Apple Reportedly Interested in Acquiring 'The Fancy', a Pinterest Rival

BusinessInsider has heard that Apple is presently in talks to acquire social sharing and commerce site The Fancy.

The objective: to secure a role for Apple in the growing e-commerce market, putting the 400 million-plus users with credit cards on file with Apple's iTunes Store to work shopping—with Apple getting a cut of the action.

The Fancy is described as a rival to the fast growing Pinterest site which is used to share photos of items found online. The Fancy describes itself:

Fancy is part store, blog, magazine and wishlist. It's a place to discover great stuff, to curate a collection of things you love, to get updates on your favorite brands and stores and to share your discoveries.

Use it to create a catalog of your favorite things around the web and around the world. When you find something you love somewhere on the web, Fancy it.

The Fancy's biggest advantage over its rival appears to be the ability for users to purchase items directly from the site. Both allow users to "pin" or "fancy" products found on the internet and allow other users to browse these items in various collections.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met with The Fancy CEO at Allen & Co.'s Sun Valley conference. Cook even created an account on the service and "fancied" seven different items. Businessinsider speculates that Apple's interest in the company may have to do with a broader e-commerce strategy.