[wadewilson]

Wanted to share about my recent experience in pre-ordering a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 from Flipkart. I paid the full amount on the 24th of August when pre-orders went live with an assurance that device would be delivered by the 10th of September or latest by 14th of September. It's the 13th of September today and still no update on my order. Everytime I contact them, they tell me, "Sir, we'll resolve the issue by the 15th". When asked what resolution that would be - whether product would be shipped, he dryly remarks - "Sir, whether cancelled or shipped, we'll let you know then.

On the same note, I ordered a keyboard from China (a foldable one) which arrived today while there's no update yet from Flipkart's end. Anyway, I also pre-ordered a leather case from Samsung which arrived today as well.

The reason I am sharing this is to inform fellow BHPians that - Kindly do not preorder from online stores. Unlike in the US or Europe or Australia, etc., here in India, it seems preorder means, pay the same price but wait longer I don't have any issues with Flipkart or Amazon or any other online site since I purchase almost all my electronics from them since I live in a rural area and it's only through them I can purchase the latest electronics. However, this preorder fiasco has taught me never to preorder from these online stores and rather wait for official sales to start

[livyodream]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

On the same note, I ordered a keyboard from China (a foldable one) which arrived today

Curious. Which website/App did you use to order products from China?

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

I ordered a keyboard from China (a foldable one) which arrived today...

Where did you order this from? I used to buy stuff from AliExpress, but that's non-operational since last year.

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Where did you order this from? I used to buy stuff from AliExpress, but that's non-operational since last year.

Originally Posted by livyodream

Curious. Which website/App did you use to order products from China?

Hiya guys, I used Banggood. I think they have a tie up with someone in Delhi who reships the products once it reaches. My order also didn’t say - China, but rather shipped from Delhi. My guess is that once the product reaches Delhi, the contact reships using Delhivery/Bluedart/Xpressbees etc. and it reaches quite quickly. However, the only downside of Banggood is that, their product selection is quite limited and nowhere comes close to AliExpress but since GOI has banned it, there’s no other way

[Everlearner]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

I ordered a keyboard from China (a foldable one) which arrived today

I'm also looking for a compact keyboard and mouse to carry in my laptop bag. Can you share the link, price and feedback please?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

Wanted trol

That image needs to go in the official jokes thread.

I too have something very small pending with flipkart, and I get an SMS every 2-3 days that it has moved an inch today, a meter tomorrow etc. I should have been warned by the app experience of FK

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

I'm also looking for a compact keyboard and mouse to carry in my laptop bag. Can you share the link, price and feedback please?

Definitely. I'll post the link here. Bluetooth Keyboard for Samsung Dex. The Keyboard cost me around Rs. 2500 or thereabouts (including shipping). The keyboard isn't the best to use, but it just about gets the job done. Since the keyboard is foldable, some keys have been shrunk to accommodate the same. It takes a while getting used to, and I still make a few mistakes.

Originally Posted by mayankk

That image needs to go in the official jokes thread.

Would be honored if it gets posted there

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Pre-Order Update

I guess now would be a good time to post an update on my order since last time. So, on the 14th of September, I check again on Flipkart, and my order still hasn't been shipped or even been packed for that matter. Then I see the delivery date and it has been moved to 21st September (so almost one month after making the preorder). What makes me really annoyed is the fact that I will have to wait for a month despite preordering while there are people who are going directly to the Samsung stores and purchasing it in India Anyway, I get a call on the 14th of September from a Flipkart Customer Care Rep. and she tells me that due to logistical problems my order is delayed. I ask her - "How much longer would I have to wait then?" and she tells me, "Sir, within 24 hours, your issue would be resolved". Then I asked whether this means that the device would be shipped on the 15th of September and she says - "Sir, we will try our best to resolve your issue within or before 24 hours". Since a straight answer wasn't forthcoming, I thanked her and cut the call. It's the 15th of September today and I checked the order and it still hasn't been packed. My pre-order might get delayed further till October I guess. Will update if and when I receive any updates regarding this.

On a side note, I also want to inform members about my experience with Flipkart's Smart Upgrade Plan so here goes.

Flipkart Smart Upgrade Plan

On October, 2020, I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S20+ from Flipkart through the Smart Upgrade Plan. The plan was touted as giving customers the ability to upgrade to the latest smartphones every year. Essentially how the plan worked was that, Flipkart would give you an advance on a smartphone you purchased. They gave me an advance of Rs. 15,000 which discounted the price of the phone to around Rs. 32,963. Fast forward to September 2021, Flipkart now shows that my phone was eligible for an upgrade so excitedly I checked out the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 but when I saw the buyback amount, I was flabbergasted. The site showed that if I sent back the S20+, I would get Rs. 100 discount if I decided to upgrade the phone. I checked other phones as well, and the amount remained the same. (Btw, upgrade is shown as Buyback Guarantee).

