[aviswanathan]

Storenvy has an interesting model, but I'm a bit skeptical about their scalability. I started a fashion brand in HS (backpacks, apparel) and we launched a Storenvy store pretty much off the bat since there was no cost. The issue is that they don't seem to have accountability for their customers. They didn't run any checks to make sure my business is legitimate (obviously it is), that we actually sold product before, that we even had a website. This is polar opposite to Amazon, which runs several screens to make sure sellers are legitimate (getting our products on Amazon took nearly two months).

Perhaps even more importantly, the marketplace model for e-commerce does not align with individual sellers. Marketplaces are focused on expanding, adding more sellers, and expanding product portfolios. Sellers, meanwhile, prefer to be one of few on marketplaces so that they have greater visibility. With Storenvy's model (basically no barriers), I don't see much value being provided to sellers. Even if there is 0 cost to the seller, there is little incentive for them to invest time into building out a profile and attracting customers on the platform.

[NewMonarch]

Hey Hacker News!

Thanks for the thoughts. Actually, here's how we're thinking about it:

Storenvy is a custom store platform first and a marketplace second. Every merchant gets her own fully customizable storefront. We make it easier than anyone else by getting up and running with your own store in minutes.

But after you get online, you immediately have the problem of figuring out how to drive customers to your store. The next generation of merchants relies solely on social media for this. Buying advertising typically isn't even considered. So we created the first online store platform with a social network built on top. When you create your store, you're immediately connected with the rapidly-growing Storenvy marketplace where people are discovering and buying your awesome stuff.

In short, we are the only online store platform that actually makes you more sales. And "more sales" is the killer feature of a store platform.

Soon we'll start charging a commission on sales that happen in the marketplace. You still keep all of the sales through your storefront.

We'll get better at things like seller ratings and reviews as we grow. That's why we're hiring so many engineers. http://www.storenvy.com/jobs

[jsabo]

>In short, we are the only online store platform that actually makes you more sales.

Do Amazon and Etsy not also do this? By just searching for say 'cufflinks' on Etsy I'm searching all of Etsy's "stores", and the same with Amazon. Although granted, neither put an emphasis on a storefront for each individual seller.

[NewMonarch]

Neither gives you a store. Every band, designer, boutique I've ever talked to wants their own store at their own URL that looks like their own brand. Storenvy let's you edit all the HTML and CSS to make your store look however you want. Example: http://cherrysauceclothing.com

The other ones you mention just gives you a marketplace where you're essentially a classified ad without your own brand experience.

[colkassad]

Does the "curation" aspect help them? According to their site, items move to the top according to popularity (would like to know more about what that means). Taking a look at men's bags, the first page had a number of items I found appealing, more so than I find at a traditional online retailer. One of the few consumer-oriented startups posted at techcrunch that caught my eye.

[aviswanathan]

But most online retailers implement some sort of 'popular' tag. Maybe Storenvy has more sophisticated algorithms behind-the-scenes that I'm unaware of