Quikr - offering the best of two worlds

Quikr.

We Indians are no stranger to this word, are we? We’ve seen the television ads and we’ve noted the online ads. But what is it, really?

The 12 categories

Widely regarded as India’s most popular online classifieds site, Quikr started up over 7 years ago in 2008. Since then, it has gone on to cover over 900 cities across the country, making it easier for both buyers and sellers to deal from the comfort of their homes.

All that sounds fine and good but how does that translate in real life? We have a gazillion online stores offering products like mobiles, electronics, clothing et al, right?

So I decided to put it to the test. With Rs 5000/- in my pocket, I decided to see what Quikr could get me that others couldn’t. I chose to scrutinize Coimbatore for this venture because that in addition to the love and serenity, Coimbatore has a lot to offer that remains unseen.

Logging onto Quikr was an easy-peasy affair and I found Coimbatore sitting right there among the list of most Popular cities. Choosing it logged me onto the general page which featured 12 main categories to choose from. This was an amalgamation of all online stores, bringing in categories like mobiles and electronics alongside services offered and needed including film crew, educational courses, land for sale and yes, even matrimonials.

Clicking on any of the 12 buttons then opens up a whole new world of sub categories. From there on, it’s like being a kid at a candy store! 

Those are JUST the sub-categories for "Home & Lifestyle"

You are flooded with choices on every possible subcategory which you can further refine based on:

1.       Your budget

2.       Location of the seller

3.       Closer examination of the product based on photographs submitted

4.       Direct interactions with the buyers by INSTANT ONLINE CHAT, sms, e-mails or phone conversations.

What aids in this regard is that you have the option to save the ones you wish to shortlist and come back to them later or even set alerts for them, if you wish.

So what did I do with my cash? Well, I went shopping, of course.

Every good shopper will tell you that the first rule of shopping is to do some much needed window shopping. Puns aside, I did exactly that, hopping from window to window after opening separate tabs in different categories. As I found stuff I liked, I used the save feature to shortlist those pages that appealed to me and their competitors too, if available.

Based on my situation, I did use both the online store and mobile app which was just as convenient and feature-rich. In the end, a week of hunting had helped me shortlist articles from the following pages specific to things I could get for myself from Coimbatore:

• Electrical appliances
• Books and Magazines
• Gifts and Stationary
• Pet care accessories
• Spare parts accessories (car)
• Clothing and Garments

Sigh… I didn’t find any Honda City cars that fit my 5,000 rupee 
budget but oh well, can’t blame a guy for trying, right? On the plus side,
I did find an ad asking for auditions for the role of a hero in a Mallu film.
What do you think? You all ready for another hunky Roshan in the film industry?
This one with a family pack instead of that boring six pack! 
Boing Boing instead of Bang Bang?

Anyway, from here began the next phase of second and final phase of window browsing… yep, you guessed it: shortlisting the shortlist! This involved sending sms', chatting with sellers online and via phone and confirming products.

My final loot

The things I had my eyes on included home made chocolates, the entire Asterix collection at an amazingly discounted rate, stationary and dog food (once more at a discount), some car accessories, ties and  a used 1Tb external hard drive. 

In the end, as it always is while shopping, sacrifices were made and I ended up choosing something for everyone in the family.

1.       Home made chocolates for parents and friends which included plain, cashewed, almond and strawberry flavoured chocolates. I chatted with the guy, struck up a really nice rate for two separate quantities and literally just waited at an Annapoorna restaurant eating a paper dosa till he came and hand delivered them to me personally. FYI, everyone loved the chocolates. 

2.       Pedigree Dog food for me Snoopy at a bargain price. I thought he would share... he did. He gave me the cover back to photograph after he was done.

3.       Car mug for the passengers in the car during our many escapades.

4.       Funky ties for me... don't get scared if you hear of a doctor wearing shiny ties over his operation theater scrubs and walking around soon. I gotta wear them somewhere!

5.     I also got myself some cool stationary, including a Pierre Cardin pen, a hardbound long notebook for novella purposes and some fountain pen refills.

6.  Some free diyas were also handed over at the end of that last transaction in the spirit of Diwali and we used it in the best way possible – to bring light amidst darkness.

If I had to sum it all up, I would say put it this way: Quikr provides a one stop portal for all your regular online stores while also bringing a sense of security.

• You get options specific to your area.
• You get to deal directly with the buyer or seller.  
• You have the option of bargaining instantly and getting a price that both parties are happy with.
• You get to see the product before buying.

The most important plus which I took away from the experience is that Quikr allows you to become more aware – you realize what all is actually available around you. There is always someone nearby who has something to sell something which another person would need. Quikr is that bridge that joins both worlds of shopping – merging the convenience of online shopping with the ability to see and specifically check out that product/service in the real world.

You can begin your shopping here on the laptop or get the Android app here / Apple App to browse while on the go.

Authors note:

This post is a part of Quikr.com activity at BlogAdda.com