[amitk26]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Well, Flipkart issue comes under Competition Commission of India (CCI), whose aim is to ensure fair and healthy competition in the markets. But why Enforcement Directorate (ED) is interested here is mystery.

Enforcement directorate is there to investigate how FK is using the FDI.
As per the current rules FDI is banned in retail mainly on premise of protecting small shopkeepers from likes of wallmarts however Flipkart gained approval for marketplace ( analogous to constructing a shopping mall ) so suppose if they divert the money received for marketplace to fund the retail growth it would be violation.

My best guess is flipkart will keep 2 sets of P&L accounts one for retail and another for marketplace showing retail activities are funded from internal sources. However for common set of activities for example if they used FDI to hire 1000+ engineers for building the e-com platform and it is being used for retail activity then it falls in grey area.

[binand]

Originally Posted by amitk26

My best guess is flipkart will keep 2 sets of P&L accounts one for retail and another for marketplace showing retail activities are funded from internal sources. However for common set of activities for example if they used FDI to hire 1000+ engineers for building the e-com platform and it is being used for retail activity then it falls in grey area.

First of all, Flipkart does not do retail anymore. Its retail arm, WS Retail, was sold last year to Rajiv Kuchhal (OnMobile).

Second, what matters to the regulator is the concept of "arm's-length transaction". If Flipkart cannot prove that its dealings (as the platform provider) with WS retail (as the retailer) are at arm's length, then the regulator will take the view that Flipkart was using its FDI in multi-brand retail activity (not allowed in India). They can structure the companies any way they like; it doesn't matter. There is no grey area here, any decent auditor should be able to clearly figure all this out.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by binand

First of all, Flipkart does not do retail anymore. Its retail arm, WS Retail, was sold last year to Rajiv Kuchhal (OnMobile).

ED was investigate state of affairs before WS Retail was sold. Since same set of entities owned Flipkart and WS Retail, a fine of up to 1400 crore is possible

The official said that the investigating agency has found that WS Retail, a firm incorporated in 2009 to transact with customers, was allegedly acting as a front for retail operations of Flipkart Online Services, incorporated in 2008. The ED investigation had commenced after the RBI had raised the issue.

http://indianexpress.com/article/bus....dAAFRZjY.dpuf

[shankar.balan]

Think about it.

It seems that in this country, only the old established business houses or those with strong political lobbies, can do business.

Everything is geared to give the maximum amount of trouble to any entrepreneurial set up and for some reason, the ED and the Department of Commerce and Trade etc seem almost jealous and they don't seem to want a business to succeed!

Isn't this ridiculous?


Mod Note : Please refrain from making comments that could offend anyone from any country.

[binand]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Everything is geared to give the maximum amount of trouble to any entrepreneurial set up and for some reason, the ED and the Department of Commerce and Trade etc seem almost jealous and they don't seem to want a business to succeed!

Probably you are right, but in the present context this sounds like an out-of-place rant.

The law of India says "no FDI in multibrand retail". It can't be any clearer. Flipkart tried to work around that using, some which definitely are questionable, means. They've been caught out now.

I know of companies that entered into long correspondence with the DIPP clarifying every single point of ambiguity before accepting FDI (venture funding) - sometimes from the same investors as Flipkart's. None of their cases got transferred to ED for "further investigation".

[drsingh]

Indian entrepreneurs have always pushed the envelope when it comes to the law. And its not exclusive to India. Disruptive businesses are always going to ruffle feathers. Look at what Amazon has been doing.

[audioholic]

So given that the Big billion day brought a lot of doubts into the public domain, and the government interested in investigating the same,

1. Who is held responsible? Flipkart or its sellers or both?
2. Who played around with the prices of goods and availability? Seller or flipkart? Did the sellers sit in front of the PC and changed stuff or Flipkart did it? If its the latter, then how can a seller get to know what price his product was sold at?

Many questions to be answered, hope there's someone here who can explain things from a seller's point of view.

[vikash49]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

On a different note, Flipkart is now using sidey couriers like First Flight for delivering parcels, including mobiles. This is really disappointing as their own courier service is much better overall, including the attitude of the delivery guys. The likes of First Flight on the other hand deliver crushed parcels (despite Flipkart's reasonably strong cardboard boxes). They also take longer to deliver. And now I'm even hearing of products being pilfered from the parcels.

So now its not just the deterioration in customer service and policies, even their delivery system is going down. Sad.

I used to have a lot of faith on Flipkart. But post the BigBlunder fiasco, they've lost my trust.

On 6th I picked up a Moto E @ 5499 as Diwali gift for Dad. Once I completed my order the estimated delivery date was shown as 17 OCT! That’s eleven days and TOO LONG by any standards. In current times, 2-3days is the max it takes for materials to reach Guwahati from any large city in the country. But then I was still cool as I had got a decent discount and would still be getting the phone before Diwali.

Next day (7th) I was happy to get an SMS from Flipkart confirming that my item had been shipped.

But, with the order being dispatched on 7th Oct and still not having received it by 15th evening, I got worried and logged into my Flipkart ac to track the order. And this is the scene that greeted me!



They had pushed my estimated delivery date by another 8 DAYS from 17th Oct to 25th Oct and that is after Diwali. There goes my plan to surprise my Dad on Diwali

Then I got on to the Delhivery site to track my package and this is what I see!



The package was shipped from Flipkart HQ (Haryana) on 7th Oct and received at their Delhi Hub at 4.50pm, 8th Oct and from then; the order has just been SITTING THERE for the past 8days

I tried multiple times to contact the Delhivery guys on the number listed on their tracking page, but it was continuously busy.

