[vinit.merchant]

Guys, for those who have an account with Pepperfry, you can buy the following pack of 6 floating candles (for Diwali) @ Rs. 49 (Including shipping-MRP - 249)

http://www.pepperfry.com/floating-ge...6-1080422.html


I bought twice. Note that you cannot put the quantity as 2. But you can simply re-order it.
Enjoy till the stock last.


Edit: Note that you will have to log in to see the price at Rs. 49. Without Log in, you will only see it at Rs. 249

[indian21r]

Originally Posted by Safety is Param

How can MRP change? I was always of the impression that the sale price fluctuates, but MRP always remains constant.

Yes MRP is fixed for a product. But I guess online stores are marking up the prices just to showcase higher discount. Essentially baiting the customers with steep discounts

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

That might be an offence, either misrepresenting the MRP or selling above it. But I don't suppose anybody will bother.

Whichever is the case isn't it unethical on the part of the business to do that. Short term it may work but long term it will hurt them bad

[shankar.balan]

A set of International HNI's in the developed world make lots of money in the stock market or in real estate or wherever.
When they go to reinvest this wealth, they realise that the best they can get in these developed markets is in the region of 3-4%.
So they pop over to the local boys club of VC's and PE Investors and give them their money, on the understanding that the said VC's and PE Investors will grow the assets and return 9% or so over a period of time.
This money finds its way nicely into India and other developing markets, to fund this insatiable monster of e-commerce. The e commerce companies take this money and spend it in multifarious and inventive ways, in their race to acquire "consumer footfalls, transactions and turnover" all of which leads ultimately to this "holy grail" of "valuation", which in turn leads to mergers, acquisitions, IPO's and what have you.
Then a whole set of fresh moneys get pumped in and the cycle starts repeating itself, feeding off itself and going on.
No one knows when this "bubble" will burst, because if one takes a long hard and serious look at it, all of the above is simply a set of derivatives of a different set of derivatives of another different set of derivatives, all of which are at some point, bordering on thin air...

This is a cynical view, some may say.
Yes it is, but I do believe that it is more or less the way it is.

Saying the above, if one takes Amazon.com as a case in point and looks at their results quarter on quarter, there has been only one quarter where they came out of the red.
Yet, there appears to be a certain method in their madness, because they charge for a host of different services at different rates, so it seems that they are certainly making some money somewhere or the other.

For now, its fun times for the consumers. In reference to "profits" and "profitability" and all the rest of the conventional wisdom of doing business, I guess we shall have to simply wait and watch.

[binand]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

A set of International HNI's in the developed world make lots of money in the stock market or in real estate or wherever.
When they go to reinvest this wealth, they realise that the best they can get in these developed markets is in the region of 3-4%.

Not sure where you got this info from; I have some foreign holdings on which I get 6-8% returns annually with capital protection (ie, zero risk tolerance). With the kind of risk that these HNIs are capable of taking, I expect their returns are in the 20-25% range.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Saying the above, if one takes Amazon.com as a case in point and looks at their results quarter on quarter, there has been only one quarter where they came out of the red.

Investors (unless institutional investors like pension funds) don't bother to look at the bottom line because it is the most irrelevant and the most easily manipulated of them all. Though there are many metrics, the ones I would want to see first are operating cash flow and EBITDA - both of which are extremely healthy for Amazon ($5.5 billion operating cash flow, $4 billion ebitda - in 2013). The reason they are not showing much profit is that they pretty much invest every dollar they make back in the business.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by binand

Not sure where you got this info from; I have some foreign holdings on which I get 6-8% returns annually with capital protection (ie, zero risk tolerance). With the kind of risk that these HNIs are capable of taking, I expect their returns are in the 20-25% range.

Warren Buffet, considered one of the great investors averages around 20% returns. I would doubt if too many people average more than that over a long period. Or even that.

People who take more risks, may average more in some years but obviously will have far more losses in other years averaging down their returns.
In general, anything more than 15%, year after year, would be considered very good.

