Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)

-   -   Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/214298-amazon-vs-flipkart-do-you-prefer-why-7.html)

I thought of giving this thread a miss but i would like to be the first in the (prematurely) old haggard list who sticks his head out and says this:

1. Electronics : Pai / Girias / Crome / Poorvika stores ( you know with roof , door, concrete wall, displays and stuff).

2. Groceries : Local kirana store ( read def in point 1).

3. Automotive stuff : FNG , JC road store ( read def in point 1).

4. Others : Well...what more do you need?.

If i don't get what i need ,that rarely happens , i check in amazon or ebay. Mostly not disappointed with either. Never been to flipkart.

We are a proud "connected with limits" family.

For me, Prime membership for quick delivery, music and Videos is the primary factor for Amazon over Flipkart.

I usually used to compare and make a call, if I purchase for branded items. Cost is important if it is between Flipkart vs Amazon.in. For example if it is ebay vs Amazon, I obviously go for Amazon for their service and delivery speed.

But I voted for Amazon as I have a better experience with them from the Amazon US itself. Once I purchased a pair of Power line Network Adapters from Amazon UK to be delivered directly to Muscat by Amazon itself. It was not delivered even after almost a month. I made a complaint and then I got the new pairs delivered soon. After almost 2 months, I got the first pair I ordered (confirmed with order number). When I called back the CS, he simply said, please keep both the sets!

Recently though, had two bad experiences with Amazon US. I purchased a Galaxy Smartwatch and it had some issues. So, I had to return it by paying the shipping cost myself. Second one was a serious one, as I ordered two identical items (2 numbers worth almost USD 2500) of Aorus Nvidia GTX2080TI and I received one Aorus Nvidia GTX1060 to my shock! I never thought Amazon had these kinds of issues with their QC. But the return worked without any hiccups even though return only reached Amazon US after the return window date. The worst part is that the Customer Service never works and always we get an automated emails (Alexa working overtime?!). Still I buy from Amazon US and that leads me to choose Amazon India as my first choice over other options.

I have bought from almost all ecommerce sites except rediff and indiatimes. Some have been taken over, some do not exist now. Now the big fight here is between flipkart and amazon india and like most other users here I have a soft corner for amazon since i've been shopping on amazondotcom before flipkart or amazon india existed. Similarly i miss ebay India because my first ever online order was for an alloy case for Zune on ebaydotcom; and I used to purchase from ebay india before either before flipkart or amazon india was up and running. Flipkart eventually pulled the plug on ebay india after they bought ebay's india operation.

Nowadays I purchase from both sites but only items that are Prime/Amazon fulfilled/Flipkart advantage. I have taken up with amazon customer service several times the need to pack items better after receiving spilled liquid, torn carton etc. I have found that Flipkart packs liquid stuff better than Amazon, so purchase certain liquid items from flipkart if it is available as flipkart advantage eventhough the cost might be a little high.

Amazon has great customer service, read this as you will not lose your money if something goes wrong. But honestly I would prefer not having to deal with customer service in the first place be it flipkart or amazon. I often hear how bad is flipkart's customer service but I have not had to avail of the same so far but if they suck when I need them i would stop buying from them.

I have purchased a lot of DRM free music from flipkart flyte when that service was launched 7 years ago. I have bought several DRM free good quality (320kbps was highest iirc) music from them but unfortunately they pulled the plug on it after an year. Amazon music makes up for it and thankfully we have better internet than we did 7 years ago.

If i have to vote I will stop buying online. Both needs to co-exist otherwise it will soon become a monopoly and we badly need a third player on this space.

Flipkart does not provide GST invoices and the customer service is horrible

Amazon is a mature platform

Lately I have lost faith in Flipkart due to some incidences leaving a bad taste. I voted Amazon which I use mostly for items such as mobiles, electronics, clothes (not expensive ones), shoes and other sundry items.

For home appliances the method is to compare on amazon then buy in a store if the prices are similar. e.g. I recently bought a television after gathering information on amazon and then went to the reliance store and got it at the same price plus some cashback.

For groceries, dairy and bakery needs we totally depend on the local grocer, super market because of the decades long relationship.

This is a one sided battle. Customer service of Amazon is very good. Price is cheaper than Flipkart as well. Above all, Amazon has a much wider and comprehensive range of products to shop.

