
Want to sell that beer-can collection? Click here. July 20, 2007 Two
InCampus, started by a
CozyBug.com deals in bulky, hard-to-ship items and bills itself as "a website you can show your mother with a wholesome approach to buying and selling locally." How can two self-funded startups take on the giant classified and auction sites Craigslist and eBay?
"I don't want to compete with them. I'd be happy to be No. 3," said CozyBug founder Though they can't be as big, these niche startups have a shot at finding small but significant markets, said Sucharita Mulpuru, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, a technology market research firm in Cambridge, Mass.
"EBay is such a behemoth online. Any traffic relative to eBay is going to be meaningless," said Mulpuru, who specializes in e-commerce. "But it doesn't mean you can't create your own decent, profitable community."
InCampus launched its site July 10 and sets up an online marketplace for individual university and college campuses. The company is student-centric, with items that appeal specifically to college-age buyers. Among the listings for the
InCampus faces stiff competition from Craigslist and eBay as well as the popular social networking site Facebook, which recently launched its own classifieds feature. Saqib Rasool, chairman of InCampus, admitted that taking on the better established sites is "definitely a challenge" and said the company is mulling how to get noticed on campuses. One idea is to spread the word via student interns.
"This year is our year to try what works," he said Saqib Rasool's brother, Aqib, was the
CozyBug.com launched May 8 and seeks to create a kind of localized site "for people who want to look, see, and touch the item that they're buying," said Cantu.
The Issaquah-based startup charges $1 to list items and $2 for a "premium" listing with additional photos. Users can pay $5 to set up an online storefront on CozyBug, as well as $1-$2 for ads on the site.
CozyBug also provides a feature called SwapSpots - third party locations such as retail parking lots where people can view and buy items. The SwapSpots are meant for people who want to sell stuff but don't want unfamiliar people coming to their home - "30-something moms who want to get rid of their stroller and are scared of using Craigslist," Cantu said. CozyBug is taking on Craigslist and eBay as well as sites like LiveDeal that offer similar localized classified ads.
But so far, usage of CozyBug appears limited. A recent check of the site revealed just 18 items listed in Bellevue/Eastside and a mere two items listed in EBay acquired a nearly 25 percent stake in Craigslist, the popular, bare-bones classifieds site, in 2004. Earlier this month, eBay launched its own classifieds site, Kijiji. Online Shopping Online Shopping Just Got Cozier with CozyBug.com July 19, 2007 http://toonlineshopping.blogspot.com/2007/07/online-shopping-just-got-cozier-with.html Online shopping just got cozier with CozyBug.com™, a new online marketplace offering consumers and businesses an easier, safer way to buy and sell locally with zero shipping fees. CozyBug.com offers low-cost classified advertising and is ideal for sellers with items that are too large to ship, or for shoppers that prefer to examine an item in-person in addition to viewing it online.
"CozyBug.com offers a better online alternative to sell items that are expensive and difficult to ship such as furniture, appliances, and vehicles," said
CozyBug.com is designed to promote garage sale and flea market items, antique and vintage treasures, as well as unique arts and crafts from independent artists. The site includes the following features:
— Rich Classified Advertising — Sellers create detailed product descriptions with multiple photos. Buyers easily conduct searches for products in their community.
— Virtual Store Fronts — Businesses or sellers with many items can create a storefront and advertise the storefront throughout CozyBug.com. Storefronts are ideal for garage sales, antique stores, or flea market vendors.
— Garage Sale Mapper — The Mapper offers a printable view of a garage sale location. Users build a comprehensive map with driving directions from garage sale to garage sale, perfect for planning a Saturday morning garage sale excursion...
eTail dTail – eCommerce Marketing Blog And They Keep Coming…Might as Well Try Them = More Shopping Destination Sites July 16, 2007 http://www.etaildtail.com/weblog/2007/07/and-they-keep-c.html Well, so much has been written about the demise of shopping destination sites (comparison shopping engines, marketplaces, and other places to find and buy products) but then, we have new shopping destination sites popping up each week. What gives? www.eTaildTail.com is as confused as you are about all of this -- so send in your comments to tip@eTaildTail.com if you want!
