Amazon debuts a dedicated shop for Kickstarter products

By Sarah Perez for Techcrunch.com

Funding a project on Kickstarter is like placing a bet – will the project ever work? Will it ship? Or will you just be out a chunk of change? That said, the crowdfunding platform has enabled a number of companies to get off the ground, including those that range from gadgets and electronics to toys and home goods, among other things. Today, Amazon announced it’s teaming up with Kickstarter to offer those successful Kickstarter products a way to reach more customers through a dedicated section on Amazon’s website.

Via www.amazon.com/launchpad/kickstarter, the online retailer is now featuring a group of over 300 Kickstarter products across a variety of categories, like electronics, books, home & kitchen, movies & tv, and more.

The products can also be browsed by theme, like STEM products, “Always be Learning,” “Exquisite Objects,” “Inventing the Future,” and “Public Benefit,” for example.

Included in the debut collection products like Piper’s Computer Kit, Zivix’s jamstik + Portable Smart Guitar, The Prynt Case, MudWatt’s Clean Energy kit, and others.

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The new Kickstarter section is actually an expansion on Amazon’s Launchpad platform, launched a year ago. In July 2015, the retailer debuted a dedicated portal that offered both marketing and sales for hardware and physical goods from younger tech companies. It said at the time it was working with over 25 VC firms, accelerators and crowdfunding platforms to source the products for the new site, including big names like Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and Indiegogo, for example. The online store had over 200 items at the time of its debut.

Today, Amazon says it has now worked with over 100 VCs, accelerators and crowdfunders and has helped more than 1,000 launch products across the U.S., the U.K., China, Germany, and France.

All startups who participate in Launchpad receive custom product pages, a comprehensive marketing package, and access to Amazon’s global fulfillment network, the retailer notes.

While the dedicated online shop is new to Amazon, the retailer has already sold Kickstarter goods on its site prior to now. To date, Amazon.com customers have purchased “millions” of Kickstarter products, it says.

First appeared at Techcrunch.com