Amazon sellers are such a hot commodity that one start-up is giving away Teslas for referrals

Start-ups are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire the top independent sellers on the Amazon Marketplace, creating a gold rush to “roll up” these mostly small businesses into larger entities that have better resources and can pour money into growth. […]

Bidding wars break out in market for brands selling via Amazon

Investors on the hunt for promising brands sold on Amazon.com are sparking bidding wars as competition intensifies to find the next hit product.

The frenzy’s focus: the bevy of small businesses that have sprung up in recent years to sell their wares on Amazon’s vast marketplace. They’re being snapped up by Wall Street-backed startups known as aggregators, which are betting that their teams of e-commerce veterans can transform products into global brands. […]

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