New FDI e-commerce policy: No More Discounts! Any alternative?

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
My friend got samsung 860evo 250gb ssd from paytmmall during oct sale for 3700(next cheapest was 4k on amazon by cloudtail for 2 days during sale). For hdd/sd cards/pen drives/ssd paytmmall is now a better option(but only when buying from "brand authorized seller" & only during sales+cashback promotions). Hopefully amazon/fk will come up with some loophole to bypass these new govt restrictions.
 

Vyom

The Power of x480
Staff member
Admin
Moved some posts in the respective thread. Please be ontopic in this thread, which is about "discussing alternatives to eCommerce sites for the time being".

I am definitely trying not to buy from "brick and mortar" stores in protest.
Just few days ago I bought Bosch Hammer drill for Rs 3500 from Amazon, despite the fact that I had to buy it when it's price was increased, and cloudtail reseller was replaced with Sigma Online.
Well, tbf, I bought it since the same product was available for Rs 6000 in brick and mortar stores. So for now, for some products, the prices online could still be better than offline.
 

Gollum

Collector
Hi Recently bought 2 laptops from retail stores.
The prices were the same as that online. (comparable). I could see the product beforehand and return it when one of them turned out to be faulty.
Now, the thing here is, if you buy something online, and if its does not work you can only call or send mail sot rant on Twitter.
But if you buy something offline, you can go and grab someones neck!

However, I cannot get the same experience with every shop or product that I may want to buy.
Not to mention that I would need to either take time off or spend time on a weekend to go get what I want to buy.
I have no easy way to compare devices and prices by different sellers.
 

Vyom

The Power of x480
Staff member
Admin
However, I cannot get the same experience with every shop or product that I may want to buy.
Not to mention that I would need to either take time off or spend time on a weekend to go get what I want to buy.
I have no easy way to compare devices and prices by different sellers.
Nail on the head.
There's a reason why someone would want to purchase things through the wire. Comparing and sorting, reading reviews are all a good feature that an offline store just won't be able to provide. Sometimes I just won't have the time to go to local market, or the local market maybe miles away from my home. Online shopping is a lot convenient in such cases.
Also for few geeks like me, it's a great deal "not to speak" to anyone to be able to get the things we want. That's why it's not really a fight between local shopkeepers and ecommerce sites, it's actually a WAR between the local shopkeepers and us.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Amazon 10/30 days warranty is much better if applicable & especially for expensive products you are not sure about/DOA. People have actually returned 30-40k products after just 2-3 days of buying.
 

billubakra

Conversation Architect
Amazon 10/30 days warranty is much better if applicable & especially for expensive products you are not sure about/DOA. People have actually returned 30-40k products after just 2-3 days of buying.
+ If the product is DOA, the offline store will tell you to go to the service center. Whereas I have personally experienced and seen cases wherein Amazon sent the replacement.
 

Minion

Conversation Architect
I would never buy anything from offline store ever because these people don't listen to you once you bought from them while I can easily request return through amazon flipkart and again these offline stores don't offer any discounts.
 
OP
shreeux

shreeux

Movie Buff
I would never buy anything from offline store ever because these people don't listen to you once you bought from them while I can easily request return through amazon flipkart and again these offline stores don't offer any discounts.

Yes, Once we bought, they will treated like slave.
 

Samarth 619

Modrator @ Xbhp Biking
Its better to get from online in my experience, that too when special sales & discounts are on... Although, even offline channels will not compromise their own reputation, but their price is often on the higher side.

For example, buying non-urgent heavy electronics like Tv and Fridge means you must wait for Diwali.


However, this is not a hard-fast rule, and online shopping is only beneficial for the aware consumer. Not the typical uncle who got his android phone gifted by someone else & tried FK or Amazon app...
I'll give you an example.
Samsung Galaxy S7 is an old flagship phone, with very good quality audio and camera, even better than new phones in its price range. Its present market value is around Rs. 23000 (Best price).
However, some corrupt online retailers boost its price upto Rs. 55000 when the stock is almost finished. If someone orders at that time, he's literally looted!

This happens to a lot of products.
Say laptops, since 6th generation intel i5/i7 processors were the last to support Windows 7/8.1 officially, its laptops were hellishly expensive online for no other concrete reason... Even more than 7th gen processors for a while.
A lot of Chinese products are way overpriced in online anyways.

So, my conclusion is,

Aware guy = online,
unaware = offline.

Also, people living in big cities generally will be better off online... given the offline's expensiveness (applicable to some products).
 

billubakra

Conversation Architect
Its better to get from online in my experience, that too when special sales & discounts are on... Although, even offline channels will not compromise their own reputation, but their price is often on the higher side.

For example, buying non-urgent heavy electronics like Tv and Fridge means you must wait for Diwali.


However, this is not a hard-fast rule, and online shopping is only beneficial for the aware consumer. Not the typical uncle who got his android phone gifted by someone else & tried FK or Amazon app...
I'll give you an example.
Samsung Galaxy S7 is an old flagship phone, with very good quality audio and camera, even better than new phones in its price range. Its present market value is around Rs. 23000 (Best price).
However, some corrupt online retailers boost its price upto Rs. 55000 when the stock is almost finished. If someone orders at that time, he's literally looted!

This happens to a lot of products.
Say laptops, since 6th generation intel i5/i7 processors were the last to support Windows 7/8.1 officially, its laptops were hellishly expensive online for no other concrete reason... Even more than 7th gen processors for a while.
A lot of Chinese products are way overpriced in online anyways.

So, my conclusion is,

Aware guy = online,
unaware = offline.

Also, people living in big cities generally will be better off online... given the offline's expensiveness (applicable to some products).
About your phone and laptop example, brick and mortar stores also do the same many a times.
 

Samarth 619

Modrator @ Xbhp Biking
About your phone and laptop example, brick and mortar stores also do the same many a times.
Hmm... Right.
However, I belong to a small city though, and here, offline usually keep the same rates across shops.
The reason is, each customer goes to multiple shops to check prices. :D

But even in big cities, I doubt a Rs. 23k phone will be sold for Rs. 51k, unless its a lavish showroom.
 
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