[binand]

Originally Posted by poloman

I would never buy phones from such shady places. [...] Read somewhere that returns are as high as 50% in Indian online retail sites in segments like mobile phones.

You can afford such a stance - since you live in a metro (assuming this from your profile), speak English, presumably dress in a way the staff at these stores are impressed and pay with plastic.

And even if the 50% return rate is correct (which I don't believe even for a moment), it is still working out well for manufacturers - look at the number of phone brands that were launched online or are available only online. A year ago 30% of the phones sold in India were sold online - today I'll be surprised if that number isn't north of 40%. Manufacturers are finding that the one-shot access to the whole of India beats the necessity of setting up a distribution network and signing on multiple channel partners.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

Please don't compare apples to a fruit market.

Online portals are market places where hundreds of sellers participate. Not a mobile or chroma store where everything is in 100℅ control. Of course, portals will do everything possible to prevent dishonest sellers but it can never be certain. Better use your wits.

I have bought at least 15 mobiles online from Amazon, fk and Samsung stores. Not once, it arrived in such a condition that it was possible to be even touched by a customer before.

My response was to the specific news item on Amazon. They proclaim in big bold letters they sell only original products. In this case this was not the case. OK, mistakes can happen, but do you think what followed was in good taste? Why couldn't they close the case accepting the letter from Sony? Is it the customer's responsibility to contact the seller who has by now vanished to thin air?

[binand]

Originally Posted by poloman

My response was to the specific news item on Amazon. They proclaim in big bold letters they sell only original products. In this case this was not the case. OK, mistakes can happen, but do you think what followed was in good taste? Why couldn't they close the case accepting the letter from Sony? Is it the customer's responsibility to contact the seller who has by now vanished to thin air?

Do they, given that they don't do the selling? All they seem to say is this:

"Sellers are committed to sell only genuine products to customers on Amazon.in. All sellers listing their products on Amazon.in are required to enter an agreement to list and sell only genuine products."

If the seller returns to Amazon then I will admit they are complicit at least by omission in this case.

The thing is, the original article is so full of hyperbole and partisan statements and one-sided narration (where is the denial of service letter, for example?) that I am not inclined to take it as gospel truth. See this, for example:

"is there a national security aspect to phones that cannot be inventoried by the manufacturer in India?"

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by poloman

I would never buy phones from such shady places. In fact these are the same guys who have now crept up in to the online market places.

Absolutely agree, I have the same views for the same reasons. I like thinking that every little thing I do in life is an achievement, and among them is the fact that I've never resorted to "online" shopping till date and I consider it a laudable achievement where people all around me order even a sewing needle from Amazon for Rs.1/- . Ok I'm kidding. Where I'm irritated is the way these "online" sellers tempt buyers with promises of exchange, "authentic" goods etc, if they are so confident then why use the word genuine or authentic at all? That is assumed. All they do is release an advertisement every month where 7-8 stereotypical Indians dance, throw Holi colours, blast crackers and party for having ordered from their site. I rub my forehead in utter exasperation when I see these trolling ads. On par with those Airtel ads with very little meaning.

While I certainly do not want to question the intelligence of people shopping online, and while I accept that 80, heck 90% of the deliveries may be genuine and never before opened packages.. for me even a 10% error rate is unacceptable and I know these "courier" companies in the guise of international shopping giants have nowhere near the amount of safeguards and checks necessary to prevent mistakes. To me its a no-option indefinitely.

Originally Posted by binand

And even if the 50% return rate is correct (which I don't believe even for a moment), it is still working out well for manufacturers - look at the number of phone brands that were launched online or are available only online.

I realize it, the last time I questioned the point of online shopping I was given numerous valid reasons, chief among them the lack of retail shops in smaller cities and inability to procure what merchandise one wants due to lack of stocking even in the few retail stores around them, that's where Flippy and Amazy work the best.. I get it. I personally didn't understand until then because I live in an area where almost 90% of the commodities are within a km. Metro citizens will not understand the importance of online shopping but even then I see everyone around me order everything from fruits, vegetables and soap from their mobiles.. to me its a bit ridiculous.

I'd give these online courier companies a little bit of respect if they market their services a little bit intelligently and honestly. Let them NOT give a return option, so that people will be confident that the next mobile they buy wont be a pre-opened one. Let them say that if the un-opened box sold to the buyer contains a defective product then its subject to the warranty and should be carried out by the buyer himself directly with the brand. Let them also do a quick delivery at no additional cost.. I think waiting 2-3 days in today's age is kind of tortoise paced.

I rely on nothing online, heck the only reason I even use the internet at home is to login here or watch funny Youtube videos. The lack of personal touch makes people do mischief and I've seen it even when hiring an Uber. I love America more than perhaps any other Indian but the way their companies are taking direction today starting with Microsoft, Apple, Uber, Amazon etc, just gives me the creeps.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by binand

Do they, given that they don't do the selling? All they seem to say is this:

"Sellers are committed to sell only genuine products to customers on Amazon.in. All sellers listing their products on Amazon.in are required to enter an agreement to list and sell only genuine products."

If the seller returns to Amazon then I will admit they are complicit at least by omission in this case.

The thing is, the original article is so full of hyperbole and partisan statements and one-sided narration (where is the denial of service letter, for example?) that I am not inclined to take it as gospel truth. See this, for example:

"is there a national security aspect to phones that cannot be inventoried by the manufacturer in India?"

I was in agreement with some of your earlier points, but as a customer this is downright unacceptable to me. Amazon just cannot wash its hands like that. As a buyer I am buying the item from Amazon. It is for them to do the due diligence about the seller. The buyer cannot find out whether the seller is a shady guy sitting in Gaffar market or Burma Bazaar.
Now a days my online purchases are limited to low value items, which are difficult to source or procure from local markets.