Now, If I wanted to keep the phone I would have to pay the advance amount of Rs. 15,000. So, I thought to myself, rather than sending back the phone to get a discount of Rs. 100 on upgrade, I would pay the difference amount and keep the phone. I was actually hoping that we would get the Rs. 15,000 as discount on the next upgrade and the amount would keep getting carried forward until we finally decided to stop the plan. However, we only get Rs. 100 as discount on our next upgrade. I guess I should have paid for the phone outright. Anyway, hope this helps our forum members who might be planning to purchase smartphones using the SmartUpgrade plan on Flipkart.

Addendum

After reading my post, it might seem that I am put off from ordering online however, I feel that while there are definitely caveats to ordering online - like getting orders late (sometimes very late), I feel that the pros far outweigh the cons because due to Flipkart and Amazon I am able to get books that are unavailable in the rural town that I live in. I am also able to purchase from Flipkart and Amazon - smartphones, laptops, tablets, TVs, at a fair discounted price which are otherwise sold at a hefty premium in my town. Also, despite my Galaxy Z Fold 3 order still not being shipped, I ordered another phone from Flipkart - The POCO F3 GT which was delivered in One Day Flat. I am adding this because I feel that my post might seem unnecessarily harsh on online shopping sites however, I guess the late shipping of my preorder might be due to supply constraints. Anyway, that's about it for my long winded post. Thank you for reading. (Btw, attached screenshots of the SmartUpgrade plan details if you want to check them out).

[wadewilson]

As previously mentioned, I purchased my Samsung Galaxy S20+ through the Flipkart SmartUpgrade Option which waived off Rs. 15,000 at the time of purchase. This amount was to be paid after the upgrade window opened. I decided to pay the difference amount today, and after the money got debited, the Flipkart app showed an error page instead of a payment successful page (It seems they didn't finish that part of the website yet) My Rs. 15,000 is in Flipkart's bank account now but the page still doesn't show that I completed payment. Tried to reach customer care and received an update. They said that payment was successful from my end so perhaps they'll update my account details tomorrow. Overall the experience could have and should have been smoother but for what it's worth, I'm glad with the speed at which they confirmed my payment. Relieved now.

Edit: Recieved a mail from Flipkart just now that payment has been recieved and now my phone is no longer under the SmartUpgrade plan (meaning it's fully mine now). I am super happy with the speed at which Flipkart social media team handled my issue.

[wadewilson]

Update on Flipkart pre-order experience of the Galaxy Z Fold 3

Received a mail today in the morning from Flipkart which stated that my order was cancelled by the seller. After waiting for a month for my preorder to be delivered, this message put a smile on my face and gave me the energy to furiously type a tweet highlighting this incident. Received a standard reply from them that they are looking into the matter and I would receive an update.

Got a call an hour later. (The person called from a personal number). Anyway, the person told me the same thing that was in the email that my order has been cancelled by seller. When I asked why, she said that the product got damaged in transit. However, on my Flipkart orders page, there is no tracking number, which made me question the validity of the statement. Anyway, I told her to request the seller to send me the order again to which she told me to contact national helpline number of Flipkart instead.

Called up Flipkart Helpline number and received callback within a few minutes. Explained my situation to the customer care executive. She told me to wait for a few mins. After a few mins of waiting, she returned back and told me exactly what they had told me in the email, that my order has been cancelled by the seller. And she told me to place another order again and if price is increased they would give me a “gift voucher”. I told her the issue is not with ordering again but rather the loss of pre-order benefits, especially SamsungCare+ free for a year which is a must for new tech like this. I asked her to request the seller to ship my order with the same OrderID so that my preorder benefits would be saved and I would get them. She then told me to wait for a few more mins and after waiting, she told me that I would get a resolution within 24-48 hours (standard reply).

Also, received a call from Flipkart social media team after this. The told me the same thing about the order cancellation and the gift voucher (Rs. 2500). They told me to cancel the order from my end and then they will send me the voucher. I asked the person on the other end to help me out by sending a request to the seller to ship and he said he did but there was no response. I told him that I received a call from his team just yesterday (21st Sep) that the seller told that he would ship on 24th of Sep and today my order was cancelled by the same seller which is confusing. I said, I would wait till 24th and if not then I’m cancelling my order (since by that date, I would have waited a full one month for a preorder).

