Ezbuy

Established in 2010 by co-founders including He Jian and Wendy Liu, Ezbuy operates as a cross-border e-commerce platform headquartered in Singapore. Initially launched under the name 65daigou, the company was conceived to simplify the process for Southeast Asian consumers to purchase goods from China's vast online marketplaces, such as Taobao, by overcoming language and logistical barriers. The founders, some of whom were Chinese students in Singapore, identified a gap in the market for a service that could act as a purchasing agent, or "daigou," for customers wanting access to a wider variety of affordable products.

The company's business model centers on providing a full-service shopping experience. It acts as an intermediary, handling the entire process from purchasing items from overseas online stores in China, the USA, Taiwan, and Korea, to international shipping and final delivery to the customer. This surrogate shopping service proved particularly useful for consumers who could not navigate non-English websites or for purchasing from retailers that did not offer direct international shipping. Revenue is generated through agent fees, which are calculated based on the product's value, and international shipping charges. In a strategic move to rebrand and reflect its broader service offerings beyond just being a daigou agent, the company was renamed Ezbuy in 2016. This rebranding coincided with a US$20 million Series B funding round aimed at market expansion and technology upgrades.

A significant product offering is the Prime membership, introduced in 2016. This subscription service allows customers to pay a flat international shipping fee of S$2.99 for any eligible item, regardless of its size, weight, or quantity. The Prime service includes millions of products marked with a "Prime" label and gives members the ability to convert a certain number of non-Prime items into Prime-eligible items via a Wishlist feature. In addition to its core cross-border services, Ezbuy has also adapted to market changes by increasing its focus on onboarding local merchants to meet demands for faster delivery. The platform facilitates convenience through a network of over 300 local collection points in Singapore.

Ezbuy has navigated a competitive landscape, facing rivals like Lazada and Shopee. A notable event in its history was the 2018 acquisition by LightInTheBox, a NASDAQ-listed Chinese online retailer, for approximately US$86 million. This acquisition was part of LightInTheBox's strategy to scale its global B2C e-commerce operations. Following the acquisition, Ezbuy's co-founder He Jian was appointed as the CEO of LightInTheBox. While the company primarily serves the Singapore market, it also maintains operations in Malaysia. Keywords: cross-border e-commerce, daigou, Singapore e-commerce, online shopping platform, Taobao agent, international shipping, Prime membership, Southeast Asia online retail, LightInTheBox, He Jian, Wendy Liu, 65daigou, buy-for-me service, global marketplace, online retailer, e-commerce logistics, China to Singapore shipping, US to Singapore shipping, parcel forwarding, online marketplace