Why the Flipkart electronics sale is not that great

The Flipkart Electronics sale is back. Dubbed one of the biggest electronic sales of the year, it will conclude on March 24.

But why is it supposedly the biggest sale? There is no particular reason other than the fact that Flipkart chooses to call it so.

The e-commerce platform will be offering a host of products, ranging from smartphones to laptops to televisions to washing machines.

While the products themselves look varied, they don’t have the biggest range of brands for the consumer to choose from.

The e-commerce giant has listed the offers under four categories: Top offers, Mobiles and Tablets, TVs and Appliances, Electronics and Appliances.

The “top offers” tab has very few discounted items.

Most of the products seem to have more exchange discounts on them (terms and conditions apply), rather than any substantial cash discounts.

That said, there are a few good offers here and there.

In mobiles, offers include a Rs 6,590 off on the Samsung A9 Pro and a Rs 3,090 off on On Nxt.

But while the discount on Samsung phones are decent enough, Apple fans, who desperately wait for sales like this to afford the top-of-range iPhones, will be sorely disappointed to see that the iPhone 7 is available only with a discount of up to Rs 13,500 on exchange, although the iPhone 7 Plus is selling at flat Rs 16,401 off, lowering the price to Rs 65,599 for 128GB model.

The good news is that there's up to Rs 20,000 off on Google Pixel and Rs 13,500 off on Pixel XL.

But most deals are limited only to general budget smartphones like those from Lenovo.

The deals provided by Flipkart on air-conditioners are fairly decent.

With the summers right at our doorsteps, the heavy discounts on Voltas ACs are something worth appreciating.

With discounts as high as Rs 15,000, air-conditioners are the only thing consumers should capitalise on during this sale.

But for the rest, it’s more of the usual thoroughfare.

Tablets like the Apple iPad and Lenovo Yoga 3 do have a price cut, but they too seem not up to their usual offers.

With most deals depending on exchanges, and the exchange rate being wholly a variable, these deals generally look better than they are.

An up to Rs 13,500 off on a phone can very well mean that you might not get more than a grand or two knocked off.

And while they do advertise an entire section that has zero cost EMIs as an option, which too is dependent on the banks whose credit card you’d use.

All in all, the electronics sale of the year is a bit of a dud.

But hopefully one can and always will find something there, just as long as they are in the right place, at the right time.

Flipkart’s response to this article

While the article mentioned a lack of brands, Flipkart has provided a range of brands on offer to choose from:

1) Mobiles - Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Motorola.

2) Devices - Apple, Dell, HP, Canon, Skullcandy, Microsoft (Xbox), Sony.

3) Accessories - Samsung, Sony, SanDisk, WD, Seagate, Logitech.

4) Large Appliances & TVs - Sansui, Voltas, BPL.

The article mentioned that the cash discounts on products were not substantial. Here’s what Flipkart has to offer:

1) Flat 2860 off on Samsung On 5 - at Rs. 6,990

2)  Flat 1900 off on Samsung On 7 - at Rs. 7,990

3)  Flat 3090 off on On Nxt - at Rs. 15,490

4)  Flat 2800 off on Samsung J5 - at Rs. 10,490

5)  Flat 3000 on Samsung On 8 - at Rs. 12,900

The article talks about a lack of good discounts on Apple products and tabs:

1) Flat 20% off on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. This is a never before price on iPhone 7 since the launch of the product. With this pricing, Apple iPhone 7 will be most affordable Only on Flipkart during the Flipkart Electronic Sale, starting at Rs 47,999.

The above mentioned exchange offer is additional to that. And if you are a SBI Credit Card holder, you get an additional Rs 1500 off* (As per Bank T&Cs).

2) Flat Rs. 1000 off on Lenovo Yoga 3 Tablet and Apple iPad Mini 2 32GB.

3) Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Tablet at just Rs 34,990 (Rs 3,000 off).

The article mentions the lack of certainty in exchange rates:

1) Own a Google Pixel at 39,999 only. Get Extra Rs.7001 off on exchange. Get Rs10,000 off on all debit and credit cards.

The article talks about EMIs:

1) Buy the Moto G5 Plus at just Rs. 16,999, with Buyback Guarantee of Rs 6,000.

2) All major Credit Cards are covered + NBFCs like Bajaj Finserv.

Also read - 10 phones to look forward to this year