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An online Costco: Amazon competitor Jet.com raises $140M, will open S. Jersey warehouse

"Radical price innovation" says founder Marc Lore

UPDATE: CB Insights says the track record of VC-funded "pre-product" companies like Jet.com isn't too good. Posts 9 examples of companies that also attracted tens of $millions like Jet.com, but failed to enrich their hopeful investors. Segway, anyone?

EARLIER: Marc Lore, the Bucknell grad and Qdisi software founder who sold Diapers.com to Amazon.com two years ago, says he's raised another $140 million for Jet.com, the members-only, Sam's Club or Costco buyers' club-like online shopping service he hopes to open, for 350,000 (corrected) "Jet insiders" in March, and to others in April or May, from warehouses in Swedesboro, Gloucester County and Reno, Nevada, and offices in Hoboken later this Spring.

"This new round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional participation from Accel Partners, Coatue, General Catalyst, Goldman Sachs, Google Ventures, MentorTech Ventures, NEA, Norwest Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, Temasek, Thrive Capital and other strategic investors." Lore told readers on his blog here.

Lore added that Jet will use the money to speed up "radical price innovation in e-commerce. We believe that there is big opportunity to deliver meaningful value to mass consumers by optimizing the underlying economics of online shopping and unbundling the embedded retail costs that drive up price...

"We see the opportunity to leverage technology and bring price innovation to an unlimited product selection by working collaboratively with our retail partners. We don't compete with our partners; rather, we empower them with pricing tools that enable them to set different rules based on their business goals and profit targets. As a result, Jet is able to dynamically adjust prices in real time in response to the unique composition of a shopper's basket... Customers save without having to sacrifice service or experience."