I have had occasion in recent months to buy a whole lot of stuff on India Plaza, starting with books, and then going on to toys, air tickets, and my most recent purchase, a Creative Muvo T200 Mp3 player. I have always been wary of online shopping in India, given my previous experience with portals such as Indiatimes(you can read my review elsewhere on Mouthshut) but, touch wood, I have had no problems with Indiaplaza so far.
The Positives
The reason why I have stuck with online shopping is that the sheer variety of goods available on these sites is unmatched. The Creative Muvo T200, for instance, was launched only in January this year and I was able to get it at Indiaplaza for nearly a thousand rupees less than its MRP of Rs3499. Since there are 117 mp3 players listed on the site, I was able to do my due diligence and compare players across capabilities, capacity, visual aesthetics and even shipping charges to get maximum value for money spent. The payment process via credit card is also smooth with a trouble free payment gateway, and the shipping was through a reputed company TNT. I received my player within a couple of days of placing my order.
The Negatives
Like any shopper, online or offline, one has to do a fair amount of research and compare prices, not just with other shopping sites in India, but also abroad, to make sure that you are not being ripped off. Indiaplaza, like most other Indian shopping sites, usually gives the Mrp of the product much higher than its actual Mrp. In the case of the Muvo T200, the Mrp given on the site was Rs3999 whereas the Mrp listed on the box was on Rs 3499. There could be two reasons for this: 1) that the site is making an attempt to entice the shopper by making the discount he/she gets seem much higher, or 2) the prices of electronic items are so volatile that the mrp might actually have declined between the time it was listed on the site and the time it was shipped to the customer. Whatever the case may be, it does leave a bad taste in the mouth of the customer, so to speak.
Indiaplaza also has to get its act together regarding its emails to its customers after a purchase is made. These are very badly formatted and do not inspire much confidence in the site itself. The same goes for its customer account section on the site, which is also badly designed; I would go further and say the site itself is in need of some redesign since it’s not all that intuitive or user friendly.
Like many of the online shopping sites in India, Indiaplaza is also a portmanteau site providing shelf space for a whole host of partners and importers/wholesalers. So, it is ultimately their performance in areas such as shipping that impacts on the credibility of the site. India Plaza would inspire much more confidence when it came to purchases if it had a purchase protection program in place like ebay. Till, then, one would just have to depend on one’s luck when it comes to a shopping experience with Indiaplaza. My luck has been holding out so far:-)
Update: As I have said in my other reviews on Mouthshut, the golden rule
to be followed on Indian shopping sites is caveat emptor, buyer beware.
That said, one can still take calculated risks and get some good
bargains in the process and it doesn’t do much good for these sites to
get only negative reviews. That’s why I try to restore the balance by
writing about my experiences and giving both the pros and cons with
regard to each specific purchase.
A couple of comments have
said my review is ’doctored’ and that I might actually be an employee of India Plaza. I can understand where such suspicions
come from and I’ve put up a video response with ’’proof of purchase’’ at
this link https://sites.google.com/site/cherian/
Acknowledgments due to my assistant, Sanjana, for help with demonstration:-)