MappingTheWeb //

Shopping for a single item or a bunch of different items and want the lowest possible price? You’ll be happy to hear Ugenie launched. Founded by two former Amazon execs, this site goes a step beyond the traditional comparison shopping experience online.

You enter an item or combination of items you are looking to purchase. The system then browses through 35 online marketplaces to establish the lowest possible price for that specific item or grouping of items - including shipping and taxes. Quite impressive. And get this: the system also outlines how to buy a grouping of items individually from different merchants if you aren’t worried about simplicity and focused solely on price. The Ugenie system can handle up to 15 items and functions in real-time. The UI is extremely well-laid out and intuitive.

The company recently raised $5 million from Blue Run Ventures and Sierra Ventures.

I’ve always been a big fan of comparison shopping sites as I see an incredibly compelling value proposition for users and a viable business model for the company. Having said that, I still think each comparison site can take on its own niche area. In this case, Ugenie is focusing on ‘bundling’ - a smart move in my mind. I expect the site to do very well and garner significant market share.