Amazon, Flipkart discount sale date, coupon code, fake pricing mobiles, cameras
A Rs 2,199 watch is available for Rs 247. An air purifier worth Rs 32,995 for Rs 23,999. Branded shoes at 60-80 percent off, and an inverter worth Rs 9,995 at Rs 4,499. The Diwali sales offered by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart draw thousands of breathless customers looking to score sweet deals on a whole range of essentials as well as indulgences.
While it cannot be deemed as a scam completely, certain things are common even for such sales for amazon, flipkart etc. They do increase the price just before this sales period only to reduce it to fool the customer making them think they have got great discount. Add to that they give additional discounts for various bank to make look it more legitimate.
We'll be discussing real discounts in the later part of this post. First, let's check how they trick you into believing in their false discounts.
Discounts on MRP
MRP typically means maximum retail price, but that doesn't mean it cannot be sold for a lesser amount. Several products especially almost all cell phones available in offline market are sold at a cost which is far less than the MRP quoted on the box. So if the online retailer has slashed the MRP price and quoted it's own price with a fancy 2 digit discount percentage, that doesn't mean those discounts are real.
Abnormal pricing
Sometimes these online retailers increase the original price of the product 2-3 folds (or even more) and then advertise the same at 65% discount. Don't fall for such gimmicks. Compare the original price of the product from other sites or the company or from offline shops. Since these companies work on marketplace model, blame of wrong pricing is usually shifted towards the seller or technical team.
Shipping charges
Just for the sake of pulling your attention towards the product, seller would list the item at a very reduced price and then cover the discount amount and his margin in the name of shipping charges. This is mostly true for cheaper items, sub Rs 500 range (< 9 USD approx). Now, one might argue that after seeing the high shipping charges nobody would buy the product. Yes, agreed; but such sites are also in the business of selling ads and so they need your "clicks". This point doesn't generally apply to prominent sites like Flipkart and Amazon but you still need to be careful as some 3rd party seller(other than Amazon fulfilled and fadvantage sellers) might be in a mood to play a prank with you.
Cashback offers
Now, this is not exactly false discounts but somewhere the consumer is at a disadvantage. You will have to initially pay the full amount and then you will receive the cashback which can be used only on that particular site.
Fake/Duplicate Items
Now this is a very serious issue. Most of the times it doesn't apply to prominent sites since they have a very stringent policy against sellers selling such stuff but you never know. India and jugaad are almost synonymous. While buying expensive items please make sure you are buying from a reputed site and the seller is trustworthy. Read all reviews before buying. Don't fall for lucrative discounts. Apply your logic and decide if it could be real or not. IPhone 5S for Rs 5000 brand new and still in stock, this has to be fake. To be safe please choose COD, that will give you more time to research on your product and you can also check your item when received. (Note: Not everyone allows to check on delivery, but still COD is a safer option)
Coming to REAL discounts, yes they exist and they are very beneficial to the consumer. Discounts are the most important reason that is dragging people to shop online.
They exist in following forms:
Subsidised Item Cost
Amazon, Flipkart or for that matter any other e-commerce company subsidise the cost of certain trending items to increase their consumer base. Once you have got a good discount, liked their service, you are bound to come back. That is the mantra on which such discounts are offered. This kind of discounts help us save some money.
Coupons
Again, this is one kind of promotional measure to increase their consumer base or in some cases retain their customers, they would send us exclusive discount coupons which can be availed by applying on final check out. Again, it saves us some money.
Promotional festivals
During such festivals, they sell products cheaper than almost everywhere. Discounts might seam illogical but they are REAL. Such festivals are a huge PR campaign for all these sites. They attract new customers, advertisers, merchants and investors. Taking the example of Big Billion Day (BBD) by Flipkart, a lot of people have bashed Flipkart for not being able to pull it off the way it was advertised.
Bank offers
Has to be real. Still, be careful about the product you are buying. Your bank has nothing to do with the listing of that particular item.
All most every event similar to it is a scam. Be it Flipkart BBD or Amazon Great Indian. Yes, you can get great deals on some of the items like on beauty or health products or on some mobile phones but other than these items, it’s a scam for fooling people.
On large appliances where they claim a 50% discount is a complete lie. The whole year whose MRP is Rs 50000 is changed to Rs 84000 during BBD sale and the discounted price is shown as Rs 48000. The innocent buyers think this is a great opportunity to purchase these products as they are getting huge discounts and that's where the scam begins.
Unknowingly we are not only getting fooled but we are also destroying our own economy. The small retailers are going through a really harsh phase and they are suffering the most. In the festive season where they earn the most, are actually suffering losses. Sales going down to 10–15% and then we blame the government for the downfall in the economy.
If these things continue then those days are not far when small retailers or even medium scale retailers will be forced to shut down their businesses and millions of people will be suffering due to this. It will result in more and more FDIs making their way to the Indian market and a time will come when we will become their slaves. We have to purchase whatever they sell at whatever price they wish as we will be left with no options to choose from.
So the conclusion of this article is simple, discounts exist in the real world, you have to hunt them down and be logical while accepting it. Don't fall for all the tricks mentioned by us at the start of the post.
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