Amazon, Kickstarter Team Up To Sell Crowd-funded Products

Online retail giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has announced a partnership with Kickstarter, the most popular crowdfunding platform, to sell more than 300 crowdfunded products on Amazon Launchpad – a dedicated page on Amazon.com for selling unique and innovative products created by the brightest startups.

Called the Kickstarter Collection, the selection features products manufactured by startups such as Piper, Zivix, MudWatt and Prynt among others. The products are available under a number of categories such as Electronics, Home & Kitchen, Wireless Accessories, Movies & TV, Books, Toys & Games and themes such as Always Be Learning, STEM Products, Inventing the Future, Exquisite Objects and Public Benefit.

We note that the addition of the Kickstarter Collection to the Amazon Launchpad is a smart move as it seeks to connect shoppers with innovative products that they may not come across otherwise.

Amazon Launchpad

Launched just a year ago, Amazon Launchpad has to date collaborated with more than 100 venture capital firms, crowd-funding platforms and startup accelerators to enable more than 1,000 startups to launch their products in countries such as the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and China.

Amazon Launchpad offers startups a streamlined onboarding experience, comprehensive marketing packages, custom product pages and access to its global fulfillment network to enable them to successfully introduce their products in the market.

However, it is not clear whether Amazon will stock up the Kickstarter line of products in its own warehouses. We note in this regard that Amazon manages its own inventory, fulfills orders with the help of its distribution network and provides customer support for some of the Amazon Launchpad products.

Zacks Rank

At present, Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are EVINE Live Inc. (NASDAQ:EVLV) and Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS) , carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).