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It's absolutely shocking India where startup competition is huge has no eBay. Basically there's no way to buy anything in secondary market, yes OLX or Quikr et

It's absolutely shocking India where startup competition is huge has no eBay. Basically there's no way to buy anything in secondary market, yes OLX or Quikr etc... exist but they are limited to only people around you (in same city) and do not facilitate payments or logistics or even reviews. Now someone can make their own website but product discovery is pain and buyers can't trust reviews on website owned by the single seller, neither can trust the refund will be honoured as you need Escrow to deal with the unknown sellers. India has people who are interested in saving money and buying second hand tools/machines is an option yet it has no eBay or alternative as if startups in India have a blindspot. For example, I live a town with population of 500K (200km away from Delhi) and while repairing my car, the mechanic told me he will go to Delhi and try getting the spare part from Junkyard owners. Maybe guys from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore don't have this problem but majority of Indian population still lives in small towns and villages where finding 1 used part at affordable price can save a business or medical equipment (life). What are the technical people in small towns are supposed to do? Run to Delhi and Mumbai each time you need a spare part? Such a waste of human efforts, my mechanic could have instead bought it on eBay from a junkyard owner who is also a seller on ebay through courier if eBay like website existed. Lemme give you another example, sometime back I was interested in a product from Mobil which only comes in 230L barrel packaging, I need only 2liters of this stuff and there were many sellers on eBay selling it in used Coke/Soda bottles, but I couldn't buy it because I am from India. Similarly, our junkyards are filled with useful servos, PLCs etc..., linear rails, valves but it's hard to find buyers for the junkyard owners because there's no online marketplace for this India imports millions of tons of waste from foreign countries yet the stuff that's harvested from it has very inefficient market. This is holding back innovation as you can build lots of cool things from the used machinery/tools which cost wayyy less than the new stuff.

