[Deep Blue]

More problem for Kerala's online shoppers.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle6113385.ece

[saket77]

Originally Posted by drsingh

I had ordered a cellphone from flipkart once. It had the charger missing and pictures of a family. I complained by email, sent pics of phone as proof and got a refund.

You mean to say that you were sold a used product?
BTW, not talking about this particular case, but is there any chance that the logistic companies or the courier service people can unpack the parcel and fiddle with our products?

[drmohitg]

Have a query. I heard a case where this person ordered a phone from flipkart and on receiving the delivery he was shocked to see the phone missing from the package. It was only the box. Eventually he complained and got a refund. But how does this work. How can flipkart trust you that you didn't just take the phone and sold it or something? Also many times, depending on the courier guy, they refuse to allow you to see the stuff before making the payment. Now in case of defects etc, how does flipkart fix responsibility? Can't for example a customer while taking out the phone, drops it and cracks the screen. But he can just tell the vendor that this was how he received it and demand a refund. What happens in such cases?

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by saket77

You mean to say that you were sold a used product?

Most of the online websites these days have a 30 or something days return/replacement guarantee.
So what do they do with the products that are returned with minor or easily repairable defect?
My best guess is they correct the minor flaw, if any and resold it.

[manim]

Originally Posted by drsingh

I had ordered a cellphone from flipkart once. It had the charger missing and pictures of a family. I complained by email, sent pics of phone as proof and got a refund.

Was the seller WsRetail?

Because I had always trusted WsRetail and would rather pay a bit more for peace-of-mind. But if they are getting bad then I am concerned.

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by manim

Was the seller WsRetail?

Because I had always trusted WsRetail and would rather pay a bit more for peace-of-mind. But if they are getting bad then I am concerned.

It was flipkart/ws retail . About a year ago. They were prompt to send a courier guy to pick it up from my place. They are good with customer service. But I suspect they try to dispose off as much unsold stock as possible. The product I wanted went out of stock a couple of days after I ordered and they refunded my money.

I haven't used flipkart for a long time now. Didn't need to, but wouldn't mind using them again.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by drsingh

I had ordered a cellphone from flipkart once. It had the charger missing and pictures of a family. I complained by email, sent pics of phone as proof and got a refund.

I used to think this trend of manufacturers warning people from buying electronic goods online was only to protect the interests of the other retailers. But such instances open up a whole new perspective.

Looks like when someone returns a phone to Flipkart, they promptly pack it up and sell it back to an unsuspecting customer.

Will need to be wary while purchasing online from now on.

From the looks of it, Amazon looks like the only E-Retailer that hasn't seen such issues yet.

[manim]

Want to buy a Air-rifle for my children for target practice, any reliable online shop?

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

Looks like when someone returns a phone to Flipkart, they promptly pack it up and sell it back to an unsuspecting customer.

Will need to be wary while purchasing online from now on.

From the looks of it, Amazon looks like the only E-Retailer that hasn't seen such issues yet.

I had the same issue with flipkart as well when I ordered a bosch drill and tools set. It comes in a plastic box with a seal that breaks on opening from the manufacturer to indicate it is a new piece.

The one I got from flipkart had the seal broken. They agreed to replace it, but the replacement also had the same issue. Finally they gave me the option of getting a refund or trying another piece. I opted for trying out one more time and the third one finally had its seal intact.

It looks like, people order these things, drill wherever necessary and then return them! And flipkart passes them on to other customers as new pieces.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by SR71-Blackbird

It looks like, people order these things, drill wherever necessary and then return them! And flipkart passes them on to other customers as new pieces.

And what does Bosch probably do? Put a new seal and return back to flipkart or another dealer?

I ordered a Cowon MP3 player from flipkart long back. The battery backup was no where near the specified 10hrs. It came to around 5hrs even after testing as per specification. So I took it up with flipkart and they resent another piece. This time, the month of manufacture was July/Aug against the first one which was in Jan! I did ask for fresh stock and so they definitely had old and new stock. But disappointingly, this had only a slight edge over the old one ~ 7hrs.

[binand]

Originally Posted by thoma

And what does Bosch probably do? Put a new seal and return back to flipkart or another dealer?

I think there is a misunderstanding here. These returned goods are not Flipkart's to dispose of - they are expected to send them back to the manufacturer (the retailer-manufacturer agreement will have clauses that require the manufacturer to take back all unsold inventory, especially in costly high-end goods). The manufacturer then sell these in the refurbished goods market - a thriving market where such items are sold minus the manufacturer's branding and warranty. There are then small-time players who deal with such stuff - either tag their own warranty, or sell these warranty-less, or whatever.

In these cases, it appears that the distribution channel is being polluted with refurbished goods by unscrupulous players. Neither Flipkart, nor the manufacturer have any incentive to do so - they all have brand images to consider and the cost of dealing with these cases are absorbed in their revenue models. Most honest and decent distributors also refrain from doing this, but there will be bad eggs everywhere I guess.

Here's Best Buy's FAQ on refurbished products:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/electron...at249600050017

[thoma]

Originally Posted by binand

I think there is a misunderstanding here. These returned goods are not Flipkart's to dispose of - they are expected to send them back to the manufacturer

Thanks for the info. Please read my previous comment in a sarcastic tone. I am nowhere sure what is happening behind the curtains.

Most honest and decent distributors also refrain from doing this, but there will be bad eggs everywhere I guess.

From the best-buy's FAQ,

The returned products are sent back to either an original manufacturer, a third-party refurbishment company or Best Buy's own in-house repair centers where they can usually be restored to like-new condition.

This is all that I was worried of. Bestbuy could put it across cleanly, how about others. I have many times experienced local dealers selling refurbished items, so why not online dealers? How can one explain sending me a replacement item almost 6 months newer? Don't you think, either the manufacturer or the dealer thinks about sending dud stock first. Dud stock can include returned items, old stock, refurbished etc.

[DCEite]

Have started to stay away from Flipkart now. The above posts re-affirm my believe that they have turned a little too greedy.

Amazon is my only hope now. Yesterday i ordered a stuff worth just 99 bucks. The order was made at around 1 PM, got dispatched the same day. And guess what, just got it delivered a few minutes back. And i didn't even opt for One day delivery. And did i say free shipping (for an order costing just 99 bucks! )??

Dear FK, too much greed is not so good. The competition is here to eat you up.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by SR71-Blackbird

I had the same issue with flipkart as well when I ordered a bosch drill and tools set. It comes in a plastic box with a seal that breaks on opening from the manufacturer to indicate it is a new piece.

The one I got from flipkart had the seal broken. They agreed to replace it, but the replacement also had the same issue. Finally they gave me the option of getting a refund or trying another piece. I opted for trying out one more time and the third one finally had its seal intact.

It looks like, people order these things, drill wherever necessary and then return them! And flipkart passes them on to other customers as new pieces.

You know what SR71, about 2 years ago, I bought a Bosch drill set from BigBazar here. And to tell you, all the 8-9 sets which were kept there had their seals broken, although they all looked unused. I asked about it from the sales guy but he was not able to give any satisfactory answer. But reading your experience has got me thinking.

[binand]

Originally Posted by saket77

all the 8-9 sets which were kept there had their seals broken, although they all looked unused.

Store visitors pilfer. There are these 5 for Rs. 25 cheap ball pens available nowadays - you will be hard-pressed to find one packet that has all 5 pens in it, even at an upmarket store like Staples. :-)