I don’t know whether to believe the “industry experts” writing about the slow down in over all growth of online shopping each year or whether to just keep my mouth shut. From my point of view, thinking as an online merchant, I don’t really care how many new online sites come online as their proliferation at least gives me an opportunity to list my products and have increased exposure/relevancy across search engine searches. And with the kids using phones to do everything under the sun and the growth of mobile commerce is it really all that doom and gloom? And the good news about any of these new and “older” shopping destination sites is that if they are not working for you – stop using them and try another one.
So I am here to report on a few new ones that have come to my attention this week. They are: CozyBug.com: an online marketplace offering consumers and businesses an easier, safer way to buy and sell locally with zero shipping fees. CozyBug.com is a niche site focused on low-cost classified advertising and is ideal for sellers with items that are too large to ship, or for shoppers that prefer to examine and item in-person and online.
The site is cool as it focuses on flea market items, garage sale type of stuff, furniture and appliances, and vehicles. This site has the feel if a CraigsList meets eBay – you can create your own landing pages and actually build maps for folks to get to your products in person. Check out the pricing for all of these services on their site.
i-Shop.com: well now we have another discount online shopping mall. They seem to be focusing on getting products right from the manufacturer to the consumer and their inventory is huge. They are new to the marketplace and are marketing themselves as a small company that is helping small to medium sized businesses have a stronger online web presence.
Northwest Innovation CozyBug.com Debuts Online Marketplace July 12, 2007 http://www.nwinnovation.com/story/0010098.html
Seattle-based CozyBug said Wednesday that it has debuted a new online classified advertising site. Seattle-based CozyBug said that the site will connect local buyers and sellers of products, focusing on items that are too large to ship such as furniture, appliances, and vehicles. The site is an offshoot of iCantu Technologies, a local web hosting and IT services firm. The Cozybug site went into beta in June. Eastside Business Journal July 11, 2007 http://eastsidebusinessjournal.com/20070711208/Latest/Online-Shopping-Just-Got-Cozier-with-CozyBug.com.html
CozyBug: The eBay for Big Stuff July 11, 2007 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/11/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/
CozyBug launched today. It is best summed up as an eBay for big stuff. It’s meant for large items that people often sell locally because they’re too big to ship or are used and need in person inspection. Sellers get a mini virtual web storefront, and have the option to advertise their storefronts throughout the site.
The site doesn’t support shipping goods and is meant to replace local business classified advertising. They say it’s ideal for “antique stores, second-hand furniture stores, local car dealerships, flea market vendors, and small businesses that do not have websites.”
Listings cost $1.00, include up to four images and last 30 days. Premium listings cost $2.00, but include four images and the option of uploading two additional images for $1.00 each. Virtual storefronts cost $5.00. New registrants get one store and listing for free.
The company was formed in late 2002, and I can’t help but think they were coaxed into launching by the entrance of eBay’s Kijiji into the market. Both are taking on the large incumbent Craigslist. While Kijiji is essentially Craigslist, CozyBug differentiates itself by adding storefronts.
CozyBug has a tough road to plough if they want to be a localized eBay. They’re up against LiveDeal and sandwiched between Craigslist, which serves the “garage sale” crowd, and eBay, which serves local businesses looking to scale their business internationally. They also face a growing local advertising market that helps local businesses generate sales based on search terms.
Blog Postings of TechCrunch Article http://www.multimedias.mobi/2007/07/11/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://en.moraaz.org/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://www.ideserts.com/?p=565 http://myspaceownzyou.info/?p=94 http://techwebdaily.com/?p=994 http://www.blogjunkies.com/12/07/2007/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://www.ajax-blog.com/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff.html http://www.ajaxgirl.com/2007/07/11/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://www.jenit.com/2007/07/11/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://www.asifindit.com/2007/07/11/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://forecast-blog.com/2007/07/12/cozybug-the-ebay-for-big-stuff/ http://amongstafq.oldmeg.org.uk/2007/07/13/cozybug-ebay-stuff/<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; ms » Back |
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