[binand]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I personally didn't understand until then because I live in an area where almost 90% of the commodities are within a km. Metro citizens will not understand the importance of online shopping but even then I see everyone around me order everything from fruits, vegetables and soap from their mobiles.. to me its a bit ridiculous.

Here is my situation. I get no chance of doing my day-to-day shopping during weekdays (office+commute leaves me exhausted). So all shopping has to be done on weekends. That takes about 2 hours of driving (home to Indiranagar, some local travel and back home), about 30 mins to 1 hour selecting stuff at the stores, and sometimes another 30 minutes wait at the checkout line. A total of 4 hours at the lower end. That is time I need to spend with my family, so we shop for everything online. We buy from 2-3 trusted brands, and our weekly shopping is done in about 30 minutes usually. I don't particularly care about the discounts or delivery schedule, but I do care about convenience and I value my time.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I rely on nothing online, heck the only reason I even use the internet at home is to login here or watch funny Youtube videos.

I think you had products in mind when you said this. There are probably a number of services for which you rely on the Internet - banking, some government services, travel, bill pay etc. - or do you go to their B&M locations to do all this?

Originally Posted by poloman

I was in agreement with some of your earlier points, but as a customer this is downright unacceptable to me. Amazon just cannot wash its hands like that.

The point I was trying to make is this: I have been shopping on Amazon for more than a decade (.com, .co.uk and now .in). In these years, I have built a lot of trust in the Amazon brand. It takes a lot more than a random article by an unknown person to break that trust.

But if at all that trust is broken, I will never do business with them again. So far, my personal blacklist has two entries.

[hserus]

For grocery delivery at least, I tend to prefer bigbasket.com - they've delivered consistently on time in Bangalore and then in Chennai. Their inhouse products are pretty decent too for the most part.

And there are some things they sell that I just can't find in my heritage / nilgiris type local supermarkets - Tata Fusion tea (a lovely brand where you have a jar of assam tea topped with a smaller jar of either kenyan or green tea, you can mix the two together for a very interesting brew), some expensive coffees I'd have to order online from specialist roasters such as flying squirrel .. (though that's only available from big basket bangalore looks like).

[carwatcher]

Did anyone find something worthwhile dancing like they showed in the Ad since last few days from the Great Indian Sale.
I didn't find anything.

[glenmz]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

Did anyone find something worthwhile dancing like they showed in the Ad since last few days from the Great Indian Sale.
I didn't find anything.

Agree. Did check couple of time, noting worth looking in Amazon.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by hserus

For grocery delivery at least, I tend to prefer bigbasket.com - they've delivered consistently on time in Bangalore and then in Chennai. Their inhouse products are pretty decent too for the most part.

Have been a very early adopter of Bigbasket but have also been using Amazon Now for the last month and they are amazingly fast. Sometimes I have ordered stuff and it has reached within 1 hour flat. Our local Foodworld is also very well stocked so win-win for everyone.

[binand]

Originally Posted by hserus

For grocery delivery at least, I tend to prefer bigbasket.com

My wife's view is that BB is a bit behind the times. Zopnow delivers quicker here in Bangalore. Plus she swears by organic food, for which she's been using Healthy Buddha (healthybuddha.in) for quite some time now - probably one of their launch customers.

Though, our local kirana store delivers within 30 minutes. Let BB/ZN beat that.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by binand

My wife's view is that BB is a bit behind the times.

Depending on where you live in Bangalore (only limited PIN codes being serviced for now), there is also urDoorStep.com.

While I do buy from BigBasket, I have been gravitating towards urDoorStep for over a year because their grocery prices are generally cheaper than BigBasket.

[poloman]

Looks like Amazon delivery is going crazy. Had ordered some low value items COD on Amazon. The item was dispatched by Amazon transport service. After 4 days it reached Bangalore. Status showed item out for delivery. I was present the entire day at the delivery address.No one called me and in the evening got an update saying that item could not be delivered since the customer was not available. Now the next day at 9AM morning one guy is calling and saying he is present at the entrance for delivery. Mind you this is an office address and Amazon is expecting people to be present at 9AM at office.I told I am yet to arrive and he abruptly cut the phone and after that no news from him. Not sure whether they are gonna to attempt delivery one more time. Since this is not an urgent item and it is COD I am least bothered.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by poloman

Status showed item out for delivery. I was present the entire day at the delivery address.No one called me and in the evening got an update saying that item could not be delivered since the customer was not available.

"Customer not available" is Amazon's standard BS response when they cannot complete all their deliveries on a given day. It shifts the blame to the customer. Who knows, they may do this because someone is tracking a metric of the time elapsed between "out for delivery" and "delivered".

When I was at the receiving end of this, I first thought it was just the delivery guy playing tricks. But when I raised a complaint, all the customer care people were interested in was reassuring me it'll be delivered the next day, and ignored the whole point that you mentioned (no calls, no attempts to deliver, but blaming the customer). That's when I realized its not just the delivery guy, but some manner of a management decision to handle late deliveries in such a manner, one that involves both the delivery staff and customer care executives.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by poloman

Looks like Amazon delivery is going crazy.

I was afraid of something like this.

Simply put, Amazon has just launched PRIME in India.

Prime comes with 2 months free trial - where you get FREE 1-day delivery.

I'm sure a ton of Amazon shoppers have signed up for the free trial, even if they have no intentions of paying for the service after the 2 months pass.

Basically, this is going to put a huge load on their delivery infrastructure for the next several months.