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Google Buys Sparkbuy: Comparison Shopping Site Now Closes, Team Remains

Danny Sullivan on May 23, 2011 at 4:38 pm

Google has acquired Sparkbuy, a comparison shopping site that has focused on laptops. The site closed today as part of the purchase; the three person team will continue on with Google.

Was this a talent acquisition, then? Google wouldn’t comment nor give any details on the purchase price for the year-old company. However, a person familiar with the purchase said it wasn’t just for the talent.

Still, it feels that way. I wouldn’t expect Sparkbuy to reemerge, but it does seem some of the user interface design for shopping (Google apparently liked UI ideas the Sparkbuy team had) will make its way into Google Product Search.

At Sparkbuy, the site now has a “we’ve been acquired” message, saying:

We are pleased as punch to announce that Sparkbuy has been acquired by Google.
I know, right? We can hardly believe it ourselves.
When we built Sparkbuy way back in the waning days of 2010, we wanted to make it really easy to find the gadget that’s perfect for your needs. Our idea was that you could combine huge piles of structured data with an intuitive interface, et voila: a few clicks to find the electronics widget with exactly the features you want. Have you tried to find a great laptop or TV recently? Crazy hard.
But when people started actually using Sparkbuy, we started to see that the opportunity was bigger. In fact, it was much, much bigger. There are so many “crazy hard” search problems out there we know it could take ages for us to deliver what our customers are asking for. So when Google showed up and suggested we could work together to turbocharge our efforts, we just couldn’t pass it up.
We’re stoked about the opportunity to share our vision for search with a broader audience. And while we won’t be offering services at sparkbuy.com any more, stay tuned for truckloads of new awesome from our team at Google.
Thanks for coming by!

It’s signed by Dan Shapiro, CEO of Sparkbuy, along with the other two people at the company, Scot Haug and Isaac Myers. Google says all three will begin working in Google’s Kirkland office, which is near Seattle. From the statement Google sent me:

We’re thrilled that Sparkbuy will be joining Google. They have built an impressive comparison shopping site that is simple in design yet powerful for consumers, and we think their expertise, vision and energy will be a great addition to our Kirkland office.

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.