pmichaud 5y ago
What's stopping someone from building ebay for India? Why hasn't ebay done that?
- wolfretcrap 5y ago
  We can say startups didn't bother with it because eBay India was already operating in market before startup culture was even here in India. Back in time eBay was operating in Indian market and eBay was successful as the payment service used on eBay was PayPal, buyers had protection in India which they couldn't get with any other local website as online payment infrastructure was in dark ages in India at that time. After that India rapidly grew in e-commerce and payment platforms rapidly developed (now they are at par with western ones or we can say even better and payment regulations also improved a lot). Now logistics has also improved a lot, so we can receive goods in just 1 or 2 days in any part of the country. We've new expressways, freight corridors, capacity expanding rapidly so now even more businesses is possible in India yet we are leaving the obvious one out. Where are all my Indian executives, investors, guys from IITs are doing? Why they aren't working on this? Then Flipkart buys eBay India and shuts it down. And now there exists market vaccum. Everyone is looking at each other, no startup founder doing anything about it. Existence of eBay alternative will add great efficiency to India market, reduce its CO2 footprint as well when used products find buyer instead of destroying and remelting them.
  - OJFord 5y ago
    What is Flipkart and why would it shut eBay India down if it's (as it certainly sounds and I would expect) such a massive, ripe, profitable market?
    - wolfretcrap 5y ago
      Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce VC funded giant like Amazon, it's nearly same just that it operates only in india. Flipkart has a history of buying and shutting down businesses.
    - redmanticore 5y ago
      flipkart is actually walmart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart ( Owner Walmart (77%), )
    - 5y ago
augstein 5y ago
Thats indeed interesting. Do you know why this is the case?
- wolfretcrap 5y ago
  Yes, I think it's simply because those who have ability to make it happen have never needed anything to buy used (considering all startups founders in India are from software field and rich enough to buy everything new or they live in a big city where they don't have this problem, they can drive to near junkyard or market and find nearly everything) Okay I am only guessing, the historic reason is listed in another subcomment on my original post.
baybal2 5y ago
I am still puzzled at Amazon's decision to quit China, they did so well exactly in those small town markets, where Taobao, and Jingdong did not venture. Their service with mostly wholly owned logistic was considered superior.
- wolfretcrap 5y ago
  Yeaa Amazon here is best in small towns of India. In my town they've bought a warehouse at Industrial area and their trucks arrive before 7am. I place order before 2pm and my orders arrive at my desk next day before 11am, arrives in my town at 7am.
achow 5y ago
As you briefly hinted - this primarily because of shipping logistics. Flipkart and Amazon are successful because of solving for that. For eBay kind of model where the seller has to pack and ship items themselves, it would be a nightmare. The govt postal service is highly inefficient and the private players are not organized for door to door logistics. Try shipping few metal parts weighing 1Kg+ yourself to any random address to understand perhaps that is the most difficult part of the problem. Even if we ignore the high shipping charges for relatively low value products, scammers, fraudulent sellers, the returns if receiver not available etc.
- wolfretcrap 5y ago
  > For eBay kind of model where the seller has to pack and ship items themselves, it would be a nightmare. The govt postal service is highly inefficient and the private players are not organized for door to door logistics. Amazon doesn't package and ship your items if it weighs over 30kg, you've to fulfill orders on your own if it's larger than 30kg. >Try shipping few metal parts weighing 1Kg+ yourself to any random address to understand perhaps that is the most difficult part of the problem. Not true! India has changed. I've shipped over 300kg per shipment no problem. I've a business of shipping industrial parts and we regularly ship median weight of 50kg I am not sure how old was your experience, leave the government services. We ship with delhivery and safe express Who are you shipping with? And when did you try? Today you can easily get the shipping rates we are getting by signing up for Delhivery's business account the more you ship the cheaper it becomes but man we are no longer living in dark ages of IndiaPost parcel times anymore
  - achow 5y ago
    > I've a business of shipping industrial parts and we regularly ship median weight of 50kg There's the crux. Ebay is not about regular e-commerce retailer, but it is about avg next door Joe selling surplus items that they have. That's the scenario you painted. These avg Joe will not have 'Delhivery accounts' to ship. EBay is for infrequent non traditional online sellers. I have friends who have their own e-commerce shopify storefronts, and you are absolutely right they have a hassel free shipping experience (more or less), but I know that they in their dreams will not use eBay if it was there in India.
pessimizer 5y ago
> For example, I live a town with population of 500K (200km away from Delhi) and while repairing my car, the mechanic told me he will go to Delhi and try getting the spare part from Junkyard owners. > Maybe guys from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore don't have this problem but majority of Indian population still lives in small towns and villages where finding 1 used part at affordable price can save a business or medical equipment (life). What are the technical people in small towns are supposed to do? Run to Delhi and Mumbai each time you need a spare part? > Such a waste of human efforts, my mechanic could have instead bought it on eBay from a junkyard owner who is also a seller on ebay through courier if eBay like website existed. Ebay doesn't handle this well in the US either. I would love to use ebay as a junkyard metasearch engine.
- wolfretcrap 5y ago
  >Ebay doesn't handle this well in the US either. I would love to use ebay as a junkyard metasearch engine. But you can find people who scavenge junkyards and are listed as sellers on eBay who do sell used bench grinder (maybe after restoring them!?), Induction motors, industrial brushless motors etc... In India even that is also not easy to find.

pmichaud 5y ago

What's stopping someone from building ebay for India? Why hasn't ebay done that?

wolfretcrap 5y ago
We can say startups didn't bother with it because eBay India was already operating in market before startup culture was even here in India. Back in time eBay was operating in Indian market and eBay was successful as the payment service used on eBay was PayPal, buyers had protection in India which they couldn't get with any other local website as online payment infrastructure was in dark ages in India at that time. After that India rapidly grew in e-commerce and payment platforms rapidly developed (now they are at par with western ones or we can say even better and payment regulations also improved a lot). Now logistics has also improved a lot, so we can receive goods in just 1 or 2 days in any part of the country. We've new expressways, freight corridors, capacity expanding rapidly so now even more businesses is possible in India yet we are leaving the obvious one out. Where are all my Indian executives, investors, guys from IITs are doing? Why they aren't working on this? Then Flipkart buys eBay India and shuts it down. And now there exists market vaccum. Everyone is looking at each other, no startup founder doing anything about it. Existence of eBay alternative will add great efficiency to India market, reduce its CO2 footprint as well when used products find buyer instead of destroying and remelting them.
- OJFord 5y ago
  What is Flipkart and why would it shut eBay India down if it's (as it certainly sounds and I would expect) such a massive, ripe, profitable market?
  - wolfretcrap 5y ago
    Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce VC funded giant like Amazon, it's nearly same just that it operates only in india. Flipkart has a history of buying and shutting down businesses.
  - redmanticore 5y ago
    flipkart is actually walmart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart ( Owner Walmart (77%), )
  - 5y ago

augstein 5y ago

Thats indeed interesting. Do you know why this is the case?

