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Millionaire Winklevoss Twins Invest in Sale Shopping Site

Remember these guys? Winklevii, via Getty
Remember these guys? Winklevii, via Getty

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Millionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss—who will forever be known as the Winklevii thanks to that Facebook movie—are very into sale shopping these days. The twins recently led a $750,000 investment in Hukkster, a start-up shopping site founded by two former retail merchandisers.

Hukkster, which officially launched in October, follows in the footsteps of Shop It To Me and other price-watching sites that report discounts as they're marked online. But founders Katie Finnegan and Erica Bell—and the Winklevosses, obviously—believe that it's better than what's already out there. "Hukkster not only notifies users when their Hukks (products) go on sale, we also incorporate coupon codes and site-wide promotions like friends and family discounts," Bell told Racked in an email. "No one else in the marketplace is providing real-time access to this product specific information."

Similar to Pinterest or Polyvore, the site works via a button you download to your browser bar. When you see a product you want to stalk, you "hukk" it (their term) and the site will send you a notification when it goes on sale.

Unlike most start-up sites these days, however, Hukkster isn't meant to be social. "We believe that there is a time and a place for social media. Hukkster, however, is strictly a commerce platform that makes shopping easier, saving our members time and money. We do not inundate our members with unsolicited content, rather we give them the option to share and shop at their leisure giving shoppers back control over the online shopping experience," Bell said.

Hukkster is currently affiliated with more than 400 stores, including go-tos like Anthropologie, Asos, DVF, Forever21, Intermix, J.Crew, Madewell, Piperlime, Ralph Lauren, Shopbop, and Zara.
 
And yes, at least one Winklevoss actually uses the site. Cameron told us: "I generally shop online for durable and classic things like Levi's, Chuck Taylor's, Nike gym clothes, etc., since I'm always on the go and don't have time to go into a retail store. That being said, since I started using Hukkster I've enjoyed the experience of shopping and browsing online a lot more (and I'm not just saying that!). For example, just a few days ago I saved $200 on a Diesel leather Jacket that I had "Hukked" a week ago."

See? Millionaires like a bargain, too.
· Hukkster [Official site]
· Students in Afternoon Ties [Racked]