Tell me guys; is this the same reliable, efficient FLIPKART of yesteryears?

[hyper-VTEC]

Originally Posted by vikash49

I used to have a lot of faith on Flipkart. But post the BigBlunder fiasco, they've lost my trust.

Not only you. I know atleast 11 people (including me) who lost their faith in FK BigBlunder (well said!) Day sale.

[F150]

Yeah, not efficient at all. Ekart logistics was great. Ever since they started engaging third party delivery partners there is a steady decline in the delivery standards.
I still remember those days when I ordered a keyboard on Friday night and the product was received on Saturday afternoon.

[Aiel]

Originally Posted by vikash49

I
Then I got on to the Delhivery site to track my package and this is what I see!

The package was shipped from Flipkart HQ (Haryana) on 7th Oct and received at their Delhi Hub at 4.50pm, 8th Oct and from then; the order has just been SITTING THERE for the past 8days

I tried multiple times to contact the Delhivery guys on the number listed on their tracking page, but it was continuously busy.

Tell me guys; is this the same reliable, efficient FLIPKART of yesteryears?

I have had a bad experience with the Delhivery guys for a puzzle that I had ordered from Amazon. The parcel was shown to be sitting for a random number of days at certain locations, such as 4 days in Delhi, 2 days in Chennai, 4 days in Bangalore, before finally being delivered to me around 1-1/2 weeks after they picked the product up.

I was thoroughly disappointed in their service and delivery.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by msdivy

This year they secured investment. So far so good, but the business is very risky. There are plenty of instances of failures (like Indiaplaza), where when the VCs left, the company collapsed.

They'll probably not collapse but be bought by a bigger player.

Originally Posted by binand

They are now doing it with the Myntra brand. I saw full page ad on today's Hindu that a sale is coming up.

Every other day I see FK or Myntra or SD with their First/Front Full Page Diwali Sale ads When will this hype die?!

Originally Posted by Kumar R

If a seller is not attracting all these three conditions he can legitimately give away products for free without any restrictions.

I certainly don't know about the CCI laws but I cannot accept to this particular statement. That's clearly disruptive and cannot be in the interest of everyone in the long term.

Originally Posted by vikash49

I used to have a lot of faith on Flipkart. But post the BigBlunder fiasco, they've lost my trust.

Tell me guys; is this the same reliable, efficient FLIPKART of yesteryears?

I ordered stuff just 2 days before the BigBillionSale and got it delivered much ahead of the scheduled date. I can understand your disappointment but I'll reserve my judgement on their service and delivery efficiency for a couple of weeks. Apparently they had received a lot of orders, so such delays are expected in reality. e-retailing or Supply Chain Management in India is not so mature to be able to expand and contract for such situations.

Amazon USA clearly mentions that, a delay is expected during Christmas holidays and the delivery dates are also padded enough. In FK case, that was not done probably.

I'm totally against the way BBS was conducted, but people should also be realistic in their expectations. You get stuff at discounted prices;you COULD loose something in the bargain. FK lost their credibility, some customers lost their patience. If I was getting a surprise gift, I personally wouldn't have gone this route. I mean, what's the priority here, to have the gift ahead of a certain date or discount?

[jaibir]

Delhivery is generally quite bad. They messed up delivery for a lens I'd ordered ahead of a vacation last year - kept it in their Bangalore hub for a week. I had already left by the time they got around to delivering it. Now I prefer to just cancel orders shipped through Delhivery (not an option for one off deals unfortunately).

Even Amazon shipping efficiency has dropped during the past few days. Shipping is delayed and standard timelines have been increased from 3-4 days to 8-9 days (with even those not being met).

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by vikash49

I used to have a lot of faith on Flipkart. But post the BigBlunder fiasco, they've lost my trust.
.
.
.
.
The package was shipped from Flipkart HQ (Haryana) on 7th Oct and received at their Delhi Hub at 4.50pm, 8th Oct and from then; the order has just been SITTING THERE for the past 8days
I tried multiple times to contact the Delhivery guys on the number listed on their tracking page, but it was continuously busy.

I never liked Flipkart from the days when it started selling stuff other than books. All were priced over and above other online retailers like Snapdeal, Tradus. So I never bothered to buy from Flipkart.
In the past 1.5 years, I have noticed very aggressive pricing by Flipkart, which infact in some cases beat Snapdeal / Amazon prices. So I started placing orders on Flipkart.

Initially I was happy with BlueDart and E-Kart delivery. Then I bought a camera which was sent by Delhivery, which screwed up the delivery.
Post that I have received items via Delhivery from Snapdeal and Flipkart.

Delhivery is the worst courier company I have ever seen in my life. Smaller companies like First Flight and others are way ahead in the league.
The folks at Delhivery do not provide status update on tracking consignment. Worse is when you call them, they update you from what you already know on the website.
When I demanded to speak to manager, they said he was the manager itself (wow, manager taking call center calls). They promise call back but do not callback.
So I leave all hope and resign it to my luck when I see that a product has been shipped via Delhivery.
Just Google up and you would be shocked to see only negative reviews about Delhivery.

Good luck to you with that 25th Oct delivery date.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by vikash49

On 6th I picked up a Moto E @ 5499 as Diwali gift for Dad. Once I completed my order the estimated delivery date was shown as 17 OCT! That’s eleven days and TOO LONG by any standards.

Yes, their indicated normal delivery is too long, sometimes 12 days. They usually have next day delivery option for Rs 90. Probably they want users to opt for faster delivery by making normal delivery obscenely long.