I was looking for a digital camera and was browsing through rediff shopping. They have digital cameras starting from Rs.499 and claim they’re giving huge discounts on different models.
I wanted to compare their price with a known model and searched for Sony Cybershot W5
(https://shop.rediff.com/shop/searchv3_gall.jsp?shop=All&Query=Sony+W5&Search=Search)
Please copy paste the link above in another browser and check to get better idea of what I’m going to tell
To my horror I found that Rediff has listed hundreds of sellers who list this product and each sell the same model at different price. Some of them claim MRP of this camera is Rs 19990 and after discount Rs 11699. Different sellers have quoted different price ranging from Rs.10950 to 19990 and after discount, 11699 to 15440.
The official Sony Price for Sony DSC-W5 was Rs.10990 when I checked at company showroom last time, on which Sony gives standard 3% discount. (Bargaining with the dealer should fetch you additional 2-5% discount)
Similarly, for Sony Erricson k750i, have a look at the following link:
https://shop.rediff.com/shop/searchv3.jsp?Query=k750i&search=Search One seller sells it for 20900 while another for 10475. Someone is selling used k750i for Rs 10800
Why so much differences? Discounts given by different sellers may vary but atleast MRP should be same right?
Probably rediff site is updated long back. But why is not rediff updating on a regular basis? If I’m not careful enough and trust the price quoted in rediff, I’ll be cheated out right. Without any validation rediff is allowing sellers to quote their price on its website and operates on a commission basis. This is not a good practice. If unknowingly I pay Rs 15000 for a Rs 10000 product whom should I blame?
Its always better to buy from a showroom nearby for any expensive products because you physically know the seller and you can question him later if there’s any fault/cheating. Unless the price difference is too huge it makes no sense to buy online from an unknown seller who will have no interest in you after he gets the money
So my advice: Avoid online buying for expensive products and before buying anything online (Specially rediff), first check the price in a showroom near you.
Cheers...