[shankar.balan]

9% return - I meant an assumed worst case - perhaps I should have called that out more clearly.

In ref Amazon, I do understand and have read that they plough back everything they have into their business.

Read this article by Ben Evans, it is a really nice eye opener.

http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2...t-works​

Some of my personal impressions as a consumer.

I like both Flipkart and Amazon very much indeed - I always enjoy buying from them, but very specific categories like books, DVD's and stuff. I shop often on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.in as well. I generally prefer Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk because of the excellent selection of things I am interested in. Amazon.in being a marketplace, in general doesn't always carry lots of stuff that I personally like or am in need of.

In general I don't like buying the really expensive electronic items like TV's and laptops etc on the net. For such things, I think I will always prefer going to Croma here in India because I have great trust in the House of Tatas.

Saying that, I do and will continue to buy some branded electronics on Amazon.com in the US (especially when the items are Amazon fulfilled) and provided I can't get a better deal in a physical store. Saying that, there are some lovely BOSE Factory outlets out there in the US and one does get some super fantabulous deals there. Or there's always a nice friendly local BestBuy or Fry's etc.

I trust Amazon because I ve been shopping with them 15 years since inception.
I trust Flipkart because I ve been shopping with them 6 years since 2008.
iTunes too is very important for me - there is such a lot of lovely content out there.

My wife and I have just got into the ChromeCast / NetFlix world (dipping our toes in it right now) and I am yet to fully figure it out - can only do it when I visit the US since the need is greater when there. However, am sure it will be cool!

I do not somehow like/trust SnapDeal fully and for now, will not buy from them because my old and very close friend in Coorg bought something from them and was completely dissatisfied. Worse, he never got any recourse from them either.

I don't like all these weird sites like ShopClues etc because I somehow don't trust them at all.

I did buy a chair on Pepper Fry and it was delivered in broken condition. Of course I raised a stink and again, I know someone who used to work there so I got resolution from them in a while - they only repaired the chair though and I can see the scar every time I look.

For food and beverage needs, which are very rare in my case, I prefer TelePhone Commerce - using the phone to order in. For example, the Dominos Mobile App is amongst the absolute worst I have ever experienced - absolute rubbish. Much simpler to order on the phone though, where I live, in HSR, the local Dominos branch is probably the worst in the whole world - over here it actually makes sense to go across, pay, pick up and take away!

I am in general, not really a "deal seeker" in that sense and do not generally react to things like this Diwali Dhamaka and Big Billion Day etc.

I am quite used to and happy with indulging in "Travel and Accommodation and Holidays" on the web, through all the major airline sites like Indigo, BA, Singapore, Emirates, Malaysia, Lufthansa, Qatar etc and big travel aggregators like Expedia.com etc. Cleartrip is a good site. MakeMyTrip is ok too. I don't very much like GoDaddy and GoIbibo because I don't see the real differential. However, for travel especially air tickets, I like referring to SkyScanner.com for a sense of the price ranges available across different airlines for a particular sector of travel.

I like GiftBig.com for all my gifting and gift cards needs to give family and friends etc.

Ive been using Booking.com for Hotel bookings, for absolutely ages - around 10 years or so and there's never been a problem. For Cinema tickets, PVR and Book My Show etc are good, in general. I ve never had a problem with IRCTC.co.in and I ve been buying train tickets online for 10 years or so.

I am not sure about whether at this time, I will use BigBasket.com etc - I love the idea and I am sure it works beautifully for working couples who haven't got a lot of time on their hands. However, I rather like looking at and buying my lovely fresh veggies and meat myself from the brick and mortar world or have my trusted Home attendant do it for me.

There is one thing that I do like to do - I like to support the local economy and the small local retailer or small service provider by giving them my custom. It is also that I like that social interaction with the local community service providers. I believe strongly that people make the world go round and it is our bounden duty to do our best by the people in our immediate neighbourhood, community and so on. It is for this reason, that I vastly prefer working with my local "Kirana" store or "Kaday" because to me, they are very important people. My small contribution towards oiling the wheels of the local economy, you might say.

