Bezar.com proves not to be Fab.com 2.0

Bezar.com will be launched today, and guess what, it’s not a reboot of Fab.com. While there are similarities between Bezar.com and Fab.com, founder Bradford Shellhammer has created a site that is more elevated that will really be able to appeal to more upscale clientele from the beginning. Shellhammer is taking everything he learned from his first go-around with Fab.com and applying it to Bezar to ensure that this will be a more successful endeavor.

As the age old saying goes, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Shellhammer hasn’t taken this saying to heart as he enters his next e-commerce endeavor which stands a shot at being more successful than the first. He’s sure to get his hands on some of Fab.com’s old clientele who are looking for quality art, accessories, jewelry, and home goods.

Bradford Shellhammer launches Bezar.com

Within the four categories offered there will be 3 “pop-up” shops open from anywhere between 3 to 8 days depending on the type of item. Currently, some of the items in the “pop-up” shops set to disappear soon are Art of Sport which features graphic prints of classic sports team iconography by JP Stallard and Rob Duncan, and Knotty Gal, the handmade accessories company founded by mother-daughter duo Nur-E Gulshan and Nur-E Furhana Rahman. Both offers are set to disappear within the next two days. Shoppers on Bezar.com are also promised a very unique selection of offerings.

"There's the same shit in every store. I wanted to create a place where you can find people who make cool shit," Shellhammer said to fashionista.com. Bezar seems like the Fab.com that could have been if the brand hadn’t grown so quickly then fell apart. For those missing some of those old Fab.com products, Shellhammer has made sure that many of those vendors have found a new home with Bezar.

40 to 50 percent of Bezar.com’s vendors were previously associated with Fab.com, but, again, Shellhammer isn’t setting out to try and make this Fab.com 2.0. He plans on finding new talent to help ensure the success of the site and set it apart from his former endeavor. As Shellhammer attempts to grow Bezar he has been fairly conservative with funding so far.

He has raised 2.3 million dollars in a round led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures, who are known for also investing in Into the Gloss and Thrillist. He has also seen additional funds from Bonobo’s Andy Dunn, HSN’s Mindy Grossman, and industrial designers Yves Behar. With funding being so conservative, Shellhammer has left the designers responsible for their own product imagery, and has also refused to buy inventory outright in order to reduce costs. Part of Shellhammer’s model includes relying on a flash sales model and avoiding traditional fashion, he’s out to do something different.

"Our goal is to create something that's sustainable, not to be giant overnight. The strategy here is: smaller sales, healthy numbers, and to not let the editorial voice become diluted for the sake of growth," Shellhammer also told Fashionista.com. It certainly seems like Shellhammer has learned from his past mistakes, and Bezar.com already seems to be showing plenty of promise. While he may not have realized his dream with Fab.com, he has certainly found a very promising new one with Bezar.com, and plenty can be expected from this new site.