A year after wading into the world of startups by partnering with more than 25 crowd-funding platforms and venture capital firms to offer up-and-coming sellers a place to showcase their unique products, Amazon announced today that it has finally partnered with the most prominent name in the crowd-funding arena, Kickstarter, to bring more than 300 products to the masses.
The newly launched Kickstarter Collection offers customers a chance to scoop up crowd-funded products ranging from electronics to toys and games.
“At Amazon, we work hard to offer the widest possible selection of products so that customers can find anything and everything they might want to buy online,” Jim Adkins, Vice President of Amazon, said in a statement.
The company says the addition of Kickstarter is the next step in its Launchpad platform, which seeks to connect shoppers with innovators they may not otherwise learn about.
“Kickstarter helps independent creators find the resources, courage, and community they need to bring their creative projects to life,” Yancey Strickler, CEO and Co-Founder of Kickstarter, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Amazon Launchpad on creating a new path for those projects to be discovered, experienced, and loved.”
The initial launch will feature products from Piper, Zivix, Print, and MudWatt, among others, with items ranging from $300 headphones to a $25 wooden race car kit.
“Our goal is to enable them to reach Amazon’s hundreds of millions of customers and to overcome one of the biggest challenges any startup faces – bringing their product to market successfully,” Adkins said.
It’s unclear if Amazon will stock the Kickstarter products in its warehouses. Last year, when Launchpad was created, the company said it would manage inventory, fulfill orders using its own distribution network, and provide customer service for some of the startup’s sales.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist