OnBuy sets Amazon firmly in its sights

New online marketplace is confident it can snare five per cent of e-tail goliath's UK footprint in three years

Bullish new online marketplace OnBuy is gunning for five per cent of Amazon’s UK market in its first three years of trading.

The UK-based site launched officially on 1 November, and made its first live transaction earlier this month.

Backed by well-known system builder and VAR Centerprise International, OnBuy is confident that it can become a real rival to Amazon and eBay within three years and grab £190m from its rivals in just three years, quicker than the five years initially predicted at inception.

Unlike its larger rival Amazon, OnBuy deals exclusively with professional sellers who trade through the site and doesn’t compete as a retailer.

It is currently integrating sellers to make sure everything goes according to plan, purposefully limiting the amount of products on sale until processes are further defined, drip-feeding them each day into the marketplace.

Cas Paton, managing director and founder of OnBuy, said: “This is a crucial step in creating the future of online shopping. We’re determined to get every step right. The time to be exact is right now.”

OnBuy plans to offer millions of products ranging from major brands to independent retailers, with partners such as Xbite, World Stores, The Hut Group and Misco on its books.

Paton added: “2014 is our year”.