wolfretcrap 5y ago
Yes, I think it's simply because those who have ability to make it happen have never needed anything to buy used (considering all startups founders in India are from software field and rich enough to buy everything new or they live in a big city where they don't have this problem, they can drive to near junkyard or market and find nearly everything) Okay I am only guessing, the historic reason is listed in another subcomment on my original post.

baybal2 5y ago

I am still puzzled at Amazon's decision to quit China, they did so well exactly in those small town markets, where Taobao, and Jingdong did not venture. Their service with mostly wholly owned logistic was considered superior.

wolfretcrap 5y ago
Yeaa Amazon here is best in small towns of India. In my town they've bought a warehouse at Industrial area and their trucks arrive before 7am. I place order before 2pm and my orders arrive at my desk next day before 11am, arrives in my town at 7am.

achow 5y ago

As you briefly hinted - this primarily because of shipping logistics. Flipkart and Amazon are successful because of solving for that. For eBay kind of model where the seller has to pack and ship items themselves, it would be a nightmare. The govt postal service is highly inefficient and the private players are not organized for door to door logistics. Try shipping few metal parts weighing 1Kg+ yourself to any random address to understand perhaps that is the most difficult part of the problem. Even if we ignore the high shipping charges for relatively low value products, scammers, fraudulent sellers, the returns if receiver not available etc.

wolfretcrap 5y ago
> For eBay kind of model where the seller has to pack and ship items themselves, it would be a nightmare. The govt postal service is highly inefficient and the private players are not organized for door to door logistics. Amazon doesn't package and ship your items if it weighs over 30kg, you've to fulfill orders on your own if it's larger than 30kg. >Try shipping few metal parts weighing 1Kg+ yourself to any random address to understand perhaps that is the most difficult part of the problem. Not true! India has changed. I've shipped over 300kg per shipment no problem. I've a business of shipping industrial parts and we regularly ship median weight of 50kg I am not sure how old was your experience, leave the government services. We ship with delhivery and safe express Who are you shipping with? And when did you try? Today you can easily get the shipping rates we are getting by signing up for Delhivery's business account the more you ship the cheaper it becomes but man we are no longer living in dark ages of IndiaPost parcel times anymore
- achow 5y ago
  > I've a business of shipping industrial parts and we regularly ship median weight of 50kg There's the crux. Ebay is not about regular e-commerce retailer, but it is about avg next door Joe selling surplus items that they have. That's the scenario you painted. These avg Joe will not have 'Delhivery accounts' to ship. EBay is for infrequent non traditional online sellers. I have friends who have their own e-commerce shopify storefronts, and you are absolutely right they have a hassel free shipping experience (more or less), but I know that they in their dreams will not use eBay if it was there in India.

pessimizer 5y ago

> For example, I live a town with population of 500K (200km away from Delhi) and while repairing my car, the mechanic told me he will go to Delhi and try getting the spare part from Junkyard owners. > Maybe guys from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore don't have this problem but majority of Indian population still lives in small towns and villages where finding 1 used part at affordable price can save a business or medical equipment (life). What are the technical people in small towns are supposed to do? Run to Delhi and Mumbai each time you need a spare part? > Such a waste of human efforts, my mechanic could have instead bought it on eBay from a junkyard owner who is also a seller on ebay through courier if eBay like website existed. Ebay doesn't handle this well in the US either. I would love to use ebay as a junkyard metasearch engine.

wolfretcrap 5y ago
>Ebay doesn't handle this well in the US either. I would love to use ebay as a junkyard metasearch engine. But you can find people who scavenge junkyards and are listed as sellers on eBay who do sell used bench grinder (maybe after restoring them!?), Induction motors, industrial brushless motors etc... In India even that is also not easy to find.