Online Shopping Site Acts as Virtual Co-op

A new shopping site launched by Northwest Arkansas resident Chris Brown aims to let people use collective buying power to get deals on items such as clothing, electronics, sporting gear and toys.

At www.ekrowd.com, shoppers can browse a list of available items and enter the price they’re willing to pay for the item and how long they’re willing to wait to get that price.

The idea is that the more people who join the “krowd” for a particular item, the greater the chance of getting the desired price from the merchant. If a deal is found, shoppers will pay only the price they entered, or less.

“We let individuals come together around actual products they want so that they can achieve buying power,” Brown said in a news release. “We don’t spam people with daily deals we make. Instead, we allow people to join in with others on their deals.”

Brown describes the site as essentially an online co-op.

The site is currently in beta testing, but is available to the public and running transactions, he said.

Brown’s advisers for the venture are Kenny Tomlin with Rockfish Interactive, Steve Clark with Pro-Pak, Jim Smith with Smith-Hurst and former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. treasurer Randy Laney.