The Big eCommerce Sale: Do Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon Stock What You're Looking For?

It's on everyone's mind these days. Newspapers, TV commercials, radio ads, they're all talking about it. Through their marketing blitz, the eCommerce marketplaces have made sure everyone is flocking to their sites for a dekko. The scenario is pretty dynamic with what you see in the morning being labeled 'out of stock' by afternoon. Likewise, there is a difference in prices to be observed, the moment there's a change in seller information. However, barring the low-priced consumer gadgets, you might eventually end up realising that products you are specifically looking at are just not available!

Take for instance, televisions. All three sites are listing models that are generally lower-priced and could be old or less popular models. These generally are priced below 40k. The next best option could be priced way above the sweet spot for most people. The sites are flooded with TVs from lesser known brands whereas the big three-Sony, Samsung and LG-have only pushed their older and less popular models. Moreover, the price mentioned for the same model across the three sites does not in some cases include wall bracket and installation charges. In case they are providing free installation and wall bracket, the sites explicitly mention it, else they ask you to get in touch with the vendor and negotiate.

The price advantage offered by the sites seems pretty obvious in case of less expensive home appliances such as microwaves, steam irons, vacuum cleaners, etc with plenty of choice as well. However, these segments are flooded with vendors and making the right choice at the right price point might not be easy.

As far as consumer response is concerned, reports suggest record deals in the initial days with some categories running out of stocks faster than others. But how far could these eCommerce sites maintain delivery schedules is another topic for discussion altogether, especially if you recall what happened during their previous sales!