My! Someone at Walmart senior management needs to see this survey.

Although, I suspect, the result of this poll only reflects the choices of urban, English speaking junta. A rural survey on the same subject might turn up entirely different results. Btw, do these sites cater to rural areas (I'm not asking about Tier I and Tier II cities)?

Nowadays my online shopping begins and ends at Amazon. I did use flipkart in the early days but their success went to their heads when they made it compulsory for us to download the app. I never install apps that aren't an absolute must.

Amazon still insists on the app from time to time but I just ignore it and that's ok. But flipkart lost me when they made it compulsory to have the app. Ofcourse they've learnt of their folly later on but it was a too little too late.

Though i use both Amazon and Flipkart; its mostly Amazon i reach first for its better customer care. Have had a few bad experiences with Flipkart customer support, yet to have any with Amazon.

I buy books online, and Amazon (basically started as a book selling store) is a clear winner. In terms of price and delivery speed.
Its easy to buy used books from amazon.com. Flipkart pricing is no match to Amazon.

Both Flipkart & Amazon are equally good. A laptop I bought was cheaper in Flipkart, while a washing machine was cheaper in Amazon. But its not like OFFLINE options are bad either, say Ex. the Side-by-Side refrigerator we bought, we normally wouldn't have taken to, but the store sales-guy presented it so very well as an option & arranged a very sweet deal, we went for it.

Still, if I'm intently shopping -

1) Electronics :
All phones my family uses are bought on Flipkart.
I had shortlisted a few laptops online & went to local stores on these sale days to see what better value add they could do. Although I eventually bought on Flipkart as it was a normal work Laptop, I would've been much more comfortable buying from B&M store if it was an expensive personal laptop because of the assurance the physical stores were capable of giving.

Last year, I had bought a Luminous inverter on PayTM as it said 36 month warranty. A fortnight after it was delivered, while assembling it my electrician said it has 18 months of warranty & the remaining 18 months, I'd only be given a small percentage discount in the battery replacement. I wouldn't have overlooked this if bought offline. Last week the inverter conked off as battery was not holding charge. It had just 5volts when checked, The technician told me it was always better to buy from a local dealer as their batteries are fast moving.

2) Clothes :
I have tried many websites, the difference between the product shown & actual product will not help. My strong opinion is to buy OFFLINE because something that has to be worn cannot be bought without being touched.

3) Groceries :
Mostly offline. What happens with Amazon/Flipkart/Grofers is that all kinds of unnecessary calorific junk makes way into the list. Veggies are usually very good quality but definitely costlier than what I buy at local supermarkets. As deliveries are not immediate except Amazon Now (which I haven't used in quite a while), Value add doesn't work.

4) Automotive :
My pressure washer was bought on Amazon.

I buy Amazon Basics microfibre seasonally. To me they're sufficiently affordable to have no regrets when they're demoted to other jobs.

I used to buy Engine oil online, but this time I bought the oil offline, same product-spec as online, but the engine note post oil-change is definitely better than when I changed the online-purchased Engine Oil.

Tyres were changed from a local shop at JC Road. At the same time, since my cars headlight had internally darkened due to oxidation, thought to ask for the cost of exchanging it with a refurbished one. This guy refurbished the existing headlight in 2 hrs & fit it back. You WON'T guess for how much - for all of Rupees 500/-!!. I didn't even haggle.

Man I'm so impressed with how things worked I honestly believe we owe it to the people in these un-organised segments to give them a chance because although I could've bought tyres cheaper online, going to the local shop led me to get the other work done.

Going out & meeting knowledgeable store staff/owners, has its own uses if one is able to judge that they're not being taken for a ride.

Can you please share the contact/location details of the headlamp refurbishing guy? Need to get it done on one of our cars. Thanks

It is a lost cause. I know Walmart India's senior folks (director level) who shop at Amazon lol:.

Overall I am comfortable with Amazon these days, unless I get some killer deals, prefer to use Amazon over Flipkart. Their delivery experience and customer support has been better for me, compared to Flipkart. When it comes to exchanging electronic items like phone and laptop, amazon again has much user friendly clearer terms, and not at the mercy of the executives who come to collect. Amount of conning is also much lesser in amazon.