AllIndiaDeals April 28, 2008
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Shopping , add a commentGiven the meteoric rise of major Indian online retailers (like IndiaPlaza, FutureBazaar, SifyMall, CafeGadgets, IndiaTimes…) and numerous other wannabes (e.g.1, e.g.2), it’s logical that the need for simplifying all these starts surfacing. Enter deal aggregators.
AllIndiaDeals is an shopping deal aggregator founded in late 2006 by Nidhi Modi, an MBA from Indore University. To quote Nidhi- “The website helps shoppers solve the long standing problem of where to find the product at lowest price”. Each product entry has some information on the product and link to the store offering it at that price. There are few of ways that AllIndiaDeals gets it’s content:
1. Their team searching major shopping portals and local newspapers
2. Merchants submitting deals directly
3. User-submitted deals
One of the key issues for any content-heavy site is to manage efficient navigation. AllIndiaDeals does a decent job at this: the visual presentation is easy on the eyes and categorization seems logical. Also present are some community-oriented features like forums and shopping blog.
The business model is affiliate commission and advertising revenue. That is always a hard trick to pull off (even Amazon had to endure 6 long years before recording it’s first profit) for an online outfit. But where there is determination, there is hope. Goodluck, Nidhi!
MoserBaerHomeVideos January 5, 2008
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Shopping , add a commentMoser Baer holds more than 10% of global recordable optical media market, supplying to world’s top brands like Memorex, Imation, TDK, Verbatim and others. Established in 1983, it’s one of India’s leading technology companies headquartered in New Delhi.
With MoserBaerHomeVideos (launched in December 2006), the company moves into entertainment content and distribution arena. The company has acquired exclusive licenses to more than 10,000 titles (almost a third of all movies produced till date) and allows you to order DVD/VCD formats through the MoserBaerHomeVideos website. What surprises me is the ridiculously cheap pricing! Last I checked, they offered: Hindi movie titles (two VCD for Rs.30, one DVD for Rs.39), English movies (one VCD Rs.69, one DVD for Rs.99) and some non-movie stuff like live shows, songs etc.
I saw content in most major Indian languages and English, with some fairly collectible titles (like Good Will Hunting, Charlie Chaplin, Munna Bhai…). Granted they don’t have all the movies you may want, and some popular titles are out of stock most of the times, but this redefines the home entertainment market for Indians. It’s one more reason to buy legal, good quality versions of your favorite movies and shun pirated content (which usually sucks in quality).
The site is moderately good-looking, but easy to navigate. Good search function and filters (by language, theme, genre etc.). Overall, a great value if you are a movie buff and collector. Definitely worth checking out.
Fabmall (IndiaPlaza.in) January 17, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Shopping , 1 comment so farFabmall is an online shopping site - run by IndiaPlaza (India) Pvt. Ltd. They claim to be functional since 1999 and have expanded into physical grocery chain (only in bangalore) business too.
I’ve never used it, so can’t comment much. It may not be slick, but the site doesnt look amateur effort (Although minor inconsistencies exist - I landed on fabmall.com page and it had links titled ‘New to IndiaPlaza.in?’. Dont ignore the little details, people!)
Karishma January 15, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Shopping , add a commentKarishma is a really weak shopping site. Looks like someone is just playing around with the idea of a portal for corporate gifts items. There is nothing much on it right now - buttons that dont work, pages that dont load.
Dont’ know how I stumbled onto it. Lost my surfing focus and wandered off into the woods…