Amazon India now looks to eat OLX, Quikr's Rs 79,000 crore lunch

Amazon India has announced that it expanding its reach in the used goods peer-to-peer selling market in competition now with OLX and Quikr.

After spending a few months as a pilot project -- Pick-Pack-and-Pay -- Amazon has now rechristened the business as Local Finds and expanded it in to three other cities. Image Source: Amazon India official Youtube channel

Key Highlights

Amazon has now entered into competition with OLX and Quikr.

The company expanded its pilot project of ‘Pick-pack-and-pay’ launched earlier this year in Bengaluru.

A total of Rs 78300 crore used goods are stocked away in Indian homes.

Online classified ads and market place OLX once said that Indian homes had enough unused goods stocked away and the money from its sale could be used to build six airports like Mumbai’s T2 terminal. This 79,000 crore market as calculated by OLX in 2016 now has its latest suitor -- Amazon India.

After spending a few months as a pilot project -- Pick-Pack-and-Pay -- Amazon has now rechristened the business as Local Finds and expanded it in to other cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. Interestingly, OLX survey has dubbed Mumbai and Bengaluru as one of the highest ‘stocking cities’.

Quikr claimed it had over 3 crore new users every month and was present in 1200 cities in India. While OLX claimed to be present in over 40 countries in the world and in India the company says it has 80% market share of the C2C online trade. The company did not respond to Zeebiz queries.

In comparison to Quikr and OLX, Amazon will be present in just four cities in the beginning and has already garnered 30,000 customers in the used goods category.

But Amazon is not fazed.

“Existing solutions available to such sellers and buyers had gaps - people needed to commute in traffic and meet strangers, this lead to privacy and safety concerns along with precious time and money lost. With Local Finds, we aim to seamlessly connect sellers and buyers, help them quickly list and discover each other’s products and transact tension free with delivery, payments and customer service facilitated by Amazon,” Mahendra Nerurkar, Director – New Initiatives, Amazon India, said.

Amazon said it charges a nominal fee of Rs 10 for shipment to the recipient for orders under Rs 1,000 after pick up and packaging, Rs 50 for items valued between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 and Rs 100 for those priced above Rs 5,000.

These services are already present with the competition.

Quikr launched Quikr Doorstep last year by integrating digital payments and logistics into C2C transactions. The company refused to be part of the story and did not reply to questions emailed.

Amazon, as part of the launch, has an ‘introductory offer' where customers can avail free delivery along with cash-back (up to Rs 100) as Amazon Pay Balance for jewelry, apparel and home decor purchases worth Rs 500 or more on Local Finds.

Amazon also said, “Individuals & home entrepreneurs selling on the platform for the first time can earn up to Rs 500 extra for selling more than 5 products.”

“From silk thread bangles & jhumkas made at home by local designers to classics, self-help & academic books from individuals to used electronics offering great value for money, Local Finds is home to diverse selection which otherwise is difficult to find under one roof,” Amazon added.

Amazon has already cemented its place as one of the leading e-commerce companies in India. Its competition with homegrown Flipkart has made sure that there is no place for a third player in the market.
With Jeff Bezos betting big on the Indian market and pledging to spend $5 billion, the muscle power is enough to make anyone nervous.

The question therefore is, is there a place for a third used product seller in the Indian e-commerce market and whether OLX and Quikr have it in them to weather the upcoming storm?

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