Vendio announced Wednesday the beta version of a new comparison-shopping toolbar. The Dealio Toolbar will focus on consumer electronics products available from online merchants of all sizes, with additional product categories added in the coming months. Vendio provides management tools, storefront and web-hosting services to eBay and online sellers.
Comparison-shopping services have been hot properties of late: eBay is acquiring comparison-shopping service Shopping.com in the third quarter, and in June, Scripps acquired Shopzilla. On Tuesday, Yahoo announced an API for Yahoo Shopping so developers could design new applications using the Yahoo Shopping Listings. And also on Tuesday, Shopping.com announced an alliance with MSN Shopping.
Unlike those services, Dealio is a toolbar that shoppers download to their computer. Rodrigo Sales, CEO and co-founder of Vendio, said the Dealio Toolbar is free, and is not spyware or adware. "There are no pop-ups and no ads," he said, adding that Dealio does not track consumers' individual Web movements or adversely affect system or Internet connection performance.
The Dealio Toolbar travels with a consumer throughout the Web, providing comparative shopping data while the consumer is actively shopping for a particular product at an ecommerce destination. A screenshot of the toolbar in action can be seen at http://www.dealio.com/tour/index.html. Sales said Dealio provides more contextual and timelier opportunities for merchants to reach qualified buyers.
There is a $50 one-time set-up fee for merchants that is being waived through the end of 2005. Merchants provide a feed to Dealio (similar to those provided to services like Froogle). There is no charge for standard placement, whose listings appear in any Dealio search. The lowest-priced listing always appears at the top of the list underneath two featured slots. There will be fees for premium placement, and set-up fees are applied toward such fees. Interested sellers must register as a Dealio merchant partner on the site.
http://www.dealio.com
http://www.dealio.com/merchants/faq.html