One last thing from me personally - it is wonderful, as a consumer, that most of these sites and e commerce companies have now ventured into their own Mobile Apps - it is really easy shopping off one's iPhone or iPad I find. Uber for example, is a brilliant case in point.

The one disadvantage is that one always tends to yield to impulse and sometimes this knocks the budget badly out of kilter!

Originally Posted by binand

Not sure where you got this info from; I have some foreign holdings on which I get 6-8% returns annually with capital protection (ie, zero risk tolerance). With the kind of risk that these HNIs are capable of taking, I expect their returns are in the 20-25% range.



Investors (unless institutional investors like pension funds) don't bother to look at the bottom line because it is the most irrelevant and the most easily manipulated of them all. Though there are many metrics, the ones I would want to see first are operating cash flow and EBITDA - both of which are extremely healthy for Amazon ($5.5 billion operating cash flow, $4 billion ebitda - in 2013). The reason they are not showing much profit is that they pretty much invest every dollar they make back in the business.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Ordered a Samsung 8 GB Class 6 micro SD card for the Moto E from Amazon (Amazon fulfilled). Price was the cheapest here compared to Snapdeal and Flipkart which were charging more for shipping.

Amazon does have a next day and 2nd day delivery for Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 more. Did not opt for that though since the requirement wasn’t urgent.

Damn! I received the package sometime back.

Without opting for the next day delivery, Amazon delivered the package in less than 48 hours from Bangalore to Surat. Not bad!

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

I did purchase a bag for zero INR(listed price was 3K), and some of the deals like I pad mini were the lowest I have seen, but there is no doubt that flipkart is the biggest gainer here

Edit: I got the bag out of pure luck, didn't spend an entire day looking for any steal deal, ordered a pair of good shoes and found the bag after adding the shoe to the cart. Hope other retailers give better offers to beat flipkart!

Small update guys



On a lighter note: Mods can move my original post to the official Jokes thread

[ritz3645]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

A set of International HNI's in the developed world make lots of money in the stock market or in real estate or wherever.
When they go to reinvest this wealth, they realise that the best they can get in these developed markets is in the region of 3-4%.
So they pop over to the local boys club of VC's and PE Investors and give them their money, on the understanding that the said VC's and PE Investors will grow the assets and return 9% or so over a period of time.
This money finds its way nicely into India and other developing markets, to fund this insatiable monster of e-commerce. The e commerce companies take this money and spend it in multifarious and inventive ways, in their race to acquire "consumer footfalls, transactions and turnover" all of which leads ultimately to this "holy grail" of "valuation", which in turn leads to mergers, acquisitions, IPO's and what have you.
Then a whole set of fresh moneys get pumped in and the cycle starts repeating itself, feeding off itself and going on.
No one knows when this "bubble" will burst, because if one takes a long hard and serious look at it, all of the above is simply a set of derivatives of a different set of derivatives of another different set of derivatives, all of which are at some point, bordering on thin air...

This is a cynical view, some may say.
Yes it is, but I do believe that it is more or less the way it is.

Saying the above, if one takes Amazon.com as a case in point and looks at their results quarter on quarter, there has been only one quarter where they came out of the red.
Yet, there appears to be a certain method in their madness, because they charge for a host of different services at different rates, so it seems that they are certainly making some money somewhere or the other.

For now, its fun times for the consumers. In reference to "profits" and "profitability" and all the rest of the conventional wisdom of doing business, I guess we shall have to simply wait and watch.

Dear Shankar,

Since Uncle Sam is dolling out dollars at zero rate, yes many people have borrowed it from him and are investing. But these borrowers are also responsible to return the amount,when interest rate go up that is a risk or file for Bankruptcy.

This money is founding its way all across the developing countries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country).

More than the local boys club members, its also involves organisations like Gates Foundation, or Pension Funds like Calpers, or Ontario Teachers Pension Plan http://www.otpp.com/

In my 7th or 8th English book there was a story about a Village. All village members will go every day to fetch water from a well which was on a hill. It was a tradition every day, 365 days. Then, one member got a bright idea of building a canal and bringing it to village, and for it he would get some compensation from all other members.

