Amway-Funded Fanista Launches for Social Shopping Meets MLM

Amway, the granddaddy of the multi-level marketing (MLM) industry, is backing Fanista, an online DVD and CD retailer that relies on peer recommendations and social networking. According to the NYT, Amway has invested millions into the site, although the exact amount is unspecified. While several sites and services have gotten into so-called social shopping, Fanista will pay users who get their friends to make purchases. Users whose friends buy $100 worth of goods can get up to a 10 percent commission. While the site will initially be a traditional e-retailer, it plans to get into digital downloads at some point in the future. The concept isn’t exactly novel, as epinions tried a similar pay-for-recommendations model with limited success. The site’s founder, Daniel Adler, was formerly the head of the Creative Artists Agency’s new-media division. Release.

Comments have been disabled for this post