Online Deals in India

Recently, I came across an email from an Indian bank (credit card division) advertising about the deals offered on Sify Mall. It had some decent offers, claiming a minimum discount of 25%. I got lured into Microwave Ovens and a few clicks away, I ended up with this LG Microwave Oven listed up there, LG MG555FS. Next obvious step was google, which gave me astonishing results! I never expected just 5 results for LG Microwave Oven model, none of them from the manufacturer, nor from any review website - all of them from just 2 Indian retailers.

Digging deeper, I found that the same was true for many other products which are available on Indian online stores (Rediff/Indiatimes etc) but the manufacturers don't list them on their website. This is quite possible only in the following circumstances:

• The product is way too old and there have been significant changes in this range of product offered by the same manufacturer. So they feel they should advertise the newer, better product on the shelf. This translates in the business paradigm that the manufacturing of this product has been stopped. The company doesn't make this product anymore. Though, this product might be still found in the markets, at stores which failed to sell them in the past few/many years. However, in lure of a deal, the online stores keep you ignorant of these facts. I do not contend the fact that the manufacture might offer repair service/warranty for the same. So far so good, still the customer MUST keep an eye open on other websites that list this product, read reviews on OTHER websites too and NOT rely on the only one that offers you the deal.
  

• The other case has a complete dark side to it. If you are left with single digit search results on the product, it is quite possible that the product has been intentionally cloaked under the name-tag of a leading brand. Odds are high that it might not be a genuine one. Probe the manufacturer, websites/phone-calls might prove worthy.
  

In my case, I ended up calling LG Electronics - both at their US & India contact centers to inquire if they ever made this product or offered support on the same. At this point, their answer didn't surprise me. Sify is making up the deal to boost sales. People, who're deceived of the original costs, give away their moolah for something completely unauthentic.

It is not unconventional to assume that software/online frauds are pretty common in India and immense work is needed to get some, or shall I say, any litigation support. News agencies might be a good help.We witness an age where India is leading in the IT enabled population of the globe, however, this never reflects anywhere in constructive contribution of an average Indian to lay the foundations of a well-informed, truthful, law-seeking nation. I really appreciate the works of the select few in this direction, however this post is aimed at off-the-shelf e-literate population who are web-savvy to an extent, but zilch in terms of creativity in the information age. It doesn't call for rocket science to post a review/report on a specific product/service that you consume/use. It just takes a resolute effort to do good to the common pool of thoughts. On this note, I must say Mouthshut is a great initiative in this regard. I do endorse this website and recommend it to people who are looking for opinions online.

After all, there is a lot of good to be done to the society and this MEANS something BEYOND the realm of social networking and instant messaging.

-Ankur