EZBuy raises $20m to help you buy stuff from overseas

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

EZBuy today announced it has raised a series B round worth US$20 million. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, EZBuy is the new incarnation of 65Daigou, a Singapore-based ecommerce website with a model that comes straight out of China.

(UPDATE: This story has been updated with comments from EZBuy co-founder Wendy Liu.)

The website allows users to shop for items available in overseas online stores, which are cheaper or easier to find than in domestic stores. It currently sources products from China, the US, and Taiwan. Acting as a middleman between overseas ecommerce retailers and consumers, EZBuy takes care of everything from purchasing the items to shipping and importing them.

Co-founder Wendy Liu tells Tech in Asia the rebranding will represent the company better in terms of the services it offers now. “It is the company in a nutshell — what we offer is a quick and easy way to shop online,” she says.

See: Daigou, a novel ecommerce business model, is an intriguing Chinese export

The fresh funding was led by Shanghai-based private equity fund Vision Knight Capital and was joined by existing investors IDG Ventures and China Growth Capital. Wendy says the company worked with these investors due to their expertise and reputation in the ecommerce space.

The startup will use the cash for the rebranding as well as for expanding further into Southeast Asia. It plans to introduce items from South Korea, which Wendy says is famed for its beauty products. EZBuy is already in Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Additionally, the funds will go toward improving the website behind the scenes.

Wendy doesn’t disclose details regarding technology upgrades, but offers an example of an upgrade that’s already live. “We developed a system that captures great deals timely from source markets such as the US, and we are making them available to our shoppers under [the relevant section] in our app and website. This means our customers can get first-hand information on top brand sales and enjoy up to 80 percent savings as compared to buying in local retail,” she says.

EZBuy also announced it’s launching a “Prime” service. If you think that echoes a membership program from a certain erm… Amazonian ecommerce site, you’re right. EZBuy’s version gives members access to benefits like sales and lower fees. It also offers an international shipping rate of S$2.99 (US$2.20) for all items included in its “Prime 2.99” category, regardless of their size and quantity.

The company says the category includes more than one million products. Wendy doesn’t reveal any numbers in terms of customers, transactions, or revenue, but says that EZBuy has a growth rate of 100 percent year-on-year in terms of sales.