It has over 10 million users and pulls in approximately $3 million in revenue a month. Not bad for what some would call a Pinterest clone. Yet, Fancy offers an experience that takes elements of Pinterest and adds a couple of interesting twists.

Based out of New York City, Fancy has exponentially grown into a very popular visual shopping experience. In just two years, they have blossomed into a company estimated at $600 million. Just like Pinterest, they offer members a way to browse, collect, and share images from their online catalog.

Comparisons of Fancy to Pinterest is given, due to the similar visual layout. The site allows users to “fancy” an image, similar to Pinterest users "pinning" an image. However, that is where the similarities stop. Fancy originated to help members plan a vacation, buy the latest fashion, and purchase all kinds of gadgets. Instead of having to find the item across the web or pray that the image links up to the item seller’s site, usuers can actually buy the product directly from Fancy. The website also offers an option to subscribe for $40/month and get a “fancy box” full of $80 worth of the more popular products on their site. You can decide which items are sent to you by selecting specific categories of items. Compared to Pinterest, Fancy offers more of a concierge element to its shopping experience.

What is Pinterest doing to compete? Just like Facebook and Twitter, we now see ads coming to the interface. Does that really pose a threat to Fancy?

Fancy’s items for sale change constantly. The website is open internationally and available in 35 different languages. It appears they are targeting international consumers as their CEO Joseph Einhorn points out how “people outside the US are so underserved”. Fancy has found a niche market and appears to be doing extremely well with it.

Despite its successes, some questions do still remain. Will Pinterest users be willing to adopt this platform despite its similarities? A lot of “Pinners” have invested lots of time into their boards or items/dreams/hobbies and may not be willing to begin again with another site. Another competitor to consider would be Amazon. Since Fancy is trying to be an online shopping site it is in direct competition with Amazon. Similarly it takes commission on all items sold through the site. Are consumers willing to branch out and consider what Fancy has when Amazon is offering minimal shipping costs and other perks?

We are also in a day and age where there are so many different social sites some people are beginning to get hesitant towards making yet another profile due to the time the other sites already consume. When having a profile was once enough, it is now necessary to be active with those profiles daily in order to grow your presence. Can consumers add one more?

Will people be willing to take Fancy on? Over 10 million said yes, and it looks like there will be many more to come. If your company offers retail products, it may be something to investigate.