After cutting the call I decided that if they are unable to ship by the third deadline which is 24th September then I will be deactivating my account on Flipkart as well and advising my near and dear ones against pre-booking. One of my cousins wanted to preorder the iPhone 13 Pro as well, I told her my fiasco and advised her that it is better to order directly from the OEM instead, which in this case is Apple (India). Lesson learnt. Now I know how those PS5 preorder customers on Flipkart must have felt

On a side note, Can anyone tell me what would happen to the EMI I paid for the device I didn’t get? Would that get credited back to my account? Thank you.

Edit: In my frustration, I called up Samsung SmartCafe in the nearby city. They gave me exchange rate for my S20+ at Rs. 30,000. They said they don’t have Z Fold 3 in stock but can get a unit for me if I am ready to purchase. No payment upfront, just full payment on delivery day. I think I will cancel my Flipkart order and go for offline purchase. I will definitely lose all the prebooking offers but will atleast get the phone in my hand. A phone which I waited one month to be delivered.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

Update on Flipkart pre-order experience of the Galaxy Z Fold 3

----------SNIP----delivered.

I am sorry. I know its an ordeal for you, but it's such a comedy of errors!
So, now, you will be heading the giveaway thread to put up a case, keyboard, etc?

I will also report your posts so that you can put the entire thing on a separate thread.

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by mayankk

I am sorry. I know its an ordeal for you, but it's such a comedy of errors!
So, now, you will be heading the giveaway thread to put up a case, keyboard, etc?

Haha, true that. It feels like there is no coordination among the various teams Regarding the case, keyboard etc., I'm keeping them of course cause I'll be going the offline route. Driving 300kms+ to get the phone in a few days

Originally Posted by mayankk

I will also report your posts so that you can put the entire thing on a separate thread.

Thank you. That would help bring some more views to my thread through Google and other channels as well.

[car_addict]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

Update on Flipkart pre-order experience of the Galaxy Z Fold 3

Edit: In my frustration, I called up Samsung SmartCafe in the nearby city. They gave me exchange rate for my S20+ at Rs. 30,000. They said they don’t have Z Fold 3 in stock but can get a unit for me if I am ready to purchase. No payment upfront, just full payment on delivery day. I think I will cancel my Flipkart order and go for offline purchase. I will definitely lose all the prebooking offers but will atleast get the phone in my hand. A phone which I waited one month to be delivered.

The Samsung website still has very good offers including:
1. Extra 7k on exchange
2. Extra 7k on HDFC cards
3. Extra 2k using Samsung Store App or Extra 4k on Samsung referral Program

I got the Accidental & Liquid Damage Protection (about 4.7k) additional for pre-order bonus. The screen protection can be bought for 3.3k now as additional.

I ordered and recevied the Flip3 through the Samsung Store for a total 41k with exchange. Ship date was 10 Sep (as promised) and recevied the phone on 12th.

Flipkart is probably the last place on earth to go for pre-orders with their atrocious customer service. I would still prefered Amazon as the lesser of the 2 evils.

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by car_addict

The Samsung website still has very good offers...

Yes, they are even offering around 27,000 or thereabouts in exchange for my phone. The only problem is that exchange is not available for North East.

Originally Posted by car_addict

I ordered and recevied the Flip3 through the Samsung Store for a total 41k with exchange. Ship date was 10 Sep (as promised) and recevied the phone on 12th.

I am now regretting not purchasing from the Samsung online store. Planning to purchase offline now, since benefits are more or less the same. Plus, I'll be getting 30K in exchange for my S20+. However, the only problem is, the offline seller doesn't seem too enthusiastic as after quoting my exchange value, he said he'd call back after confirming stock. No response from him till now. I guess I'm destined to not have a foldable this year.

Originally Posted by car_addict

Flipkart is probably the last place on earth to go for pre-orders with their atrocious customer service. I would still prefered Amazon as the lesser of the 2 evils.

Totally agree with you. The customer service reps say one thing and do another. There seems to be no coordination on their part. Also the seller is cancelling my order because he doesn't want me to wait longer After making me wait for a month, they suddenly feel remorseful for making me wait so long and so they want to cancel and not stick to their earlier promise of shipping by 24th Sep

[Aditya]

My experience in pre-ordering a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 from Flipkart - Posts moved to a new thread.

[d3mon]

It was a bad experience for you, for sure. But the blame should really go to Samsung in this case, not Flipkart.

The supply constraints are real. I had pre ordered the Z flip 3 from samsung directly, and even that order was delayed by a couple of weeks due to supply issues. They were nice enough to call and inform me about it though.