Similarly we live in a dynamic market, which is constantly evolving and changing, like our need and wants. We all are selling our services in this market. No one can control a market as ultimately it is the consumers who decide.

If majority of consumers want real estate in BKC, it can become more expensive than south Mumbai.

E- Commerce is also a business plan, which is an option for consumers. B&M stores will never become history as untill there is a need there will always be a B&M stores.

If many people buy there Diwali needs online yes this will affect the present inventory of B&M stores, and next year they will be cautious and more lean and mean. Some may close down, buy majority will try to reinvent that is how markets operate.

Another example you go to any Car dealer, and look at the wait time for new cars. The wait time is solely because just in time practice in manufacturing. Unsold inventory reduced or cut the flab.

These are just changing times, and just like brothers fight to prove who is better, E- Commerce is fighting to prove it is a better option.

Ultimately, Consumers and its cash, will decide who wins.

Or some ventures will fail like Kingfisher Airlines.

[blacksport]

Did anyone who bought a Nikon or canon from flipkart or amazon or snapdeal face any issue with warranty? Nikon seems to have issued a notice to the effect that these sites are not their authorized retailers, hence warranty is not valid. Am looking to buy a D3300, but after reading this, bit scared. If that is the case, I'd ditch nikon and get a Pentax k-500 online than being a victim of Nikon's unethical tactics.

[Safety is Param]

Originally Posted by amansanc

I wasn't talking of Flipkart specifically. I meant all the websites are selling the Lumia 1020 for prices above the MRP you mentioned. I am attaching a few screenshots from leading websites taken few minutes back. Can you post an image of the box showing MRP of 26k?? Saying this because the prices are more than that at most retail shops as well.

Here's the screen shot of the package. The MRP is not 26k as I was mentioning, but it's 29999/-; however, that does not take anything away from the discussion as per my understanding.

1) The product is still listed above this MRP at most of the sites.
2) At places where this product is being sold at 29999/- or a little less, the MRP quoted is out of the roof.

And mind you, this is a latest packaging, i.e. Sept 2014

[amansanc]

Originally Posted by Safety is Param

Here's the screen shot of the package. The MRP is not 26k as I was mentioning, but it's 29999/-; however, that does not take anything away from the discussion as per my understanding.

1) The product is still listed above this MRP at most of the sites.
2) At places where this product is being sold at 29999/- or a little less, the MRP quoted is out of the roof.

And mind you, this is a latest packaging, i.e. Sept 2014

Thanks for the pic. There can be two cases:
1) Either the MRP has changed recently and the sellers haven't bothered updating that on the website (to show bigger discounts).
2) The MRP was always less and sellers put up wrong MRP.

The sellers are wrong in both the cases. But since there are no laws against misinforming the customer, these people take benefit of it. Ridiculous!


Cheers
amansanc

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by amansanc

Thanks for the pic. There can be two cases:
1) Either the MRP has changed recently and the sellers haven't bothered updating that on the website (to show bigger discounts).
2) The MRP was always less and sellers put up wrong MRP.

The sellers are wrong in both the cases. But since there are no laws against misinforming the customer, these people take benefit of it. Ridiculous!


Cheers
amansanc

The MRP was dropped recently. Even internationally.

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/lumia-1...ct-05-10-2014/

The online sites seem to be quoting the old MRP to show higher discounts.

[shifu]

Hi,

Has anybody ordered shoes from Amazon.in. I see a pair of shoes that are quite competitively priced. But I am worried about the return policy. If any of you have used this, please let me know how easy or difficult it is to return.

Thanks in advance!

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by Safety is Param

Got the powerbank delivered today in the afternoon. However, the MRP tag on the box was found tampered / scratched when I opened it. Not sure what to make out of it!!

Attachment 1296767

Flopkart does it again.

I received my MI 10400 powerbank today and guess what the MRP is, 999 INR. So we have bought it at MRP on the so called big billion day.